March 2005
Articles from the
March 2005 issue of CQ posted on our
website include:
Ham radio's response to the earthquake and tsunami that struck southern Asia in late December highlights the March issue of CQ, as we start out with Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO's, "Public Service" column (We'll have first-person accounts from the disaster zone in April). Next, Contributing Editor Gordon West, WB6NOA, does his annual "CQ Market Survey" of ham equipment, focusing this year on HF transceivers -- ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to more than ten thousand!
The March issue also features results of the CW weekend of the 2004 CQ World Wide WPX Contest -- and remember that the 2005 WPX Contest gets started with the SSB weekend on March 26 & 27. Finally among our features this month, we learn how to make a solid base for keyer paddles from something called "densified wood laminate" and molten lead!
Among our columns, "Math's Notes" Editor Irwin Math, WA2NDM, gets us started with an enigma titled "Non-RF Wireless Audio Transmissions." This month's "World of Ideas" by Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, tunes into spy radios; "Radio Classics" Editor Joe Veras, K9OCO, relates "An Ocean Hopper Experience," and Karl Thurber, W8FX, tells us "What's New" among universal battery chargers and QRP project kits.
Antennas Editor Kent Britain, WA5VJB, talks about how to measure an antenna's performance, as well as plans for a "Cheap Yagi" for 222 MHz. Beginner's Editor Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ, asks the rhetorical question, "Mobile HT or HT Mobile?" and K4TWJ returns with "How it Works," in which he's explaining receivers and front-end stages. "Washington Readout" editor Fred Maia, W5YI, looks back at FCC actions of 2004; "VHF Plus" editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, reports on a new distance record for 122 GHz and a successful contact between a group of young people at the Tulsa Air & Space Museum and the crew of the International Space Station.
Awards Editor Ted Melinosky, K1BV, looks at both DX and domestic operating awards, while Contesting Editor John Dorr, K1AR, compares the relative importance of operating skill and technical skill in contesting success. DXing Editor Carl Smith, N4AA, reviews the VU4 DXpedition that turned into a disaster relief effort after the earthquake and tsunami (again, much more on that next month). Finally, Propagation Editor Tomas Hood, NW7US, looks at the unexpected solar flares of December and January, and their effect on propagation here on earth.
Reminder: We are still accepting nominations for the 2005 "class" of the CQ Amateur Radio, Contest an DX Halls o Fame. Details are elsewhere on our website and in the January issue of CQ.
That's a preview of what will be in the March issue of CQ, which should be in the readers' mailboxes and on newsstands by late February.
February 2005
Contest Calendar