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 Previous: International Morse Code Gets a New ITU Home, New Character |  Next: Phase 2: Ham Radio in Space Reaches Another Milestone |
December 10, 2003
(In alphabetical order: )
 Ken Eckel Jr, AB5A/am, in his radio-equipped 1951 Cessna. |
Aeronautical mobile special event to mark 100 years of flight: Special event station K1F will be on the air until December 20 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of "heavier-than-air" powered flight. "I will only be using this call sign while operating aeronautical mobile," said Ken Eckel Jr, AB5A, of Santa Fe, Texas--a professional pilot. Eckel says he's indebted to the pioneers of aviation for making the dream of flight a reality. Listen for K1F on 40, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 meters (SSB) as well as on 6 meters/VHF/UHF. Eckel says he'll try to be on the air for at least an hour a day, and on December 17 will be airborne at 10:30 AM EST (1530 UTC), the actual time of the first flight, on or about 14.325 MHz. QSL requests go to AB5A, 2020 Cemetery Rd, Santa Fe, TX 77517-3755. There's more information on his Web site.
Amateurs complete 82-mile two-way DSSS link on 2.4 GHz: ARRL High Speed Multimedia (HSMM) Working Group member Ken Cuddeback, NT7K, reports that his students at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, recently completed two-way direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) communication on 2.4 GHz over a distance of 82 miles. The WSU students--which include one ham, Brandon Checketts, KG4NZV, and several prospective licensees--broke the current world record of establishing a wireless link on 2.4 GHz with DSSS (using IEEE 802.11b "Wi-Fi" protocol). "Please join me in congratulating Ken and his students on this fantastic accomplishment!" said ARRL HSMM Working Group Chairman John Champa, K8OCL. Cuddeback says his students used PrimeStar dishes with unamplified Cisco Aironet 350 cards in each laptop. "We set up a NetMeeting session and transferred a 2.5 MB mp3 file successfully," he said. The Cisco Wi-Fi cards run about 100 mW.
Baghdad via EchoLink:
Ian Abel, G3ZHI, in Yorkshire, England,
reports that he spoke December 4 for about 90 minutes with Laith Adhary, YI1SRA, in Baghdad, Iraq,
via EchoLink.
"Laith was operating from an Internet cafe as full Internet access has yet to
be widely restored in the city," Abel said. "With fellow members of the Baghdad
Radio Club he is hoping to install a 2-meter repeater in the city. The repeater
could be linked up to the EchoLink network via the Internet allowing on-demand
24/7 contact with the city."
 Rhode Island CERT members take their Technician tests. |
CERT program and ARRL work together in Rhode
Island: In June, the ARRL signed a Statement of Affiliation
with Citizen Corp, agreeing to cooperate in promoting the formation of local
Citizen Corps councils and assisting them with education, training and
volunteer service opportunities that support first responders, disaster relief
organizations and community safety efforts. ARRL Rhode Island Section Manager
Bob Beaudet, W1YRC, reports the Blackstone Valley Amateur Radio Club saw an
opportunity to give tangible meaning to the agreement. News reached the club
that the state chapter of the American Red Cross had been working with a group
of 20 Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) members in Bristol, Rhode Island,
teaching them shelter management and other related topics. "These CERT members
came from a variety of fields in emergency management services, the fire
department, Red Cross and ordinary citizens who wanted to contribute and make a
difference," Beaudet said. Denis Feerick, N2NCL, of the Salvation Army Team
Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) suggested the addition of Amateur Radio
training. "The idea was met with approval and enthusiasm by Nick Logothets, KC8QQT,
of the Red Cross, the CERT program lead," Beaudet said, noting that about half
the group agreed to participate in a weekly Technician class. Blackstone Valley
ARC member Bill Ewan, W1VH, an ARRL Certified Instructor, offered to teach the
course, and after just four intensive Saturday sessions, seven of the eight
students who completed the course walked away with a ham ticket. Beaudet says
Logothets indicated he'd like to see ham radio instruction expanded to every
town in the Ocean State. He says the Red Cross has agreed to continue its
support as the amateurs attempt to do just that. "There's an expression that
comes to my mind about putting money where your mouth is," Beaudet said, noting
that the next class already is scheduled for early January. "Bravo, Red Cross,
and a great many thanks!" he said. "CERT, Amateur Radio, ARRL, Red Cross, and
SATERN have come together with their energies, without agendas and worked
seamlessly for a common goal. It's tangible and working."
 Ed Giorgadze, 4L4FN, in North Korea. He's now active from Angola as D2PFN. |
Ed Giorgadze, 4L4FN, now active from Angola: Ed Giorgadze, 4L4FN--who made ham radio history with his P5/4L4FN operation from North Korea--now is active from Angola as D2PFN on RTTY and SSB. QSL manager for D2PFN and P5/4L4FN is Bruce Paige, KK5DO. More information and an on-line log will be available on Paige's Web site (click on D2 Angola).
FCC enforcement funding will not decrease in new fiscal year: The omnibus budget bill that the US House of Representatives approved this week directs the FCC to maintain next fiscal year's funding for enforcement activities at least at its current level. The Congressional Record reports that a House-Senate conference agreement includes nearly $274 million for the FCC, with all but $1 million to be offset by fee collections. "The conferees direct the FCC to expend for enforcement in fiscal year 2004 an amount equal to or greater than the amount expended for enforcement in fiscal year 2003," the House Conference Report on HR 2673, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 states. The US Senate will consider the budget measure in January after it returns from the holiday break.
 Radio pioneer Nikola Tesla, shown here in his New York City laboratory, is among the radio pioneers on the FCC's History Project Web site. |
FCC history exhibit and Web site focus on radio history, pioneers: The FCC has unveiled the second phase of an ongoing history project that includes Web pages focusing on a few pioneers of radio's core technologies. "The particular focus of the exhibits is mobile radio and its applications for safety, business, and personal uses," an FCC announcement said. The project's first phase looked at television. The FCC said its new radio Web pages cover the ideas that made radio possible, the power that made radio realistic, and the quality that made radio popular. The site touches upon the work of Hertz, Marconi, Fessenden, Tesla, Alexanderson, DeForest and Armstrong. Also depicted are the exhibits and displays at FCC Headquarters in Washington. "The exhibits, displays, and Web site of the FCC's history project are designed to highlight the rich technological heritage that underlies today's vibrant communications marketplace," the FCC said.--FCC
 The W5UN QSL card. |
First Afghanistan EME QSO reported: Dave Blaschke, W5UN, of Mt Pleasant, Texas, worked Bob Sutton, YA1RS, in Kabul, Afghanistan, via moonbounce on December 4. Blaschke reports the contact was 2-meter EME DXCC entity 168 for him. "This is the first EME QSO ever for a station in Afghanistan, as far as can be determined," Blaschke said. YA1RS was running 150 W to a small array at the time of the contact, but Blaschke said Sutton is hoping to be able to get an amplifier up and running and will be available to work others. Blaschke's Web site includes an EME primer.
 The Ensor Farmsite & Museum displays Amateur Radio equipment used by Marshall and Loretta Ensor. [Michael Down, KD5QLN, Photo] |
Historic farm-museum station enjoys QSOs with W1AW: Contacts on three bands with Maxim Memorial Station W1AW were part of a special event to reintroduce W9BSP--the call sign once held by Marshall H. Ensor--to the airwaves from its original location after 62 years. With Mark Spencer, WA8SME, in the W1AW operator's chair December 6, W1AW contacted W9BSP on schedule on 20, 17 and 15 meters. The W9BSP call sign now is held by the Marshall Ensor Memorial Organization Amateur Radio Club in honor of Ensor, who died in 1970. The Ensor farmhouse--south of Olathe on a higher dome of land known as Bonita Flats--is a National Historic Site and has a place on the Register of Historic Kansas Places. The farm had been the lifelong home of Ensor, later W0BSP, and his sister, Loretta, W0UA, who died in 1991. After Loretta Ensor's death, the farm became The Ensor Farmsite & Museum. Between 1929 and 1941, the year Amateur Radio was shut down for the duration of World War II, the Ensors helped an estimated 10,000 people become Amateur Radio operators--an asset to the military effort and, in many cases, the gateway to later careers in radio and electronics (see "The Ensor Museum Gives Back to Amateur Radio and Its Old Timers"). "We members of the Marshall Ensor Memorial Organization, thank you sincerely for helping us realize our goal of a spectacular re-use of Mr Ensor's W9BSP call which he made famous in the 1930s while giving multitudes of ordinary people the wherewithal to become ham operators," said Larry Woodworth, W0HXS, president of the Ensor club and Ensor Farmsite & Museum site director.
 Dick Dillman, W6AWO, at the KPH operating position. |
Historic shore station to be on the air for ARRL Straight Key Night: West Coast shore station KPH and companion amateur station K6KPH will be on the air for ARRL Straight Key Night New Year's Eve and Day. KPH will be active on MF on 500 and 426 kHz running approximately 5 kW into a Marconi "T" antenna. Announcements will be made on 500 kHz, and most traffic will be on 426 kHz. K6KPH will be active on or about 3545, 7050 and 14,050 kHz running 1.5 kW on all frequencies using vintage RCA transmitters and classic antenna designs. Operators will be at the receiving site in Pt Reyes, California, and plans call for activating several operating positions. A two-person transmitter crew will be on duty at the transmitting site in Bolinas, California, and the transmitters will be remotely controlled from the receiving site. Send QSLs and reception reports to D. A. Stoops, PO Box 381, Bolinas CA, 94924-0381 USA. Further information about KPH and the station restoration project are on the Maritime Radio Historical Society Web site.--Richard "RD" Dillman, W6AWO
Idaho RACES sponsoring "Talk to Santa Claus Workshop Net": Idaho Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) again will sponsor its "Talk to Santa Claus Workshop Net" on 40 meters. Idaho ARRL Section Manager Doug Rich, W7DVR, says the net offers children a chance to talk to Santa Claus or one of his helpers at the North Pole workshop via HF radio. "Because Santa knows all children, he has a very personal conversation with them and usually finds out what they might want for Christmas," Rich said. "All who are involved have fun and enjoy that very special Christmas spirit." The net in the past has provided some holiday spirit for youngsters hospitalized during the Christmas season. Rich invites those who would like to provide a family member with that same special opportunity to talk to Santa at the North Pole workshop to apply via the Santa's Worship Web site form. The net convenes Monday, December 15, 5 PM MST (December 16, 0000 UTC), on or about 7.284 MHz. Make a QSO with Santa's Workshop by calling WC7BDS. Santa's Workshop will make contacts starting with stations in the Eastern Time zone and working across the US. "Everyone is welcome!" Rich said, but he encouraged all who want to participate to fill out the Web site form as soon as possible. "It will be sent directly to Santa's Workshop and must be received before Santa will make contact with you," he added. Contact Rich or visit the ARRL Idaho Section Web site for more information.
Julian Hirsch, W2KFB, SK: Julian Hirsch, W2KFB, of New Rochelle, New York, died December 3. He was 81. An ARRL member, Hirsch was well known as an electrical engineer and writer who guided an early generation of audiophiles. Starting in the 1950s and continuing through his retirement in 1998, Hirsch tracked the "high-fi" industry as it matured into a billion-dollar business. Hirsch wrote thousands of laboratory test reports on audio equipment, many of them for Stereo Review (now merged with Sound & Vision), which published his monthly "Technical Talk" column. According to his obituary in the New York Times, "Hirsch warmed to the technology at 14 with Amateur Radio." A graduate of Cooper Union, Hirsch spent World War II in the US Army Signal Corps and later worked in the electronics industry on spectrum analyzing equipment. In the 1950s, Hirsch and Gladden Houck teamed up to form Hirsch-Houck Laboratories, which tested audio equipment. In 1960 Ziff-Davis Publishing recruited him to test equipment for it exclusively, and his first "Technical Talk" appeared in 1961 in Hi-Fi/Stereo. Survivors include his wife, Ruth, a son and a daughter.--New York Times
Maritime Mobile Service Network handles "Mayday" call: The Maritime Mobile Service Network (MMSN) on September 26 received a Mayday call on the net's frequency, 14.300 MHz, from a sailing vessel in distress off the Honduran coast. A member of the sailboat's crew reported it was taking on water. Although no one aboard the sailboat was an Amateur Radio operator, Assistant Net Manager Tom Job, VE3II, says the MMSN is well known throughout the sailing community as a good place to turn to when you need assistance. The vessel had three people onboard. Net members contacted the US Coast Guard in Miami, and a radiotelephone patch from the USCG to the stricken vessel was established and maintained throughout the incident. Passenger Tammy Tonti, who acted as the stricken vessel's radio operator, advised that those on board the vessel--Endless Journey--had deployed a life raft and were preparing to ditch the vessel, which they ultimately did when the situation became untenable. The MMSN station involved was Rick Jones, WB6LNH. The US Coast Guard later advised that the crew of Endless Journey had been rescued, but the vessel was lost.
 Mike Foale, KB5UAC, aboard the ISS. [NASA Photo] |
NASA astronaut breaks US space endurance record: International Space Station Expedition 8 Commander Mike Foale, KB5UAC, this week became the new US space endurance record holder, and, because he's still in space, he's not really finished setting it yet. Just before 1900 UTC on December 8, Foale, who's also NASA Science Officer, surpassed the previous US record for aggregate time in space of 230 days, 13 hours, 3 minutes, 37 seconds. NASA astronaut Carl Walz, KC5TIE, set the previous NASA record in June 2002. By the time Foale returns to Earth next April, he will have accrued 375 cumulative days in space. Walz called Foale from NASA Headquarters in Washington to congratulate him on his accomplishment. "It's awfully big of you to come along and grovel like this on the radio," Foale joked, noting that he has to grovel before crewmate Sasha Kaleri, U8MIR, who's "about 400 days ahead of me." By the end of the Expedition 8 mission, Kaleri will have logged 610 days in orbit on four flights, placing him fifth on the all-time space endurance list. Walz is still co-holder of the US record for the longest single US spaceflight during Expedition 4. He and NASA astronaut Dan Bursch, KD5PNU, spent nearly 196 days aboard the ISS. In addition to his Expedition 8 tour, Foale has been a member of six space shuttle crews and was a flight engineer aboard the Russian Mir space station in 1997. Russian cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev holds the all-time record for time spent in space, with an aggregate of 748 days from three flights.
 Bob Bennett, W3WCQ, during a BRATS Q&A Net session, which he described in an article in the July 1999 issue of QST. |
Robert S. Bennett, W3WCQ, SK: Bob Bennett, W3WCQ, of Baltimore, Maryland, died December 6. He was 67. Bennett was an ARRL Atlantic Division Assistant Director and, as president of the Baltimore Radio Amateur Television Society (BRATS), was well known within the Amateur TV community. "W3WCQ was our expert on ATV," said Atlantic Division Director Bernie Fuller, N3EFN. "He will be missed." Bennett also was an acknowledged expert on weak-signal VHF work and once served as the Atlantic Division representative of the now-defunct VHF-UHF Advisory Committee (VUAC). ARRL Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, was among Bennett's many friends. "I respected him not only for his technical knowledge and willingness to share it with others, but also for his good humor, common sense, candor, and ability to speak and write extremely well," Craigie said. "He was a valued advisor to several Atlantic Division directors, myself most definitely included." A Johns Hopkins University graduate with a doctorate in electrical engineering, Bennett pursued a career in that field at several firms, analyzing the vulnerabilities of US military aircraft to improve crew safety. He retired two years ago. An ARRL member, Bennett also belonged to the Quarter Century Wireless Association and served as a local chapter president. Survivors include his daughter and a sister. A service was set for December 10.
 Santa sans beard: Clyde McAfee, KG4BVR, at his shack. When not playing Santa Claus, McAfee is a net control station for the Maritime Mobile Service Network. |
Santa Claus Net set: Clyde McAfee, KG4BVR, of Eightmile, Alabama, will conduct a Santa Claus net on 14.287 MHz from December 21 through December 24, 1900 to 0200 UTC.--Ed Petzolt, K1LNC
"Toys, Trains, Dolls!" special event set:
The Schenectady (New York) Museum Amateur Radio Association (SMARA) will
operate Special Event Station W2S Sunday, December 14, 1700-2100 UTC, to
commemorate the "Toys, Trains, Dolls!" exhibit at the Schenectady Museum & Planetarium.
The exhibit runs through January 4. W2S operate in the General class phone
segments on 80, 40 and 20 as well as on the W2IR 146.79 MHz repeater. QSL via
W2IR or Schenectady Museum Amateur Radio Association, W2IR, PO Box 6143,
Schenectady, NY 12306-0143.--Gerald Murray, WA2IWW
| Previous: International Morse Code Gets a New ITU Home, New Character | Next: Phase 2: Ham Radio in Space Reaches Another Milestone |
