July 2006
Articles from the
July 2006 issue of CQ posted on our
website include:
The July issue of CQ keeps us in DX mode (in June, we featured the 3Y0X DXpedition to Peter I Island) with a report by Charles Harpole, K4VUD, writing as VU4AN/VU3CHE about April's large-scale DXpedtion/hamfest on India's Andaman Islands (VU4), site of December 2004's DXpedition-turned-disaster communication effort following the Indian Ocean tsunami. No disasters this time, thankfully, and many more hams on the air.
Next up are the results of the 2006 CQ WPX RTTY Contest. For those of you who aren't conversant in this specialized area of "hamspeak," WPX is CQ magazine's contest and award program for contacting, or working, unique callsign prefixes, such as K4 or VU3. RTTY is an abbreviation/acronym for radioteletype, the original method of sending text messages over the radio. Big noisy teleprinters (like you might have found in a newsroom 20 years ago) have largely been replaced by text on a computer screen (just like in newsrooms). How popular is RTTY today? Consider this: Over 1300 logs were submitted, representing about 500,000 contacts made by some 3500 participants worldwide! Plus, despite being at the bottom of the 11-year sunspot cycle, several new records were set.
A new set of test questions for the entry-level Technician Class license comes into use on July 1, and CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, says the pool of possible exam questions has been reduced from 510 to 392, and many of the questions have been rephrased to make it easier for young people in particular to understand what's being asked. There is no change in what the examinee needs to know; but the questions have been made more straightforward and more emphasis has been placed on the most common activities new hams are likely to try.
Next, we present the 2006 inductees into the CQ Amateur Radio, Contest and DX Halls of Fame. There are 21 inductees into the Amateur Radio Hall of Fame this year, along with two new members each of the DX and Contest Halls of Fame.
We've got several articles this month on mobile operating, starting with the "World of Ideas" column by Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, titled "HF Mobile and Lovin' It, Part 1," and a feature by Contributing Editor Gordon West, WB6NOA, on "Antenna Techniques to Up Your Mobile Output," which includes a mini-review of MFJ's line of mobile antenna impedance transformers.
Our July columns continue with "Math's Notes," by Irwin Math, WA2NDM, on taking "Outdoor RF Measurements," followed by Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO's, Public Service column on "Preparing for a Rainy Day," an important topic considering the recent forecasts for the 2006 hurricane season (which began June 1). Sticking with the emergency communications theme, Forbes Purcell, VE6FMP, pens an "Op-Ed" with a seven-step plan for "Marrying Amateur Radio with the National Incident Management System and Incident Command System."
"Weekender" editor Phil Salas, AD5X, shows us how to add variable voltage control to a fixed-voltage power supply; "How it Works" editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, brings us back to antennas with "Straight Talk on Dipoles and Doublets," and Antennas Editor Kent Britain, WA5VJB, introduces us to circular polarization. "Magic in the Sky" editor Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR, takes us back in time with look at some of the pioneers who set the stage for the development of radio; Beginner's Editor Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ, discusses the many good reasons for attending hamfests and conventions; and "What's New?" editor Karl Thurber, W8FX, checks out a coax crimper, amplifier-radio interface and more (we'll have a report on new products introduced at the Dayton Hamvention® in our August issue).
VHF-Plus Editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, lifts off with reports on a variety of ham radio balloon launches, as well as news on new uses of "near space" balloons by the military (hot air balloons were the first military "aircraft," used during the US Civil War as tethered observation platforms). DX Editor Carl Smith, N4AA, returns to the theme of operating habits during DXpeditions and pileups on rare stations, while Contesting Editor John Dorr, K1AR, offers tips on making the most of a multi-op contest station. Finally, Propagation Editor Tomas Hood, NW7US, provides a tutorial on using a computer-based propagation prediction tool known as ACE-HF.
That's a look at the highlights of the July, 2006 issue of CQ, which should be on newsstands and in readers' mailboxes by late June.
"It's All About the People"
2006
Inductees
CQ Amateur Radio and Contest Halls of Fame
2006 CQ WW RTTY DX Contest Rules
On the Cover:
You've got
mail! QSL cards are a good possibility, considering the huge 70band quad
mounted on Jim Lindsay, W7ZQ's, 180-foot tower in Kinnear, Wyoming.
