The July issue of CQ has so much for so many people that it's hard to know where to begin. So we'll start with our big news for the month: We're announcing the "inaugural class" of inductees to the new CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. These are people who have helped shape amateur radio and hams who have made significant professional achievements Our initial list includes 50 people, from Morse and Marconi to Tom Clark, W3IWI, without whom we might not have the Global Positioning System, and Nobel laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT.

We've also got the results of the 2000 CQ/RTTY Journal RTTY WPX Contest. For those of you who don't speak ham fluently, "RTTY" is short for "radioteletype" and "WPX" is CQ shorthand for working different callsign prefixes. The third installment in our annual market survey series is also in our July issue. It focuses on FM rigs for your car. If you're in the market for a new mobile rig, this guide can save you hours of research.

Our major focus for the July issue is antennas, including a review of the Hi-Q Stealth mobile antenna; the "Lowe's Dipole," an antenna you can build entirely with parts from your local hardware store; and a remotely tuned loop for low-noise HF DXing. Unlike most loops, it's not only for the low bands and it's not only for receiving. We've also got Antennas Editor Arnie Coro, CO2KK, with ten ways to improve the antenna on your handheld; Contributing Editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, explains automatic antenna tuners in his "How It Works" column, and VHF Editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, passes along some excellent information gathered by Joe Taylor, K1JT, on waterproofing antenna feedlines.

Enough antennas? We've got other stuff, too. In this issue's "World of Ideas" column Dave Ingram takes a new look at crystal sets, those simple, no-battery, receivers that pull signals out of the air by magic. Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, reports on the ham radio story behind the story of the missionaries shot down over Peru after being mistaken for drug runners. Beginner's Editor Pete O'Dell, WB2D, asks "Is Riley Going to Come and Get You?" in a discussion of what is and isn't legal on ham radio today. Awards Editor Ted Melinosky, K1BV, passes along a great story of true ham camaraderie as one ham from Australia helped another finish off his last four counties for the USA-CA award by traveling to the US and working him from those counties -- then getting the award plaque for Alan, VK4AAR, and flying home to present it to him in person!

Finally, "Magic in the Sky" editor Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR, shares the massive reader response to his March column in which he went head-to-head with the minority of operators on 75 meters whose poor behavior gives us all a black eye; and Washington Editor Fred Maia, W5YI, answers the most frequently-asked questions about amateur vanity callsigns. There's more, but you'll just have to wait for the issue to come out.

The July issue of CQ  will be on newsstands and in subscribers' mailboxes in late June. Please note: Coming up in August -- a month earlier than in the past -- the results of the 2000 CQ World Wide DX Contest single sideband weekend.

One final note: CQ introduced two new products at Dayton. One is The Mobile DXer, a book by Dave Mangels, AC6WO; and the other is a joint project of CQ and the ARRL -- something hams have been asking about for years -- a brand-new CD-ROM collection of every single issue of Ham Radio magazine. Both products may be ordered online in the CQ Web Store.

On the Cover - Rush Drake, W7RM, of La Center, Washington

The biggest chunk of our August issue is taken up by reporting the results of last year's CQ World Wide DX Contest, single sideband weekend. This is a month earlier than in the past, thanks to computerized logging and log-checking, and the fact that the vast majority of logs were submitted in electronic form. If you think ham radio is declining, consider this: Nearly 4000 logs from 175 countries were received, and those logs showed that more than 30,000 hams around the world took part to one extent or another in this event. Thirty-thousand people, operating in a single event over a single weekend. Even if you don't subtract the large number of hams who are not contesters and who don't even like contests, that's still an incredible number, and an amazing percentage of all the active hams in the world. It's like taking all the people at the Dayton Hamvention® in a very good year and putting them all on the air at the same time.

What else is in the August issue of CQ? Quite a bit. We've got an exclusive interview with "Mr. ICOM" -- company founder and President Tokuzo Inoue, JA3FA. Plus, we review Ten-Tec's hot new "Jupiter" transceiver and take a look at all the brand new goodies that popped up last month at Dayton.

Contributing Editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, is launching a "survival radio challenge" in his World of Ideas column. He's looking for stations that can be operated without commercial power in two categories -- one is self-designed from the ground up, and the other is innovative combinations of commercial equipment to form a complete station that's transportable and AC-power-free. Could be useful in a California rolling blackout. Speaking of blackouts, Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, reports this month on a joint MARS exercise -- that's the Military Affiliate Radio System -- in which they simulate a widespread, long-duration, power failure in the Pacific Northwest.

August is time for an annual treat for skywatchers -- the Perseids meteor shower. The nice weather also makes it one of the most popular showers for hams who like to operate meteor scatter to make long-distance contacts on the VHF bands. This month, VHF Editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, provides an excellent primer on meteor scatter operating just in time for the Perseids.

Contest Editor John Dorr, K1AR, presents the results of the 2001 CQ Contest Survey. They reveal that the average contester is a little younger than the average ham, has been contesting for nearly 20 years, and claims to comfortably copy code at more than 30 words per minute. Perhaps the most surprising response, especially if you're not a hard-core contester: Nearly three quarters of the respondents said that, if they had to pick only one mode for contest operating, it would be CW. That's Morse code, that supposedly nobody uses anymore.

Also this month, Joe Veras's "Radio Classics" column is back, and he sits down for an interview with Clint Bowman, W9GLW, one of the leading lights behind Radio Manufacturing Engineers, or RME, which made highly regarded amateur receivers in the 1930s and 40s.

Plus, "Math's Notes" editor Irwin Math, WA2NDM, tunes in some wireless audio; K4TWJ has a mini-review of SGC's updated and upgraded SG-2020 transceiver in his QRP column; "Washington Readout" editor Fred Maia, W5YI, examines preparations for the 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference and Beginner's editor Peter O'Dell, WB2D, looks at keeping a log, and why it can be important even though it's no longer required by the FCC.

The August issue of CQ  will be on newsstands and in subscribers' mailboxes in late July. Coming up in September-- again a month earlier than in the past -- the results of the CW weekend of the 2000 CQ World Wide DX Contest. And if you think CW is on its deathbed, just wait…

Zero Bias (Editorial) - "Lies, Myths and Marketing"
Hot Stuff at Hamvention
CQ Contest Calendar
Hamfests and Special Events
Reader Survey Results

On the Cover: ICOM Founder and President Tokuzo Inoue, JA3FA, at his station at ICOM headquarters. There is no separate "One the Cover" feature this month due to the interview with Mr. Inoue. (Photo courtesy ICOM, Inc.)

It's the dream of many a ham -- traveling to a far-off, exotic, location; then operating a world-class contest station with some of the world's best operators. Well, it was a dream come true for CQ magazine's Managing Editor, Gail Schieber, K2RED. Last November, she joined the multi-multi, or multi-operator, multi-transmitter team at A61AJ, in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, for the CW weekend of the CQ World Wide DX Contest. Gail reports on her experiences in the September issue of CQ, which also features scenes from the operation and host A61AJ himself on the cover.

How did the team at A61AJ do in the contest? Well, you can find that out in our September issue as well, along with everyone else's scores, in the complete results of the 2000 CQ World Wide CW DX Contest. As was the case with the voice contest results in the August issue, these are appearing a month earlier than in the past. Plus, we've got the rules for this year's running of the CQ World Wide -- ham radio's biggest contest -- with the single sideband weekend on October 27 and 28, and the CW weekend on November 24 and 25. Finally, for beginning contesters, Contest Editor John Dorr, K1AR, offers a glossary of terms you're likely to hear in contesting conversations or read in contesting articles.

There is life beyond contesting, of course, and the September issue of CQ has plenty of non-contesting articles as well. We've got plans for building a space-saving inverted-Vee antenna for 160 meters, and Contributing Editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, uses his "How it Works" column this month to take us inside a transceiver's IF filter. Now this is something most of us take for granted and few of us really understand. But these filters are critical to your radio's performance, whether you're a ham or a shortwave listener. I strongly recommend this article to everyone. Plus, in Dave's "World of Ideas" column, he looks at another topic of possible interest to SWLs and hams alike, special event operations with a mobile slant.

"Washington Readout" columnist Fred Maia, W5YI, answers readers' questions on international regulations, such as procedures for operating in different countries. Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, covers ham radio assistance in springtime flooding; and "Computers and Internet" Editor Don Rotolo, N2IRZ, examines something called "data acquisition" and its possible uses in ham radio.

DX Editor Carl Smith, N4AA, continues his discussion of QSLing practices and takes a critical look at so-called "insurance contacts" with rare DX stations that may do nothing more than deny contacts to other hams. Propagation Editor George Jacobs, W3ASK, looks at special conditions you can expect around the time of the fall equinox in mid-September, and Beginner's Editor Peter O'Dell, WB2D, rounds things out with an intriguingly-titled column, "Amateurs Built the Ark; Professionals Built the Titanic." Finally, yours truly has some editorial comments on the BBC's decision to drop its shortwave broadcasts to North America, the Pacific, and Australia. In a nutshell, I think it hurts shortwave broadcasting and the radio hobby overall.

All this and more will be in the September issue of CQ, in subscribers' mailboxes and on newsstands in late August. Looking ahead to October, we're planning a mobile special to help you stay active on the radio -- and stay safe -- while looking at the fall foliage.

Articles from this issue posted on our website include:

Zero Bias (Editorial) - "Ham Radio's Secret Weapon"
Announcing: The 2001 CQ World Wide DX Contest
CQ Contest Calendar
Hamfests and Special Events
Reader Survey Results

On the Cover: It's nearly impossible to capture the essence of a major-league contest station in a single photograph. So CQ Special Projects Photographer Joe Veras, N4QB, took dozens of photos at the A61AJ operation in Dubai during last November's CQ World Wide (CW) DX Contest, and assembled a montage to give us a rough idea of the many things going on all at once. You can read about the experience of being at A61AJ in K2RED's "A Dubai Adventure" and get full results of the 2000 CW weekend of the CQ World Wide in the September issue of CQ. Click here for more details on who's who on the cover.  

A special message from the editors of CQ: Thank you to all amateurs worldwide who have expressed support and sympathy in the days following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington; and our own sympathy goes out to anyone in the amateur radio “family” who has suffered a loss as a result of these attacks. Fortunately, all CQ staff members and their families are safe. We will cover the amateur response to this manmade disaster in our November issue. 73.  

The October issue of CQ is a mobile special, and we're pleased to bring you an issue packed with information on going mobile, from choosing an antenna to installing your rig to tips on mobile DXing. And we even go "off-road" with an introduction to pedestrian-mobile DXing.

Duncan Lindsay, EA5ON, gets us started with a look back at his first year of mobile DXing -- working "DX in the Sun," from the coast of Spain. But his tips for success apply no matter where you are. Among our other "mobile special" articles, Jeff Francis, N0GQ, takes us hiking with ham radio and shares details of his "HFPack" station. Contributing Editor Gordon West, WB6NOA, examines the wide variety of HF mobile antennas on the market to help you decide which type is best for you, and frequent CQ contributor Danny Richardson, K6HME, offers a fascinating look at how the type of car you drive affects your signal pattern! Peter DeLuca, AA2VG, shares a story of how he managed to get on the air during a family vacation, including a stealth antenna in a "no-antennas" condo and a magnetic mount whip stuck to a metal restroom door!

QRP, or Low Power, Editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, looks at the Yaesu FT-817, one of the rigs driving the operate-anywhere revolution, from a QRP-er's perspective; and Satellite Editor Phil Chien, KC4YER, checks in on the ham operations from the International Space Station, really mobile at 5 miles per second!

If mobiling's not your "thing," don't worry. We've got plenty of other good stuff as well. For example, VHF Editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, introduces us to a new mode for working meteor scatter -- FSK441 -- and to WSJT. No, it's not a radio station. It's the computer program for this new mode that's taking the weak-signal VHF community by storm -- maybe it's a meteor storm. Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, examines calls for ham radio backup help from a new quarter -- internet leaders worried about increasing attacks on the 'net and hoping ham radio can provide emergency backup for that infrastructure just as it does for voice telephone and radio systems. Plus, for the experimenters among us, this month's "Math's Notes" shows us how to build a high-speed pulse generator on the cheap.

"Washington Readout" Editor Fred Maia, W5YI, takes a look at preparations for the 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference, and goes behind the ongoing disagreement in the ham community over how to word a new international licensing standard that doesn't include a Morse code exam. Speaking of controversial topics, "Digital Wireless" Editor Steve Stroh, N8GNJ, takes on repeater coordinators who aren't familiar with high-speed digital signals and who "decoordinated" a 9600-baud digital repeater because they couldn't differentiate the signals from the noise.

Contesting Editor John Dorr, K1AR, offers tips on "running" during a contest, that is staying on one frequency and calling CQ as long as other people are calling you back. One more contesting item -- Propagation Editor George Jacobs, W3ASK, predicts a high sunspot count for this year's CQ World Wide DX Contest -- the single sideband weekend is on October 27th and 28, and the CW weekend is on November 24th and 25th. This means there should be good conditions unless there's a solar storm. Conditions a month before each contest weekend should provide a pretty good prediction.

Looking ahead to November, we're planning a look at whether the full moon might help extend DXing range on 80 meters; we'll review the Cushcraft MA5-B HF minibeam, and we'll bring you an exclusive CQ interview with one of the names behind two of the major ham radio brand names of the 1930s through the '60s, World Radio Labs and Galaxy.

Articles from this issue posted on our website include:

Zero Bias (Editorial) - "Hit the Road, Jack"
CQ World Wide DX Contest All Time Records
CQ Contest Calendar
Hamfests and Special Events
Reader Survey Results
On the Cover: Jonathan Link, K4III, of Sarasota, Florida

On a clear day, looking west in late afternoon from the CQ offices on New York’s Long Island, you could see the sunlight glinting off the twin towers of the World Trade Center. No longer. Most people in the New York City area spent the last week of summer and the first few weeks of fall trying to go about their business as normally as possible, but the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are never far from anyone’s mind, and they seem to cast a shadow on just about everything. (We realize the attacks are not far from anyone’s mind, but here the memory is reinforced every time we look at the New York skyline and realize it will never be the same again.

Fortunately, everyone in the CQ “family” is safe, but at least four hams are known to be among the more than 6000 missing, and over 300 amateurs have made themselves and their equipment available to help in any way they can. The need has certainly been there. While the Red Cross was turning away other volunteers as this was written, it was still actively recruiting hams to help with communications. The New York City RACES emergency net that was activated the day of the disaster was expected to continue operating well into October. Of course, hams in the Washington, DC area and near the plane crash site outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, served as well.

CQ offers a first look at this massive ham radio response to the worst-ever act of terrorism on U.S. soil in several places in our November issue, primarily in W2VU's Zero Bias editorial and in WA3PZO's Public Service column. Our cover photo features a rarely-seen view of the disaster scene, photographed by Sikorsky Aviation crews just hours after the attacks as they delivered seven brand new Black Hawk helicopters for use in the emergency response. We thank Sikorsky for its permission to publish this and other photos.

This huge need for the services of amateurs in their emergency communications hats nearly eclipses the hobby side of amateur radio, and indeed it is our willingness and ability to respond in times of need that “pays our rent,” in effect, for the frequencies on which we’re allowed to operate. But it’s the hobby side of amateur radio that keeps us interested, trained and prepared, that keeps us ready to respond to any disaster or emergency for which our services are needed.

To feed that hobby side, we try – even in times of crisis -- to bring you articles in CQ each month that will capture your interest and perhaps motivate you to try something new ... even if it involves something old! For example, author Mike Bryce, WB8VGE, is back this month with Part 2 of his "Keeping the Green Flame Burning" series about restoring old Heathkit radios. This time, he’s focusing on the famous "Hot-Water 101," which may well be the most popular HF ham rig ever sold. The response to Mike's first article, on the HW-16, was among the greatest we've received in several years. This one should be even more popular!

As winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, DX conditions on the low bands of 80 and 160 meters begin to improve. Don Anderson, W7DD, wonders in his article whether the full moon helps improve DX range on 80 meters even more! His hypothesis may sound far-fetched at first, but if you're an 80-meter DXer, you can check your logs to help see if Don's theory holds water. Also in this issue, we've got the rules for our annual CQ World Wide 160 Meter Contest -- the CW weekend is next January 26 and 27; the Single Sideband weekend on February 23 and 24 of 2002.

We've also got a few antenna-related articles on the theory that winter is the best possible time to work on antennas, including a review by Gordon West, WB6NOA, of Cushcraft's MA5B minibeam for 20-10 meters, designed with real estate-challenged hams in mind; plus an innovative motorized clothesline antenna with a movable feedpoint to match just about any frequency, and Mike Baker, W8CM’s article on elevated guy supports, titled “Mow the Grass, Not the Guy Lines.” In addition, Dave Ingram, K4TWJ’s “How It Works” column this month offers “Antenna Notes and Tips for New HFers.”

Finally, we bring you Ted Cohen, N4XX's interview with Leo Meyerson, W0GFQ, founder of both World Radio Laboratories and Galaxy Electronics. Between them, the two companies helped two generations of hams get on the air. This interview will help set the stage for our December issue, which will be an extra-special Nostalgia special. December, 2001, marks the centennial of the first transatlantic radio transmission, and the 40th anniversary of amateur radio in space.

The November issue of CQ should be in readers’ mailboxes and on newsstands in mid-October.

Articles from this issue posted on our website include:

Zero Bias (Editorial) - "Too Few Volunteers, Too Much Emergency"
Public Service: Remembering 9-1-1 (.pdf file)
Rules: 2002 CQ World Wide 160-Meter Contest
CQ Contest Calendar
Hamfests and Special Events
On the Cover: Helicopter view of lower Manhattan hours after New York City was attacked by terrorists on September 11, and (inset) damage at the Pentagon, attacked the same day.