January 2009
Articles from the
January 2009
issue
of CQ posted on our
website include:
The January issue of CQ starts with details of our purchase of WorldRadio magazine, which will continue to be published as an online magazine, here on our website. Click here for information on converting WorldRadio print subscriptions to CQ subscriptions.
January's features begin with our interview with John Kanzius, K3TUP. John has been in the news for the past couple of years as a result of his development of an experimental procedure that may radically change the way some cancers are treated. He talks about that, of course, but also covers his career in broadcasting, his experiences as a big-gun contester and how the same procedure he developed to fight cancer may also be able to extract energy from salt water! Plus, of course, how none of it could have happened without ham radio! For additional details on John's revolutionary cancer treatment, the energy-from-salt-water project and his view on ham radio's continued relevance to young people, see "Digging Deeper with John Kanzius, K3TUP," here on our website.
We've also got the SSB results of last year's CQ World Wide WPX Contest, the rules for February's CQ WW WPX RTTY Contest, and a follow-up to November's article on galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) and 160-meter propagation, in which co-author Bob Brown, NM7M, says changes in GCR levels may be useful to predict the appearance of long-range propagation "ducts" on top-band.
The nominating period for 2009 inductees into the CQ Amateur Radio, Contesting and DXing Halls of Fame opens on January 1. The official announcement is in the January issue, and the nominating form for the Amateur Radio Hall of Fame is here on our website. January 1 also marks the beginning of a brand-new CQ DX Marathon. Everybody's slate is wiped clean and we all start from scratch. Click here for the 2009 Marathon Rules.
Among our columns this month, "Math's Notes" editor Irwin Math, WA2NDM, gets on his soapbox urging readers to promote to young people an interest in technology that goes beyond being consumers of technology to becoming its creators; "Washington Readout" editor Fred Maia, W5YI, tries to get to the bottom of a big controversy that's recently blown up at one of the country's oldest radio clubs, the Radio Club of America; and Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, covers a variety of related topics, from structural changes in the National Traffic System to the big "ShakeOut" earthquake drill in California.
"World of Ideas" editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, waxes poetic about the Joys of New Gear; and "Weekender" editor Phil Salas, AD5X -- in his final column -- shows us how to build an inexpensive vertical antenna for 60-10 meters, with an easy add-on for 80 and 160. Phil has decided to devote more time to operating than to tinkering, so we're actively looking for a successor. You need to have lots of good ideas for useful, simple, weekend-length projects; and you need to be able to explain clearly and concisely why a reader would want to build it and then how to do it. Interested candidates should contact CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, at <his callsign>@cq-amateur-radio.com.
"Magic in the Sky" editor Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR, dons a new "nom de plume" for this issue, offering "Dear Hammie's" tongue-in-cheek advice for all problems connected with ham radio; Beginner's Editor Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ, gets serious about wires and cables, focusing different types of feedlines for different applications; and "How it Works" editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, tries to clear up common confusion about decibels and S-units.
New Products Editor Anthony Luscre, K8ZT, takes a look at four antenna tuning accessories, two Bluetooth® adapters for ham rigs and a couple of new books; "VHF-Plus" editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, covers the space flight of Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, the younger half of the first American father-son team to fly in space. Richard is the son of Owen Garriott, W5LFL, the first person to operate ham radio from space.
Awards Editor Ted Melinosky, K1BV, "goes green" with a description of the World Fauna Flora Award Series offered by a group of hams in Russia; DX Editor Carl Smith, N4AA, brings us up to date on various upcoming DXpeditions; Contesting Editor John Dorr, K1AR, plays favorites with contests (his and yours); and Propagation Editor Tomas Hood, NW7US, is predicting improved DXing conditions for 2009.
That's a brief look at what's coming up in the January issue of CQ magazine, which should be on newsstands and in subscribers' mailboxes by late December. For information on becoming a CQ subscriber, click the "Click Here to Subscribe" button at the top of this page.
Happy New Year from all of us at CQ!
Endings and Beginnings
2009 CQ WW WPX RTTY Contest Rules
December 2008
Contest Calendar
On The Cover
Broadcaster, Contester, Cancer
Fighter John Kanzius, K3TUP, at his winter home in Sanibel, Florida.