September 2006
Articles from the
September 2006 issue of CQ posted on our
website include:
September marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster ever to strike the United States, and while there has been much recovery and reconstruction, there is still far more that has yet to be done. We lead off our September issue by chronicling the experience of one Mississippi ham, Charlie Otnott, WD5BJT, not only during the storm but in the months since, in "Mississippi Mud," by Charlie and his friend, Dan Brown, W1DAN. Just as August's issue went to press, the FCC released the report of its independent panel on communications failures (and successes) during and after Hurricane Katrina, and solicited comments on the panel's recommendations. In this issue, "Washington Readout" editor Fred Maia, W5YI, examines the lengthy document and summarizes its conclusions and recommendations.
September is also the month in which we report the CW results of the CQ World Wide DX Contest. This year, we start with an article by George Wagner, K5KG, on operating the contest from "Down Under" as VK2GC. George writes about the great friends he made and the great experiences he had, and oh yes, he managed to pull off the top single-op/all-band/high-power score in Oceania. George's story is followed by the full report on the contest results, including all scores. Over 4100 logs were submitted, the highest number of logs ever submitted for a CW contest. This year also saw three new world records set, along with 19 new continental records. So much for the "conventional wisdom" that a) CW is dying and b) you can't work any good DX at the bottom of the sunspot cycle. This year's CQ WW Contest is coming up soon, with the Phone weekend on October 28-29, and the CW weekend on November 25-26. Complete rules are in the September issue and posted here on the CQ website. Don't miss out - this contest makes its own propagation!
Moving to our September columns, Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, reports on ham radio response to massive flooding in three northeastern states; "World of Ideas" editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, begins a new series on "Hamming from the Shadows," how to work around antenna restrictions to get or stay on the air and be able to provide emergency help "when all else fails."
We continue on our antenna theme with "The Weekender," in which column editor Phil Salas, AD5X, offers plans for building an "SWR tamer" for HF transceivers, followed by "Math's Notes," by Irwin Math, WA2NDM, on a simple antenna for the 2.4 GHz ham band, Antennas Editor Kent Britain, WA5VJB, on building a "cheap Yagi" to get started on ham satellites, and "How it Works" from K4TWJ on support items for wire antennas.
Beginner's Editor Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ, wonders if today's "introductory" radios are too complex for beginners, and compares a typical rig of today with a 1970s-era radio with very few controls and options that "just worked."
"What's New" editor Karl Thurber, W8FX, looks at new fingerproof Anderson Powerpole® connectors, along with a noise-reducing headset, a power inverter, and other new goodies. "Radio Classics" editor Joe Veras, K9OCO, examines the RAL series of receivers built for the U.S. Navy in the 1930s and 40s, as well as some of the vintage cars (!) owned by vintage radio fans. Contesting Editor John Dorr, K1AR, offers his "top-ten" list of memorable experiences as a contester. Awards Editor Ted Melinosky, K1BV, introduces a series of awards offered for making contacts using the "Hellschreiber" digital mode,"VHF-Plus" editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, reports on continued widespread and very long distance openings on 6 meters, along with his visit to "The Best Bunkhouse Ham Shack in the Country." DX Editor Carl Smith, N4AA, looks at why people go on DXpeditions and reports on DXing news and coming events. Finally, Propagation Editor Tomas Hood, NW7US, offers his propagation predictions for the fall, which he says should be "much better" than what most of the HF bands had to offer this summer.
That's a look at the upcoming September 2006 issue of CQ magazine, which should be on newsstands and in subscribers' mailboxes by late August. For information on becoming a CQ subscriber, click the "Click Here to Subscribe" button at the top of this page.
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Turn on That Radio – Part II
September 2006 Contest Calendar
On the Cover:
