September 2003
Articles from the
September 2003 issue of CQ posted on our
website include:
The big news in ham radio right now is what was changed at the 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference, also known as WRC-03. Major decisions regarding amateur radio include a realignment of the broadcasting allocation on 40 meters that will take effect in 2009, and allowing each country to set its own policies about code tests for HF ham licenses, reciprocal licensing and international third party messages. Those changes take effect right away. The September CQ has complete details in a special summary article and in our "Washington Readout" column.
A big portion of our September issue is devoted, as always, to the results of the CW weekend of last year's CQ World Wide DX Contest. Anyone who thinks code is dead forgot to tell the thousands of hams who participated and submitted logs for this contest -- an all-time high, in fact, even though band conditions weren't that great. We've also got the rules for this year's CQ World Wide ... the single sideband weekend is on October 25 and 26, and the CW weekend is on November 29 and 30.
Digital signal processing is becoming more and more important as a feature in amateur gear, and we have a review this month of SGC's new SG-2020 ADSP2 transceiver. The basic SG-2020 is a longtime favorite of QRP operators, hikers and a lot of other people around the world. This new model includes something called Adaptive Digital Signal Processing, and the review tells you what it's all about. There's also an ADSP add-on board for existing SG-2020s.
We've got a lot of great stuff in our columns this month ... as we do most every month. Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, starts us out with reporting on important recognition by the federal government of hams as "first responders" in emergencies; "Washington Readout" Editor Fred Maia, W5YI, looks at the major decisions of WRC-03; "Math's Notes" Editor Irwin Math, WA2NDM, covers temperature measurements; and "World of Ideas" Editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, hits the road with a look at HF mobiling.
"Beginner's Corner" this month is an introduction to "homebrewing," or building your own stuff; our new Antennas Editor, Kent Britain, WA5VJB, gets started with a look at trap antennas and how they work; and K4TWJ's "How it Works" column this month is about amplifier circuits. "Radio Classics" Editor Joe Veras, N4QB, recalls his early ham radio days in Wisconsin, and DX Editor Carl Smith, N4AA, tackles some controversial issues about DXpeditions.
Contesting Editor John Dorr, K1AR, tells us about some of his contesting heroes; VHF-Plus Editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, reports on major sporadic-E openings on 2 meters in Europe this summer, along with the possibility of a transatlantic 2-meter opening; Awards Editor Ted Melinosky, K1BV, looks at a small award that sets a good example for the future; and finally, Propagation Editor Tomas Hood, NW7US, gives us our first close-up look at real-time propagation on the brand new 60-meter band.
On this month's cover, Mike Youngs, KK7VZ, shows off his shack at his home QTH of North Salt Lake, Utah.