June 2002
Articles from the
June 2002 issue of CQ posted on our
website include:
The June issue of CQ is a VHF Special – and we’ve got plenty of features to help you enjoy ham radio above 50 MHz. We also have the winners of our first Survival Radio Challenge.
First, our VHF special: Chip Margelli, K7JA, introduces us to a different sort of system for linking repeaters through the internet. This system, called WIRES, short for Wide-coverage Internet Repeater Enhancement System, is designed for temporary, on-the-fly, networking that you might need in an emergency. All that’s required is a computer running Windows 98 or better, a sound card, a 56k modem with a dial-up internet connection, plus a special interface box and included software.
Contributing Editor Gordon West, WB6NOA, looks at antennas to use on your car for operating 2-meter single sideband mobile. He says the key is going horizontal, since fixed stations on SSB all use horizontal polarization, and notes that using a vertical whip can cause a tremendous amount of signal loss.
We’ve also got a review of Alinco’s new DJ-596 dual-band handheld. This HT has the distinction of being the first with an option for digital audio. We tested and compared both analog and digital modes and made some interesting discoveries.
If you enjoy hidden-transmitter hunts on VHF or like to help track interference on your local repeater, Tom Wheeler N0GSG, has a project for you: building a portable radio direction-finding unit.
Plus, we’ve got the results of last year’s CQ World Wide VHF Contest, and the rules for this year’s event, which will be held a week later than usual, on the weekend of July 20th and 21st.
Finally among our feature articles, Diane Ortiz, K2DO, is on hand to help you register for Ham Radio University – a very successful venture by several radio clubs on Long Island, New York, to bring inactive hams back to the hobby.
Many of our June columns also follow the month’s VHF theme: In “Beginner’s Corner,” Peter O’Dell, WB2D passes along repeater operating tips, comparing a repeater to a virtual small town. Amateur Satellites Editor Phil Chien, KC4YER, warns that increased security at NASA may make it difficult or impossible to schedule school contacts with the International Space Station, and he introduces us to a few new satellites.
Digital Wireless Editor Steve Stroh, N8GNJ, talks about “blue sky amateur networking,” such things as creating a new amateur digital network from the ground-up on 222 MHz, including software-defined radios designed especially for the task, or building a spread-spectrum network for 70 centimeters that would use repeater frequencies when they weren’t busy with voice traffic. All of these ideas need to be considered, especially in light of the FCC’s ruling in mid-April to permit commercial Ultra Wideband, or UWB, systems to operate across a huge swath of spectrum, including several amateur bands. [Click here to download the FCC’s ruling (118 pages long) in either .pdf or .txt.
Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, wonders how many of us have “hazard amnesia,” the term that Federal Emergency Management Director Joe Allbaugh used to describe complacency about threats just over the horizon. While we all got wake-up calls about terrorism last September, Allbaugh noted at this year’s National Hurricane Conference that the past two hurricane seasons have been quiet. But, he said, “a slight shift in wind patterns here or there, a few miles in one direction or another, can make the difference between a quiet hurricane season and a disastrous one.” Continued vigilance against all sorts of threats is the order of the day. [Click here for the transcript of Allbaugh’s speech.
Finally on the VHF front, VHF-Plus Editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, looks at some of the amazing new computer software that’s changing the face of weak-signal modes, such as meteor scatter and moonbounce, as well as some of the controversy surrounding it.
We’ve got plenty of good stuff for the HF operator as well this month:
First and foremost, the winner’s of K4TWJ’s first Survival Radio Challenge. All of the entrants showed significant creativity and the winners will knock your socks off. Next, Washington Readout editor Fred Maia, W5YI, updates us on the ARRL’s petition to the FCC to eliminate the HF novice bands and expand the phone bands on 80 and 40 meters. DX Editor Carl Smith, N4AA, writes about helping to support DXpedition expenses and the best ways to make contributions, and Contest Editor John Dorr, K1AR, looks at the growing trend of “contest marketing,” that is, offering some sort of inducement, such as a mug or a T-shirt – for participating in a contest. Finally, Propagation Editor Tomas Hood, NW7US, takes us inside a sunspot with a look at what sunspots are, how they occur and how they affect radio communication here on earth.
Coming up in July – our annual Antenna Special.
We hope to see many of our readers at the Dayton Hamvention next month, where we’ll have the June issue of CQ available, along with the spring issue of the newly-revived CQ VHF.
Propagation
Article Correction
for June 2002 Issue.
Gone Fishin'
Last Call for Nominations: 2002 Young Ham of the
Year Award
(Survey Results)
Announcing:
2002 CQ WWVHF Contest
