July 2008
Articles from the
July 2008
issue
of CQ posted on our
website include:
The July issue of CQ starts out with a first-hand report on the YU8/OH2R operation from Kosova on the day it declared its independence. Author and participant Martti Laine, OH2BH, provides the fascinating background and ongoing mission of "Project Goodwill Kosova." Next, we have the results of the 2008 CQ WPX RTTY Contest, which featured yet another record number of entries for any RTTY contest, as well as the rules for this fall's CQ WW RTTY DX Contest. As a special treat for prefix fans, we have a callsign-based crossword puzzle by Contributing Editor Anthony Luscre, K8ZT.
Our July issue also features this year's inductees into the CQ Amateur Radio, Contesting and DXing Halls of Fame. This year, we have 14 new member of the Amateur Radio Hall of Fame as well as three new members of the DXing Hall of Fame and two new inductees to the Contesting Hall of Fame. Congratulations to all!
"Stan the Ham" returns as our new cartoon series, "Such a Ham," by Richard Parsons, VE2WGH, continues. We've also got a review of bhi's Radio Mate compact keypad for the Yaesu FT-817, 857 and 897 transceivers. Contributing Editor Kent Britain, WA5VJB, says the keypad is great for hams with big fingers and brings frequently-used menu items front-and-center.
Among our columns this month, "Math's Notes" editor Irwin Math, WA2NDM, explores the Voltage-to-Frequency Converter that was commonly used before digital-to-analog converters became ubiquitous. "World of Ideas" editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, continues his annual survey of unusual and intriguing code keys; WA3PZO's "Public Service" column focuses this month on using APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System) for public service, both on motorcycles and on foot; and Washington Editor Fred Maia, W5YI, reviews FCC rules about club stations and what -- in the Commission's eyes -- constitutes a radio club eligible for a club call.
"Magic in the Sky" editor Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR, responds to reader comments about his April column ("I Miss the FCC"), and discusses satellite radio -- both the kind that only talks to you and the kind to which you can talk back. "Weekender" editor Phil Salas, AD5X, shows you how to build your own capacitors (!) -- and explains why you might want to. "How it Works" editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, gets into the basics of VOMs (don't know what it stands for? Read the article!), noise bridges and antenna analyzers; Beginner's Editor Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ, looks at building mobile power cables for portable operations; Antennas Editor Kent Britain, WA5VJB, covers Yagi basics, along with some history of the antenna; and "What's New" editor Anthony Luscre, K8ZT, looks at a crystal calibrator, a miniature FM transmitter and a book about hams in World War II.
VHF Editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, revisits a 1992 column titled "The Meteor Shower Nobody Saw," in light of new studies about the effect of earth's "magnetotail" on the surface of the moon. Awards Editor Ted Melinosky, K1BV, looks at how low sunspots and high gas prices are affecting county-hunting; Contesting Editor John Dorr, K1AR, takes a closer look at this year's Contest Hall of Fame inductees; DX Editor Carl Smith, N4AA, offers encouragement for those of us with "little pistol" stations that we can still work DX even with low sunspot numbers; and Propagation Editor Tomas Hood, NW7US, has an absolutely fascinating look at new studies focusing on weather and the ionosphere.
Finally, we normally don't highlight our mistakes ("Oops…") here, but back in April, we talked about a computer error that appeared to have generated a new Morse code character, and suggested a contest to come up with a meaning for it. Well, it turns out it already has one, and W3RP opened our eyes to a whole subset of Morse characters that most hams in the U.S. don't know about, mostly because they're not frequently used and were never on the FCC's code test, back when there was one.
That's a brief look at what's coming up in the July issue of CQ magazine, which should be on newsstands and in subscribers' mailboxes by late June. For information on becoming a CQ subscriber, click the "Click Here to Subscribe" button at the top of this page.
From Dayton to Mars
2008 Inductees, CQ Amateur Radio, Contest and DX Halls of Fame
On The Cover
Noted DXers
Bernie McClenny, W3UR, and Wayne Mills, N7NG, on the roof of a hotel in
Pristina, Kosova, where they put YU8/OH2R on the air to mark Kosova's
newly-declared independence.