eHam.net News

///////////////////////////////////////////
Dave Benedict's Ham Radio Hobby Put Him in High Demand During WWII:

Posted: 09 Apr 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36542


By 13 years old, Dave Benedict was a licensed amateur radio operator. Boy
Scouts introduced him to ham radio a year prior and it quickly became his
passion. "I was interested in the world and other countries, and talking to
people from other countries was very exciting to me," said Benedict, a
teenager growing up with the cloud of World War II imminently hanging over
him. By 19, he was proficient in high-speed morse code operation, something
in high demand during war in the 1940s. "In the spring of '42, I'd been out
of high school for over a year and was working as an apprentice machinist
and had a deferment," from the draft because of schooling, he said. But
that wouldn't last forever. The country was at war and few 19-year-old men
at that time escaped the inevitability of serving in the military. "The
draft was getting closer and closer all the time," Benedict said. "I was
feeling the warm breath of selective service down my neck." Then came a
telegram. "This message was staggering. It said, 'We will make you a
sergeant upon enlistment if you will join our 2nd Communications Squadron,"
he said. With the draft a foregone conclusion, the opportunity to enter at
the rank of sergeant was too good to pass up. "I decided I would take them
up on that," said Benedict, who enlisted into the United States Air Force
on July 15, 1942. "They stayed true to their word. Two weeks later, I had
two weeks of basic training and I was made a sergeant. A month later, I was
made a staff sergeant." Benedict was first stationed in Washington D.C.
before moving on to Morrison Field in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he
served as a radio operator on a crew who flew damaged warplanes from
Florida to a repair depot in either Texas or Oklahoma. Benedict then
entered the Army Specialized Training Program and attended then Carnegie
Tech (now Carnegie Melon). After nine months of training there, he was
reassigned from the Air Force to the U.S. Army because of the German
offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge. Without any Army schooling,
Benedict "started right on the job."


///////////////////////////////////////////
Pirate Radio Station on w5kub.com April 12:

Posted: 09 Apr 2016 03:14 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36541


Back for part 2. Allan Wiener, world
famous radio pirate will be back with us
again Tues April 12 at 8:00 PMCT. There
was so much that we did not have time to
cover during his last appearance. Lets get
more detail on why he put Radio New York
International on the air from a ship off
the coast of NY, how the FCC busted him,
the crews arrest, the trial, and his
straight path to owning several FCC
licensed radio stations. Allan is also a
highly skilled radio engineer and a
collector and restores vintage equipment.
Phone lines will be open for viewers to
call in.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Ham Radio: Wave of Popularity:

Posted: 09 Apr 2016 03:15 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/36538


What comes to mind when you hear the term "ham radio"? Maybe, when you were
a kid, it was the fellow with the tall tower in his backyard that was
blamed for causing squiggly lines on neighborhood TV screens. Or the guy at
work with antennas bristling from his car who spends his lunch hour eating
a sandwich and talking on a radio. Or maybe you've read a news story
about "ham" operators helping in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Whatever your impression of the hobby, you may have no idea how dynamic and
fun ham radio is, or just how crucial it can be when other forms of
communication fail. And it's a perfect fit - both nationally and at local
posts - with many American Legion missions, including civil defense. Every
time you send a text on your phone, watch a TV show or use Wi-Fi at a
coffee shop, you use technology developed in part by early hams - an old
railroad telegraphers' term for "inexperienced operator" - experimenting
with newly invented radio in their basements and attics. And throughout
amateur radio's 100-year history, these cellar alchemists have helped
create and refine innovations in the field. Meanwhile, others have helped
save lives and ease human suffering during catastrophic events such as 9/11
and Hurricane Katrina. Along the way, they've formed a tight-knit community
that has a heck of a good time. In the early 1900s, with radio in its
infancy, its possibilities appealed to a group of early adopters. They took
the work of scientists and pioneered the first practical uses of wireless
technology. Meanwhile, world governments saw the need to formalize
regulation of this new communication medium to prevent on-air chaos. In the
United States, the Federal Radio Commission was created for that purpose.
Most regulatory agencies recognized the contributions of those early hams
and saw them as a willing and valuable resource. They designated portions
of the radio spectrum for amateurs to continue to experiment and provide
backup communications as a public service. Fast forward a century, and the
hobby is still as vibrant as ever. This surprises some people, who assume
that smartphones, Facebook, online chat rooms and texting have made a
pastime like ham radio obsolete. Yes, communicating with others is the
ultimate goal of amateur radio enthusiasts, and there are plenty of ways to
do that these days. But there is so much more to the hobby than simply
talking to another person.