WB6UIE

As we celebrate Armed Forces Day this month, lets take a moment to recognize some of the contributions made by our fellow hams in uniform. This column, I’d like to recognize Edwin H. “Howard” Armstrong, W2XMN, whose contributions helped to forge the foundation for much of today’s radio communications technology. Armstrong grew up in suburban New York at the turn of the century and was fascinated by wireless technology. By age 14 he had filled his bedroom with wireless gear and erected a 125 foot antenna on his parents property (no HOAs in those days)[1] He was soon accepted at Columbia University where he received his electrical engineering degree in 1913.   America entered WWI shortly after his graduation and Armstrong joined the Army. Sent to France as a Signal … Read more >>

Soon spring will be here, birds will be singing, and a young ham’s fancy turns to … antennas. Yes, as part of spring cleaning, now is a good time to check your RF plumbing or maybe think about expanding your antenna farm (cover your ears Pinkie …) A popular ham radio saying: “If your antenna stayed up last winter, it wasn’t big enough. After that last storm, I’ve determined that mine was big enough … Want to brush up on your antenna theory? Learn something new about gain, polarization, or baluns? Then our latest additions to the OVH lending library (right)are for you. W1CRO donated several copies of each to the club. Thanks Art! I’ll bring them to the meetings where they’ll be available for check out. How about something a … Read more >>

This has been quite a mind expanding week as I listened to John describe his favorite new digital mode, JS8. It runs on a laptop computer and manages to copy at subterranean signal to noise ratios. Wow, how does that work? And how did we get here? The journey leading to seemingly magical modes like JS8 began shortly after World War I as growing demands for commercial and government communications rapidly exceeded the capacity of manual telegraph circuits. A small group of clever inventors proposed a solution known as a “printing telegraph” or teleprinter. Its electromechanical keyboard and printer combination used a 5 bit Baudot code to represent 64 possible alphanumeric characters. Their invention was a resounding success and their company, the Teletype Corporation, went on to become a major … Read more >>

It seems our recruiting efforts have been paying off with several new members joining the club recently. When you see them at a meeting or club function, please take a minute to introduce yourself and welcome them to OVH. Club recognition has definitely helped our recruiting. So, as spring approaches with Hamfest and other activities, this would be a good time to order your club nametag if you don’t already have one.       Nametags can be ordered from the above link. It will be some time before our next custom polo order. However, I do have some generic polos (club logo but no name or callsign) available for purchase. I’m expecting a customization quote from a local vendor in time for our next meeting. This year’s Virginia QSO Party, sponsored by the Sterling … Read more >>