March 2009
Articles from the
March 2009
issue
of CQ posted on our
website include:
The March issue of CQ features starts out with the CW results of the 2008 CQ World Wide WPX Contest -- the 50th running of this annual event! Despite remaining in the doldrums of the solar cycle, the number of logs submitted was up by 25% from 2007, showing more than 16,700 stations participating and making more than 2 million contacts over the 48-hour contest period. CW remains alive and well!
Next, Contributing Editor Gordon West, WB6NOA, shows us how to take advantage of "curbside treasures" to start up on a new mode -- your neighbors' working-perfectly but tossed-in-the-trash analog televisions can get you half the way into operating amateur television, or ATV. Add a downconverter and a 70-centimeter antenna, and you're all set for receiving!
Emily Stewart, KC0PTL, won the 2008 Newsline Young Ham of the Year Award (which CQ co-sponsors) on the strength of her program in Kansas that encourages hams to encourage and mentor younger family members into amateur radio. Her article, "Building a Legacy: Ham Radio and Youth in the Heartland," explains how the project started, how it works and how you can start something similar wherever you live.
Finally among our March features, contributor Dennis McCarthy, AA0A, profiles Helen Schlarman, W0AKI, "A Young-at-Heart New Ham at 88." Dennis and Helen remind us that in our efforts to recruit young people into ham radio, we shouldn't forget about recruiting older new hams as well.
Among our columns this March, we start out with Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO's, wrapup of ham radio public service in storms that hit both the Northwest and the Northeast in December. "Math's Notes" editor Irwin Math, WA2NDM, revisits low-cost test equipment (a topic he first examined just over a year ago), and "World of Ideas" editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, continues his series on "Hamming from the Shadows," ideas for getting and staying on the air despite antenna restrictions.
"Washington Readout" editor Fred Maia, W5YI, offers a beginner's guide to becoming a ham radio operator; Beginner's Editor Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ, shows new hams how to make the most of the annual CQ DX Marathon to start making contacts with stations around the world, and "Kids' Korner" editor Brittany Decker, KB1OGL, profiles a few ham radio clubs that focus on younger operators.
In this month's "Weekender," guest columnist Dave Gauger, W9CJS, shows us how to build a "Radio in a Box" for portable operating; Antennas Editor Kent Britain, WA5VJB, looks at some secrets of multiband vertical antennas, and "What's New" editor Anthony Luscre, K8ZT, offers up his monthly plate of the latest goodies in the ham radio marketplace. "How it Works" editor K4TWJ continues his January topic on decibels and S-units; and "VHF-Plus" editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, looks at predictions for upcoming excellent conditions for EME, or moonbounce, communications, as well as the participation of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program in International Education Week this past November.
Awards Editor Ted Melinosky, K1BV, profiles a series of awards from Poland, plus we have the details of CQ's announcement that it would begin accepting contact credits from eQSL.cc for award credit; DX Editor Carl Smith, N4AA, previews DXpeditions and other on-air activities scheduled for March; Contesting Editor John Dorr, K1AR, looks at the question of contesting and QSLs, and asks whether exchanging confirmations is a challenge or an opportunity; and Propagation Editor Tomas Hood, NW7US, takes us all for a ride along the Gray-Line, explaining why propagation often improves dramatically in the hour or so surrounding sunrise and sunset.
That's a brief look at what's coming up in the March issue of CQ magazine, which should be on newsstands and in subscribers' mailboxes by late February. For information on becoming a CQ subscriber, click the "Click Here to Subscribe" button at the top of this page. Also, watch for the posting of March issue of WorldRadio Online, our newest publication.
Zero Bias
Its Rightful Place
February 2009
Contest Calendar
On The Cover
Ken Franklin,
KF1O, of West Warwick, Rhode Island. (Cover photo by Larry Mulvehill,
WB2ZPI)