Lone Prairie Radio

I had the chance to head back east this week to attend the PBS/CPB GM Round Robin meetings. Heading to the city that took away my beloved Cleveland Browns over a decade ago was interesting. And I have to admit it was a bit of fun playing up the loss of the Dawgs and feigning disgust for the city with the phenomenal Inner Harbor. But in reality, I found it a wonderful city to visit. Leaving it came too quickly. As for the PBS meeting...lots of information and some very solid discussion. Some things to worry about yet much to be excited about. And some incredible ideas on dealing with an industry very much in transition. We discussed partnerships and collaborations. There was also some good discusson about PBS stations and NPR stations working together to head exciting new directions But those blog topics will come later. Right now, just a quick message to pass along the beauty of autumn back east. Flying into BWI on a bright, autumn day with the reds, oranges and yellows of the thousan

There are times when the Internet frustrates me completely And there are other times that I thank Al Gore, or whomever, for inventing such a fascinating and amazing part of my life. Today I was surfing for something I needed in my work. Don’t quite remember how I got there but I found a very cool site that pretty much explored radio towers from the northeast. www.fybush.com. Very fun place. And lo and behold, through various searches I found a link to the FIRST radio station I worked for on his site. Yup, then it was called WAYT in Wabash, Indiana. A daytime AM kicking out a booming 250 watts (yeah, I was ALWAYS a QRP fan!) before sunset when we signed off. The building occupied about 800 square feet overlooking the Wabash River’s journey through the city of Wabash in the county of Wabash! So what was our station slogan? “On the Banks of the Wabash”. What else? Anyway the site brought back some really enjoyable (and a few not so) memories of that first experience in broadcasting. I sta

Well, it seems quite awhile since I’ve last posted anything to the blog. Guess there’s been a lot happening. Especially with the DTV transition. I should probably talk about that sometime down the road. Guess I will. But right now, it’s nice NOT to think about it! Today, I just want to pass along what was to me, an amazing QSO on a minimal power of two watts from my Yaesu FT-817ND. I had been sorting through a few radio things and pulled my go-bag out to just dig through it briefly. For some reason, I pulled the 817 out and attached it to the stealth inverted vee wire antenna at home. It peaks at a height of maybe fifteen feet with the ends at around six feet. I tell you this just to pass along the word that it’s NOT much of a DX antenna! At any rate, I was tuning around forty meters and decided I didn’t want to compete with what I heard with my two little watts and internal battery power. So I dialed it up to twenty meter CW and tuned up. I heard a “CQ USA” coming from UA4HBW in Samar

This week once again I was able to take a trip back in time. A journey back that pretty much let me once again remember the smell of melting solder and the excitement of putting together my own radio with my own hands. Here's the story. The first kit I ever built was a Knight Kit C-100 walkie talkie. I poured over the Knight Kit catalog daily for what seemed like forever dreaming of all the toys inside. The Star Roamer and Span Master receivers. The T-60 transmitter. But the most special for me was the C-100. It only cost a bit more then $5. But for a poor kid living on a farm with no income, it might as well have been $500. It seemed impossible that I'd ever get these cool communications devices. But eventually, I did get the money to order one. I don't remember how, but it happened. I figured I didn't need (nor could I afford) two of them as they were often marketed. But since mom and dad had a couple of CB radios and would be able to talk with me on the designated ch

I keep confusing myself about QRP. Ninety-five percent of the time I absolutely love it. I'm totally fascinated by it. And in many ways it takes me back to the glory days of when I was a novice running about 35 watts out. Not a whole lot more than I'm likely running QRP on my FT-817. Then I have days like today. Days when I frustrate myself with total failure to reach anyone. Twenty meter CW and SSB. Thirty meter CW. Forty meter CW. Not one QSO. Yeah, I know. That's the challenge. But gee, it would be nice to at least get SOMEONE out there to hear my little two watts limping through the air from that little Miracle Whip sitting on the hood of my Ford Ranger. The loyal truck parked in a quiet rural park in Conroe, Texas. A beautiful little park situated under bright, sunny skies. Skies that were pleasantly breezy with 75 degree temperatures. Hmm. Maybe I remembered the beauty of QRP. It's more than the QSO. It's the whole package, isn't it? Yeah. A great

W8SU did it again. He sent along a picture of an old issue of "Popular Electronics". February of 1955 to be exact. What memories. I’m betting I’m NOT the only one who grew up devouring every issue of this magazine. Hey, between it and "Electronics Illustrated", I was kept up to date (for the time!) with all the latest electronics info a kid could handle. Lots of dreams. I still remember the adventures of Carl and Jerry from "EI"... Of particular note is an issue where the pair conspired to cheat at a spelling bee by taking a little earpiece apart (You know. The kind that came with your six transistor radio), taping it on the arm of one of them, attaching a miniature (for it’s time) receiver that he kept under his shirt, and the other conspirator sending the correct spelling of the word from the audience in CW, to be translated by the feel of the diaphragm on the skin. Wild! Anyway, the cover of the issue sent to me by Bob includes a basic novice transmitt

After I published my last blog entry, I received a series of emails from W8SU, Bob Ballantine. Bob is a wonderful OT who worked with my grandfather, the original W8CEI, back when radio operators were a breed apart. They worked phone and cw, sure. But they also kept their radios functioning. And some went through a lot just to do their jobs. My grandfather was with the Ohio State Patrol for thirty years before retiring and moving over to the Ohio Highway Department. At any rate, Bob sent along a photo of the swearing-in ceremony from 1953. W8CEI is the far left, back row. Yeah, he looks a bit old to be getting sworn in. Well, as Bob explains, it became state policy to swear in everyone, regardless of length of service. Hmm. Seems like some governmental functions never change, eh? hi hi Anyway, thanks to W8SU for sending along this great shot that I'd never seen before. He also sent some pictures of facilities that I'll include in later blogs. And one is a tower I'd give my e

I see I last added an entry back in July, 2008. Wow. Guess I'd better get a bit more into this. Today I'm adding some old QSL cards to my web site, http://www.w8aq.com/ . Some of cards well as W8CEI's (my grandfather). But also, I just acquired a QSL card from the original W8AQ, Everett Gibbs, from back in 1956, as I've posted here. Ev was a member of the ARRL A-1 Operator Club and was apparently a VERY talented ham radio op! I'm proud to have acquired a call sign used by such a ham. Even more interesting is the fact I've been able to QSO with W8AO, a good friend of Ev's who actually tested and got his ham license at the same session as Mr. Gibbs! Pretty amazing! QSLs are sort of fading out these days but I still very much enjoy them and find them a great link to the early days of this still fascinating hobby.