IN OUR 85TH YEAR QQ R R MMMMMM DECEMBER 2007 KEATING FLOYD (KC4HSI) EDITOR FROM THE PRESIDENT Bill Bode, N4WEB INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Holiday wishes! No hurricanes to worry about As we move forward in 2008, HAM FOR ALL 2 please think ahead to what we R E A S O N S It is that time when we look Saturday morning donuts with all can do to add to the enjoy- back at the year in retrospect Herb. ment of Amateur Radio for our and give thanks for all the All the Net Controllers efforts members. SEND US YOUR 3 good that has happened, all P I C S ! the trials we have endured, holding TarcNets on Tuesday You can help to make 2008 and look forward to the com- evenings our best year yet. ing New Year. It has been a The lawnmower was stolen THE WAYBACK 3 Merry Christmas and a Happy M A C H I N E year to remember, but for those of you with short memo- A 160m antenna is erected in New Year! ries, like me, here are a few the backyard Bill, N4WEB RIDING THE WAVES 4 highlights: We received an estate distri- OF THE STORM FQP, probable first place in bution from Al and Nancy MM QRP Burke GOING ON A 5 The start of installing a new RADIO HUNT NAQP – A good showing generator for the clubhouse Several contest showings with SPARC The radio room and tower FLDIGI AND AMA- 5 TEUR RADIO ON grounding project began L I N U X The first in a longtime joint picnic with the Brandon Club In addition, many more too numerous to mention. MY HISTORY 6 FD – 1 st place in WCF in 2A W I T H T A R C I would like to thank all those CQ WW phone contesting who participated and made training these activities a reality, and EMERGENCY 8 enjoyable for all. COMMUNICATIONS The Geezer gear station back on the air Bart (AF4TK) and broken cable SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: NEWCOMER ADVICE Keating Floyd, KC4HSI • Christmas Party The Tampa Bay HAMFEST is phone numbers, or model num- December 3, 2007 at here! Now’s the time to go shop- bers. Golden Corral. ping! A pen – there’s not always an • Hurricane season is What should you bring with you? easy-to-find one at the door prize officially OVER!. Your list might include: table. • Welcome to the A backpack or bag to tote your Comfy clothes, a hat (for shade Tampa Bay Hamfest goodies in. and identification) and shoes that @ Jerry Gault, N4AVM • www.hamclub.org has keep your feet happy. Money. Bring cash, most indi- Get one here! Stick it on your more details vidual vendors can’t take plastic. You DO have an ID badge with shirt or hat. your call sign on it, don’t you? A notebook or pad, to copy down A tool or two, to take a look at Q R M Page 2 A HAM FOR ALL REASONS Mary Floyd, KG4QGA "I was 12. For a couple of forget, after 10 weeks of years we collected QSL cards waiting, in August 1966, I from shortwave stations, and was 15, and my first call was had quite a competition over WN1GUD. I can still feel my that, who'd get what card and hands trembling as I called so on." my first CQ, and then two nights later, nearly having a Then came the great awak- heart attack when someone ening. called ME! My first con- " I remember listening to my tact...cold sweat...couldn't receiver one night, a five-tube breathe...it was wonderful!" Hallicrafters, and hearing In the almost-40 years since, some guys talking on AM on there've been some changes 75 meters. I got hooked that in the hobby, for those of you very night." who remember back then. We all know that feeling. "We were crystal controlled, Warren Elly, W1GUD Warren was gutsy enough to limited to 75 watts, and all find a mentor. CW except for some phone Why do they call us all ama- followed the story until her "There was a guy down the privileges on 2 meters. I was teurs? Some of us are quite disease was recognized by street where we lived in proud of the fact that I thoroughly professional. War- the courts and she was given Springdale, Connecticut, with worked and confirmed all ren Elly is a great example of the necessary treatment. He a short tower and a 2-meter states, and worked and con- that. still checks on her and today, yagi, so I went and knocked firmed dxcc 100 countries on she's doing fine. Now that's a on his door. CW as a novice. That novice You see Warren on Fox real accomplishment, more license only lasted a year, News, doing the major stories Fred Clinton was a tech, important by far than any of you couldn't renew it, so it of the day. But Warren's per- knew little about the short his political or business sto- was either on to tech, which sonal favorites are smaller wave bands, but was more ries in which he scooped the was the same 5 wpm code stories, the ones about en- than willing to became my competition. test as the novice but offered dangered children in particu- elmer, and help me get my no low bands, or the general, lar. He recalls especially a He got intestested in SWLing novice ticket." which was 13 wpm. The gen- young girl with an eating dis- when his older cousin got a Remember the excitement of eral was scary because it order, who was constantly Hallicrafters S-120 for his becoming licensed? would require a trip to the being Baker-Acted because birthday, around 1963. Custom House in New York of her bizarre behavior. He "The ticket came, I'll never City to face a real live, fire- SEND US YOUR PICS! QRM is pleased to announce nas ever meeting, but we We want to see what you are our first Antenna Picture Gal- hardly ever get a chance to using to talk to other hams lery. You’ve got antennas up see your antennas. with—we may get some ideas in the air, we’ve got antennas ourselves! Please send pictures of your up in the air. aerials to [email protected], We’re looking forward to see- We all see the TARC anten- and we’ll publish them. ing what you’ve got! The TARC Antenna Farm IN OUR 85TH YEAR Page 3 THE WAYBACK MACHINE Mark Cookman, KI4WEW It was Robert Burns who is first HAM project or maga- transmitting and receiving bear, Reginald Fessenden, responsible for that old say- signals at a distance of 50 James Clerk Maxwell, Sir zine? You get the idea. ing, the best laid plans of miles 1 year earlier than Mar- Oliver Lodge, Mahlon Loomis, mice and men often go awry. So I began searching for an- coni was sending and receiv- Nathan Stubblefield, and This seems to often be the Alexander Popov. case with my plans. You see, I wanted to write an article While searching the vast for the QRM. My good friend internet for the deep dark Keating, who finally got me to history of Amateur Radio, I take the exams and get into happened upon something Amateur Radio, was asking that stopped me cold. Bill for articles. I like to flatter Continelli, W2XOY, had al- myself that I can sometimes ready written my article. In string some words together fact, he had written a whole that people might learn series of articles on the topic something from, or at least and he was a much better writer than I was. So, I gave find amusing. up on my plans to write an I really wanted to write some- article for the QRM, because thing, but I was really why should I write something stumped for what to write @ Jerry Gault, N4AVM that has already been han- about. Since I am completely dled so well? However, this new to this hobby, a technical still left Keating without an article was right out of the swers. I tried all the familiar ing at a distance of 2 miles. article so I quickly hammered question. I decided instead places: ask.com; wikipe- It quickly occurred to me that these couple of lines to- to follow the discipline of my dia.com; google.com; and who was the first “ham” was gether. If you are interested college degree and look into arrl.org. I discovered, as I just an argument waiting to in the history of Amateur the history of Amateur Radio. had expected, that there happen. I really don’t want to Radio, then I urge you to point your browser at http:// I wanted to find the answers were as many answers to all argue with anyone on so eso- these questions as there are teric a topic so here is a list hamham----shack.com/shack.com/ to questions like: Who was history01.html where you can the first Amateur Radio Op- callsigns. For example, eve- of some of the first amateur ryone seems to accept that radio operators in no particu- enjoy “The Wayback Ma- erator; What was the first chine” by Bill Continelli. He Amateur Radio Club; Why are Guglielmo Marconi invented lar order: Heinrich Rudolf the radio in 1896, even Hertz, Nikola Tesla, Gug- answers all of the questions Amateur Radio operators listed above and more.