Subj : Newsline Part 3
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri May 05 2017 08:01 am
VOA MUSEUM, A HAMVENTION 'PLUS'
NEIL/ANCHOR: It's May, and Hamvention is coming! And not more than an
hour's drive from Dayton Hamvention is another popular gathering spot
for amateurs: the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting,
located at the site of VOA's Bethany Relay Station in West Chester
Township. If you're going to Hamvention, and you're free after 5 p.m.,
check it out. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mike Akins KE5CXP has the
details.
MIKE: It's not quite quite Hamvention after dark, but the VOA Museum is
still offering some incredible nightlife for amateurs visiting Ohio
starting May 19th. Although the Bethany Relay Station stopped operating
in 1994, and its towers have long since come down, its doors will be
open to amateurs who'll want to experience its rich history in global
radio. The museum's executive director, Jack Dominic, said there's
plenty to see - and do.
JACK: If you think about it, it is kind of a must-see for someone who
hasn't been here before. If you are interested in ham radio, you are
interested in shortwave, and this facility is arguiably the most
significant shortwave presence in the whole United States. At one time,
six of the world's highest-power shortwave transmitters were located
here.
MIKE: Take a tour, and see one of the transmitters, a 1960 vintage
Collins rig, visit the control room, and see the antenna-switching
matrix that once allowed transmissions to be aimed directly at Europe,
North Africa and South America. The museum also contains equipment from
Robert L. Drake's personal amateur radio collection. Museum board member
Gary West, K8DEV, says yes, bring your license, and you can even get on
the air!
GARY: We have a club station here, the West Chester Amateur Radio
Association. We are here in West Chester Township, and WC8VOA is our
call sign. We have got six operating stations, and we do encourage
people to get on the air when they are here. If they are interested,
just let us know.
MIKE: The open house promises to be a celebration of wireless. Admission
is $5, and the doors are open on May 19th and May 20th until 9 p.m. For
Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins, KE5CXP.
**
NETS OF NOTE: THE AIR FORCE FLYERS CLUB NET
NEIL/ANCHOR: We bring you another installment in our occasional series,
Nets of Note. This one has real historical significance - and it's
high-flying too. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Paul Braun, WD9GCO.
PAUL'S REPORT: This week's "Net of Note" is a very special one with a
lot of American history tied in. I spoke with group member Jon
Stromsland, WA6LJS, about what makes their net special:
JON: It's called the Air Force Flyers Club Net, and it's a historic and
patriotic group of airmen from all wars, and all branches of the
military - Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard - who served as pilots, air crew,
ground crew, missile crew, and we've even got air traffic controllers in
the net.
The net was started in 1989 by WA7IFX, who's since become a silent key.
Some of the original members are silent keys now, but the ones that
started it were basically World War II pilots. The first member, Van
Nordstrom was a B-17 gunner.
We have the distinction of having the youngest fighter ace in history
there - we had November Three Golf Tango Tango, Dale Karger was his
name - and he was 19 years old when he flew P-51's and he had eleven
kills.
PAUL: This "net of note" has definitely had some "members of note," many
of which were notable outside of the ham radio world:
JON: We also have some historic people that were in the net. People have
heard of General Curtis LeMay - he was called the Father of Strategic
Air Command, and in 1961 General LeMay was the Chief of Staff of the
United States Air Force. He was also a ham radio operator, and in 1957,
he established single-sideband as the standard for high-frequency
communications for SAC bombers.
PAUL: They have even had one former U.S. Senator:
JON: Barry Goldwater, who I'm sure everybody's heard of, he used to
check into the net way back when, and he did phone patches for the
troops back in the early 60's.
PAUL: Membership has fallen off in recent years, according to Stromsland,
but still remains very active:
JON: At one point, we had over 500 members, and a lot of the old-time
members of course, have become silent keys, but currently we have about
69 active members.
PAUL: I asked Stromsland where you can find the net:
JON: The net meets on 20 meters every day, seven days a week, on 14.290
at 1530 Zulu. And then on Tuesdays only, we have a 40 meter net that
comes on right after the 20 meter net closes on 7.181 in the morning,
and on Tuesday in the evening at 7pm Pacific time, we meet on 7.278.
PAUL: While you have to be either active military or a veteran in order
to join the net, anyone is welcome to check into the net, and join in
the discussion. And, as always, we here at Amateur Radio Newsline thank
all our military, past and present, for your service.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.
NEIL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, if you know of a net with an interesting story
to tell, email us at newsline at arnewsline.org, and we might just
feature it in our occasional series Nets of Note.
