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      September 2009

Articles from the

September 2009 issue
of CQ posted on our

website include:

The September issue of CQ features news in the worlds of contesting, VHF/UHF and the FCC. We start out, though, with a tribute to Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD (SK) and an introduction to 2009's Newsline Young Ham of the Year, Andrew Koenig, KE5GDB, in this month's "Zero Bias" editorial.

Next, we have the CW results of the 2008 CQ World Wide DX Contest, a noteworthy event for several reasons: First, the single-operator/low-power category was won by noted contester and CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Famer Scott Redd, K0DQ, operating from Aruba as P40Q. With this win, Scott has now won all of the major ham radio DX contests at least once, starting with the CQ WW Phone Contest back in 1966 and adding the ARRL Phone and CW DX Contests and CQ WPX Phone and CW Contests along the way. We believe Scott is the only person to have achieved this distinction. Congratulations, Scott! Second, this was yet another record-setting year for numbers of logs submitted, despite the ongoing solar minimum, breaking the 10,000-log mark for the first time in any ham radio contest. Finally, for the first time in more than two decades, more CW logs than SSB logs were submitted for the 2008 CQWW. Now, here are the very top scorers: High Power - 3V8BB; Low Power - P40Q (K0DQ, op); QRP - TI5N (N0KE, op); Assisted - 5B4AII (RW3QC, op); Multi-Single -PJ4A; Multi-Two - D4C; Multi-Multi - HC8N. Congratulations to all! We've also got the rules for the 2009 CQ WW DX Contest (available here on our website as well). Remember, the 2009 CQWW marks the first year of the new "Xtreme" Class, promoting technically innovative operations that may not have fit within the traditional contest categories.

The September issue continues with Part 2 of our Dayton "Sunday Safari" report on new products introduced at the Hamvention®, penned again by New Products Editor Anthony Luscre, K8ZT.

Among our columns this month, "Washington Readout" editor Fred Maia, W5YI, profiles the FCC's three new commissioners, Chairman Julius Genachowski and Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Meredith Attwell Baker. "Math's Notes" editor Irwin Math, WA2NDM, checks out some summer reading and shows you how to build a "coherer," a staple of early radio receivers; Public Service Editor Richard Fisher, KI6SN, reports on the rebirth of packet radio as part of New York's statewide ham radio emergency communications network. On the topic of emergency communications, this month's "Weekender," by Robert Kenyon, K8LJ and Seven Katz, N8WL, suggests a weekend project to build a bunch of DC power patch cords to make sure virtually any piece of gear can be attached to 12 volts via the common Anderson PowerPole™ connector.

"World of Ideas" editor Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, looks at "Wild and Wacky Keys," "Kids' Korner" editor Brittany Decker, KB1OGL, introduces us to three young leaders in ham radio (in addition to Young Ham of the Year KE5GDB); and Antennas Editor Kent Britain, WA5VJB, teams up with Contributing Editor Gordon West, WB6NOA, to jointly review the Super Antennas YP-3 Six-Band (or is it Seven?) Yagi.

September's "How it Works" column, by K4TWJ, begins a multi-part series on "HF'n With Class on a Budget;" Beginner's Editor Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ, looks at electrical interference and your station, and "VHF-Plus" editor Joe Lynch, N6CL, reports on "The 3-Milliwatt Signal Heard Around the World."

DX Editor Carl Smith, N4AA, compares DX magazine's "most wanted" lists from 1988 and 2008, to see how things have changed in 20 years; and Awards Editor Ted Melinosky, K1BV, focuses on the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group's 50th anniversary award series for contacts made using RTTY or other digital modes. Contesting Editor John Dorr, K1AR, pours himself an extra cup of coffee and writes about staying awake during contests, and Propagation Editor Tomas Hood, NW7US, wraps up the issue by commenting on highly-publicized speculation about the prolonged solar minimum.

That's a look at the upcoming September 2008 issue of CQ magazine, which should be on newsstands and in subscribers' mailboxes by late August. For information on becoming a CQ subscriber, click the "Click Here to Subscribe" button at the top of this page.

Zero Bias

Neil and Buzz,
Walter and Andrew

Corrections

Annual
CQ Contest Calendar

2009 CQ WW DX Contest