AmateurRadio.com

As you all know, I am a big Elecraft fan. I’ve built and used a K1, a K2, and a K3.  I now own two KX3s. That said, I don’t consider myself to be an Elecraft sycophant.  Heck, I’ll be the first to admit that I did my share of public grousing and fuming back when I was waiting for my beloved KX3 to arrive!  And I am anxiously, but patiently awaiting the arrival of my KXPA100 – this time minus the grousing and fuming. No company is perfect, including the one owned by Eric and Wayne.  They’ve made their share of missteps regarding announced shipping dates of new product. The fact that we Hams are a tough audience at times, also makes things difficult.  They want to satisfy us, and one could be generous and posit that they’ve been guilty of being overly optimistic at times.

However, when it comes to customer service, Elecraft stands head and shoulders among the pack.  Get a load of this sequence of e-mails that appeared on the Elecraft e-mail reflector yesterday. This floored me when I first saw it:

First, from Mitch KD5EYN:

Hi All, 

Love the KX3, and I did not think I had a problem before, but now realize that I do. I increased the height of my dipole and lengthened the feedline to locate the KX3 into my shack. Now the AM broadcast station KOMA 1520 5 miles from my QTH comes through on virtually all bands. I have tried most settings, it is minimal with the preamps all off, but that renders some of the functionality much reduced. A friend has loaned me his IC-756 and it works flawlessly. I realize two different intended radio uses; however the KX3 is my only rig. Therefore I am considering selling it so I can purchase a non-QRP rig to function better for the bulk of my use. 

I have the ATU & battery charger as well as very nice Samsung NiMh cells in the radio. It would come with the PC cable kit and the headphone/mic that was purchased off ebay. I have worked stations all over the world and received great reports. It is just not going to work as my only radio given the RF situation. So if anyone is interested, let me know. Contact me direct through KD5EYN@gmail, I love the SDR and the features as well as the small size. I am not willing on taking a big hit on the sale, but if you want a great radio at a reasonable price, lets talk. 


Mitch 
KD5EYN 

Here is Wayne’s response – one of the owners of the company, mind you!  An owner who actually keeps an eye on, and reads messages posted in just one of the various Elecraft e-mail reflectors.

Mitch,

Sorry to hear about the AM station so close to home. Ouch. 

Two things you may not have tried: (1) RX SHFT = 8.0, and (2) a broadcast-band filter external to the radio. We could easily design a notch filter for you that would take it out. If you’re interested, let me know. (No charge.)

73,
Wayne
N6KR

Now in turn, a little bit more detail from Mitch:

Hi Wayne, 


I have tried the shift and it helps a bit, but the signals are still present; with the preamp at 30db the audio is as if I am tuned to the station. On lower preamp settings it sounds a lot like loud static crashes. I finally realized the problem to its fullest extent when I set an AM radio at low volume where I could hear the programming relative to the noise on the KX3 audio – and BINGO. I have considered a filter, and have not completely ruled it out. But without trying one, I don’t know how much it might effect the receive capability. So sure, I’d love to have one to try and will gladly return it if it does not work. Also, I have really enjoyed the dual receive in split operations, and as I understand the shift negates that function at the moment. But I’m sure open to the filter. What more info do you need? Should I submit a support request? 


Thanks, 
Mitch 
KD5EYN 

Answer from Wayne:

Hi Mitch,

We’ll have the filter designed by tomorrow and enroute by Christmas. It’ll actually be a high-pass with a cutoff of 1750 kHz, built into a W2 sensor box.

73,
Wayne
N6KR

Oh my!  And for those of you in this hobby long enough, do you remember Heathkit’s famous tag line? “We will not let you fail.”? THIS is that philosophy brought to new heights.  You have to consider that sometimes, when a company makes a mistake, it can be due to unforeseen problems with suppliers, unforeseen problems with other 3rd party vendors, and sometimes problems of their own making. But when an owner of a company can and does make a difference for one of their customers?

Wow, Elecraft, wow!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

Christmas Eve dawned, bright and sunny. George and Davy took the money that the club had donated, and went out to buy gifts for the adults that would be attending the Christmas Eve dinner at the soup kitchen. They bought nothing extravagant. But they did come back with plenty of toiletries, warm socks, hats and pairs of gloves, some cosmetics for the women. All basic necessities that a lot of these people could not afford to buy for themselves.

Donna started her day by visiting the Church. She knelt down and prayed before the manger scene that had been set up, “Lord, today is Christmas Eve, and tonight we’re going to try and take care of some of the least of your people.  You know what I had planned and You also know what happened to those plans.  I’m really worried about tonight, Lord.  I know that Jason, Davy and his radio friends have promised to help, but I am worried that not having done anything like this before, that they’re in way over their heads. I am worried there will not be enough, and that these folks will come and be disappointed.  But I am going to lay this before you, Lord.  I trust that You will bring it all to a good end, but I could sure use a Christmas miracle”

The day flew by quickly, and Davy, Jason and Jimmy met Donna and Maria at the soup kitchen at 2:00 PM sharp. They began warming up the food that was to be served that evening.  On the menu was a traditional Christmas dinner of roasted turkey (donated by a local restaurant – the owner was a close friend of Chuck  WB2MSV)  along with sweet potatoes, dressing, cranberry sauce, peas and carrots, pumpkin and apple pies and ice cream.

“So Jason, where are all these helpers you promised?” Donna asked.

Davy answered for his father. “Don’t worry Mrs. Pescarelli, they’ll all be here.”

Then as if on cue, a caravan of car after car after car pulled into the parking lot. Hams, their wives and their children came, bearing cookies, desserts, toys for the kids, and coats – warm winter coats. Another one of Chuck’s friends from a local thrift shop had provided donated coats for kids, coats for adults…coats for anyone who needed one. Some of the coats were never used and still had their store tags on them.  Donna was overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity. By the time everything was collected to be handed out, she realized that she now had two or three times the amount that was stolen.

True to fashion, the Radio Amateurs jumped in and took over. Not only did they help to finish setting up,  but they rolled up their sleeves and stayed to help to with preparing the food. They welcomed the guests and served dinner. Afterwards, yet another TCARC club member, Charlie N2LHD, came dressed as Santa, and handed out the toys to the kids. There were enough presents so that each child got not just one, but two or three things that were on their lists. In addition, the Ham’s wives, or XYLs, as they were affectionately known, went to each adult and handed out bags containing home made cookies, socks, toiletries, and other personal items. Anyone who needed or wanted a new coat, hat, or gloves was welcomed to a side room where they could pick out their size from the donated items.

For several hours, there was merriment and joy in the air as food was eaten, gifts were opened, fellowship was enjoyed and Christmas Carols were sung. As the St. Nicholas Soup Kitchen Christmas party was winding down, Donna went up to Santa to thank him.

“Don’t thank me, Ma’am” Charlie explained. “If anyone deserves thanks, it’s George, Davy and Jimmy, and our Club President, Chuck Phillips.  They are the ones who pulled this off.”

Chuck WB2MSV started talking with Donna, “You see Ma’am, we Hams have a favorite saying that we’re ready for “When all else fails.” George, Davy and Jimmy explained your situation to us at our last club meeting, and it sure looked to us like you had a real emergency on your hands. Well, we Hams seem to do our best when the chips are down, and we weren’t about to stand by when you needed help the most. We might not have been responding to a blackout or a storm, but the chance to save Christmas for a bunch of good folks was more than we could pass up. And besides, isn’t this the time of year for giving?”

Donna answered by giving Chuck, Charlie, Jason, George, Davy and Jimmy a great big hug. “You are all wonderful in my book. When we were robbed, it really threw me.  I just about lost all my faith that people would still do good things these days. But I took Jason’s advice and said a prayer to ask God for a Christmas miracle. It looks like He gave me one, along with a bunch of Christmas radio angels,  And believe me, both I and these people sorely needed you. God bless you all .. and Merry Christmas!”

As they were leaving the building and heading for home, a light snow began to fall.  As they were walking to their car, Jason looked at Davy and said, “C’mon over here, Bud”.

“What’s up, Dad?” Davy asked.

His father gave him a big hug. “You’re not too old for one of these from your Old Man, are you?”

“Never, Dad” Davy replied, grinning.

“Davy, I just want you to know how proud of you I am. You’re turning into quite the young man.”

“Thanks, Dad. Merry Christmas. Let’s go home”.

“Sounds good to me. Merry Christmas, Davy”

The End

Author’s Note – some of the names and some of the call signs used in this story are actual names and calls of some of the finest Hams I have had the privilege to know, and who are now Silent Keys. One or two of the calls may have been re-issued through the Vanity Call Sign Program, but being remembered here in a special way are the original holders:

Chuck Phillips WB2MSV
Charlie Laterra N2LHD
Mark Rosenwald N2EBA
Julius Kardos WV2O
George Miller K2FD
Norm Bendel KB2SBB

These gentlemen listed above were selfless to a fault and would give you the shirt off  their backs, if they saw the need. Had the circumstances of this story been real, these gentlemen would have been first in line to lend a helping hand.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

The following evening, the meeting of the Twin Counties Amateur Radio Club promptly started on time. Chuck Phillips WB2MSV, the TCARC President, called the meeting to order,  The club members were antsy and eager to get the business portion of the meeting done with, so that the festivities could begin.

“OK, before we adjourn and go to the party matters at hand, is there any new business to discuss?” Chuck asked.

George Mason raised his hand, and immediately you could hear a few groans.  “What is it now, George?” Julius WV2O yelled from the back of the crowded room.

“You just hold your horses, Jules” Chuck admonished. “George has the floor.  We’ll get to the pizza soon enough. They’re not even here yet, anyways!”  Everybody had a good laugh at that one.

George got up before the assembly, and with Davy and Jimmy’s help, explained what had happened over at the soup kitchen.

Someone from the back spoke up,”Well George, Davy, Jimmy, that sure is a stroke of tough luck,  I feel bad and all, but what can we do about it?”

That’s when George spelled out his plan.  “Look guys, I know it’s close to Christmas, and that a lot of you are tapped out.  But these folks have it a lot worse than we do. We all have warm houses, plenty of food and warm clothes on our backs. We all have shacks filled with radio gear, some of it pretty darned expensive! Most of the folks who go to this soup kitchen have very little or next to nothing.  We’re fortunate enough to have family and friends to rely on.  These folks have no one.

C’mon fellas – we’re supposed to be known for serving the public, right?  A hurricane, a blizzard, a search and rescue or some other crisis comes up and we’re all there with our radios, waiting and ready to help out. This is really no different, when you think about it.  This is a man made disaster instead of a natural one, that’s all.  You guys have come through in the clutch so many times before, that I can’t even count them all. I can’t believe that you’d just let this one pass us by”.

The room went silent.  Then Norm KB2SBB chimed in from the right side of the room, “I’ve had my share of tough times.  When I lost my job after we were first married, Martha and I really struggled. It looked pretty bleak for a long time, so I know what these people are going through. I move that we donate $200 from the Club Treasury AND donate tonight’s proceeds from the 50/50 to the soup kitchen. Anybody want to second that?”

George K2FD stuck his hand up. “I’ll second that in a heartbeat.  And on top of that, here’s 25 bucks of my own”.  He handed N2EBA the cash.  Then he said, “C’mon guys, there weren’t all that many kids on the list that George and Davy and Jimmy mentioned.  I think there were like twenty or so?  How about if we each get one of those kids a gift and bring them to that Christmas Eve party?” By the time the Club Christmas party refreshments had arrived, all the children’s gift purchases were accounted for. In addition, someone actually passed a hat around and about $500 had been donated if you included the official club donations. Davy gave all the members of the Club the details about the Soup Kitchen Christmas Eve party. All the guys insisted on being there and agreed to assemble at the appointed time.  As they were leaving, Chuck pulled George over on the side and  the two were discussing something in a low voice. George’s eyes lit up and a smile about a mile wide appeared on his face.

Later that night, when George Mason dropped Jimmy off at home, they both excitedly told Jason what had happened.  Jason couldn’t believe his ears. He immediately called Donna Pescarelli, and without giving too many details, told her not to worry, that all was being taken care of.

“Jason are you sure about all of this?” Donna asked, just a bit skeptically.  She wasn’t exactly filled with her usual Christmas spirit ever since the burglary.

“Donna, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past year, it’s not to doubt Davy, Jimmy, George or any of their Amateur Radio buddies. Look Donna, you were Abby’s best friend. You always trusted her. You can trust me and Davy, too. Oh, and by the way, tell all your regular volunteers to take Christmas Eve off, and spend it with their families. They deserve it. Davy’s Amateur Radio Club promised to cover the whole shebang.”

Donna was incredulous. “I don’t know what to say!”

Jason answered, “Then don’t say anything, just be at the kitchen early on Christmas Eve. We’ll all meet you there.”

To be concluded tomorrow …….

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

And so they went, down the line of children.  After they were done, everyone left, but not before Donna had made sure that all the people who were there knew when to return on Christmas Eve for dinner.  There would be not only food, but also a huge Christmas tree complete with presents for all the kids.  Then the crew of volunteers tore everything down and cleaned everything up.  They all bid each other a good night and all agreed that they would be back for the big Christmas Eve party.

The next few weeks went by and they were busy ones.  Christmas shopping, decorating, school and work kept everyone at that all too familiar, hectic December pace.  Time seemed to evaporate. It was the week before Christmas, on a Monday evening when Jason Bolton received a frantic phone call from Donna Pescarelli.

“Donna… calm down!”, Jason said. “What’s the matter?  You’re so frantic that I can’t make out what you’re trying to say”.

“Oh Jason, I don’t know what to do!” Donna was half talking, half sobbing.  “I’m at the soup kitchen right now.  I bought a big tree for the Christmas Eve party, and was going to decorate it. When I got here, I found that someone has broken into the place. All the toys we had bought for those children…gone!  All the gifts for the parents… gone!  What am I going to do?”

“Did you call the police?” Jason asked her.

“No, not yet.” Donna told him.

“I’ll be right there. Get back to your car immediately and lock yourself in. Whoever broke in might still be close by.  I’ll call the police. Don’t get out of your car until I get there or the police do”.

Jason yelled for Davy to come downstairs. “Geez, what happened Dad? You sound pretty upset. Not anything I did, I hope?” Davy asked.  Jason quickly explained to his son what happened. he told him that he was headed over to the soup kitchen to meet Mrs. Pescarelli and that he would be back later. Davy was shocked, “Aww man! Who would do something so nasty, so close to Christmas?”

Jason answered, “I don’t know son, somebody desperate, I guess. But this really puts us in a bind. All those gifts were bought with money donated by our Church.  I don’t think there’s enough left to buy replacements. Anyway, I’ll be back in a while. I have my keys and I’ll let myself in. Go to bed your normal time, tomorrow is a school day. I don’t want to come home and find you still up, trying to work some Ham somewhere on the other side of the world!”.

“I won’t Dad, I promise.  Give my best to Mrs Pescarelli”.

By the time Jason got there, the police had arrived.  Unfortunately, the burglar had plied his trade all too well. He got in and out quickly, and without leaving a clue.  Even though it was a forced entry, the police were able to tell that whoever it was knew exactly what he was doing.

“Probably someone looking for money for drugs, Ma’am.” the police officer had told Donna. “Unfortunately, there’s too much of that kind of thing going on around the neighborhood here.  Even with all the patrolling we do, it’s hard to stop it all.  There are some “usual suspects” that we can question, but I’m afraid your stuff has probably already been fenced for drug money by now”.

After the police left, Donna sat there in disbelief. “Jason, what am I going to do now? Those kids were counting on me. I don’t want to add another disappointment to their lives.”

Jason was a shocked as Donna was. “I don’t know Donna.  I’ll start looking around to see if we can get some local businesses to donate replacements.  It’s going to be tough, though. Time is tight and so are people’s budgets.  But you know what?  Say a prayer and trust in God.  Something good will come out of this…yet”.

Jason got home earlier than expected.  Davy was still up, and they talked the situation over in the kitchen over some mugs of hot cocoa.  “I don’t know what we’re going to do, Davy.  Christmas is next week and time is running out.  I seriously doubt the church is going to have enough left over to replace what we lost.”

The two sat there, trying to work the problem out,  Then suddenly, Davy got an inspiration.  “Dad,  I think I might have the answer. The Twin Counties Amateur Radio Club is meeting tomorrow night. After dinner, I’m going to the meeting with Mr. Mason. Let’s see if him and I can’t get a bunch of the guys to do something about this.”

“I don’t know Davy …..” Jason began to say.

“Dad, it’s the annual club Christmas party tomorrow night.  This is a great bunch of Hams, even if they are all older than me and Jimmy.  A lot of the guys like to come off as grumpy old men, but you know what? Underneath their gruff exteriors, they’re the best! And besides, Christmas is the time for miracles, right?  I’ve got to call Mr. Mason, right now before I go to bed and let him know what’s happened.”

Davy called George and let him know what had happened down at the soup kitchen.  At first, George was as shocked as Donna, Davy and Jason.  But then, some of that ol’ Ham “can do” spirit surfaced and George ended the call by telling Davy not to worry about a thing.

To be continued …….

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

“Hi Mr. Bolton, Hi Davy!” “Mr. Bolton, thanks for bringing me along!” offered Jimmy.

“Anytime, Jim, always glad to have you along.” Davy’s dad replied.  “How’s your Dad doing?”

“He’s doing fine, Mr. Bolton.  His new job has him traveling a lot, but he’s doing so well that Mom is able to stay home and take care of the house and all.  So thanks for giving me a lift to the soup kitchen while he’s away.”

“No problem, Jim. You know you’re part of our family, too.  You’re welcome to hitch a ride with us anytime”.

Soon the three of them were there.  They were warmly greeted by Donna Pescarelli and her daughter Maria.  Donna, who oversaw the running of the soup kitchen, had been a good friend of Davy’s Mom, Abby.  She new Jason and Davy well, and was glad to see them and Jimmy.  In fact, Davy, Jimmy and Maria were all classmates at Christ the King School.

After signing in on the Volunteer Roster, they immediately went to work.  After securing their coats and radios in a locked closet, Jimmy and Davy began setting up tables in the church basement that served as the soup kitchen.  While they were busy doing that, Jason got busy transferring trays of food from the refrigerators in the kitchen to the oven to warm up.  Today the volunteers would be serving chicken, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables to all the incoming customers.  There would be coffee for the adults and lemonade for the children. Also, there would be hot chocolate and dessert to anyone who wanted it. It would be a very good and warm meal on a cold and blustery December Sunday for some folks who had to deal with not having much of anything. Donna had thought to provide enough food so that the people could take home containers full of “seconds” if they wanted to.

The dinner went smoothly. People filed in, signed in, and were seated. After receiving a fresh fruit cup, they were treated to a roasted chicken dinner. Afterward,  they were given dessert.  Normally the people would begin to leave after that, but at 4:00 PM, Davy and Jimmy announced for everyone to sit back and relax.  The duo got out their hand held radios and “explained” how they were going to use their Ham radios to contact Santa at the North Pole.  The little kids in the crowd were excited, scared and awed all at the same time. The chance to talk to Santa one-on-one was something they didn’t want to miss.  Most of the parents were leery, knowing they didn’t have enough to fulfill their children’s wishes. But Donna Pescarelli had quietly assured them all, that come the special dinner being held on Christmas Eve, each child would receive a very nice and special gift from their list.  Jimmy turned on his HT and started things off, while Davy got the kids who wanted to talk to Santa, in an orderly line.  There were about a couple dozen in all.

“Santa N2EBA, Santa N2EBA, this is Jim Stapleton KD2PGB calling from Springdale. Do you copy? Over”.

George and Davy and Jimmy had this all worked out.  In addition to turning off the courtesy beep of the repeater, George has a recording of a shortwave heterodyne playing softly in the background, so it would sound more “realistic” like when a shortwave radio was being tuned in an old time movie.

“KD2PGB, KD2PGB, this is Santa N2EBA calling you from the North Pole!  Hello Jimmy and Ho, Ho, Ho!  Is everybody getting ready for Christmas in Springdale?”

When the little ones heard Santa, their eyes went wide as saucers.  One of the little boys in the line was heard to say that since this was radio, this just had to be the real Santa, and “not like those fake ones at the mall!”.

The first girl in line was named Karen. So Jimmy started with her. “Karen, do you want to talk to Santa?” he asked.  She appeared a little frightened by it all, but nodded her head “yes”, so Jimmy really got into it.

“Santa, the first little girl that wants to talk to you is Karen” Jimmy then told Karen that he would hold the radio and would push the button and indicated to her where to speak.

“Ho, Ho, Ho” bellowed out George, in his best Santa imitation. “So Karen, have you been a good little girl this year?  What would you like Santa to bring you for Christmas?”

Karen had no problems with her answer,”Yes, Santa, I’ve been a very good girl this year. I listen to my Mommy and I try not to argue too much with my big sister. I would like a Barbie doll and a telescope for Christmas this year, pretty please?”

Santa answered, “Well Karen, I’m glad that you’ve been a good girl. I’ll do my best to get those to you under the tree for Christmas”.

Little Karen couldn’t contain herself, but her Mom was obviously worried.  She went up to Donna and told her that things were so tight, that she doubted they would have a Christmas tree at home this year, let alone presents.  Donna put her at ease.  “You just make sure to come back here for dinner on Christmas Eve, OK?  Do you see that man over there?” Donna had pointed at Jason.  “He’s taking note of what all the kids tell Santa that they want. We’re going to do our best to make sure that at least one thing that they ask for will be here waiting for them”.  Karen’s Mom turned to leave with tears in her eyes. “God bless you folks” she said, ‘Maybe we’ll have a nice Christmas after all”.

To be continued …….

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the least!

“Davy, are you ready? We’re going to be late!”

Jason Bolton had to resort to hollering up to his son, who was up in his room.

“In a sec, Dad!  Just trying to work this 9L in Sierra Leone. The pileup is way humongous!”

His Dad answered, “Turn the radio off for now, son. We have to get going, now!  We promised we’d be at the soup kitchen in twenty minutes.”

One Sunday each month, Jason and Davy had been volunteering at a community soup kitchen at St. Nicholas parish in Springdale, which was the next town over from them.  Davy was going to receive his Confirmation the following Spring, and part of his preparation was community service.  Twenty hours of service between the end of October and the beginning of next May were mandatory.  Jason didn’t mind, he actually enjoyed it and he felt it was good for his son to help tend to the needs of those who were less fortunate than they were.  Davy didn’t mind either, except that it did eat into the time he spent on his radio.

Amateur Radio was David Bolton’s hobby – no, it was more like his passion. Ever since their neighbor, George Mason N2EBA had tutored Davy in the ways of Amateur Radio, he had taken to the art of radio like a fish takes to water.  And it turned out that Davy, call sign KD2PGA, was a natural.  Not only was he a superb operator at the tender age of 13, but he had also developed a keen sense of the electronics and the technology behind his hobby.  He and his best buddy, Jim Stapleton KD2PGB had been George Mason’s prized students, and their learning did not stop when they earned their “tickets”.  They both showed signs of having “The Knack” and both looked forward to possible future careers related to electronics and technology.

Davy came bounding down the stairs, “All ready to go, Dad!”, he exclaimed.

“I don’t think so, Bud. Aren’t you forgetting something?”

He looked at his father with a confused look on his face. “Forgetting something?  I don’t think so, I have my 2 meter handheld and the food we’re serving is already there, no?”

“Look down, Davy – look down”, his father chided.

“Oh my gosh, my sneakers!”, Davy gasped.

“Yes son, it’s a bit too cold to be heading out on a December Sunday in your stocking feet.  Sometimes, I think you leave a little bit of your head inside that bedroom shack of yours!”, his father responded.

Davy’s shack was his pride and joy. He had been gifted with an Elecraft KX3 by his Dad and Mom last year at Christmas.  Davy’s Mom had passed away earlier that year, after a long fight with cancer, but she knew how much Davy had wanted that radio. And even though she knew how grave her condition was, and that she wouldn’t be with her son for Christmas, she had insisted that Jason purchase the radio early.  She had wanted her “last gift” to him to be as memorable as she could make it.  In addition to the commercial gear he owned, Davy had built up, or homebrewed, quite the set of station accessories, all with the help of George Mason, of course.  George and Jeannie Mason, the Bolton’s next door neighbors had become Davy’s adopted grandparents.  George and Jeannie looked after Jason, too.  They knew that raising a teenaged son alone wasn’t the easiest job in the world.

It seemed that when Davy wasn’t in school, he was on the radio.  He had completed his DXCC and Worked All States awards, and was going on to higher ground.  Even though he was strictly a QRP operator, low power didn’t seem to be a barrier to Davy.  Other Hams might consider KD2PGA to be just a little fish in the ocean of Amateur Radio operators, but he began chasing DX countries with the appetite and attitude of a shark.  His goal was to some day make DXCC Honor Roll using QRP power levels.  The fact that there were only one or two individuals to have done this before him did not deter him in the least.

All this was being done on the understanding that grades didn’t suffer.  Jason Bolton made it clear to his son that schoolwork came first and that there would be no exceptions.  As it turned out, he needn’t have worried. If anything, the discipline of learning a technical hobby was only helping school matters. Davy was proving himself to be a capable student and was keeping his grades at a high level.  He seemed to be as at home behind a history or math text as he was behind his radio gear.

Davy ran and put his shoes on, locked the front door and followed his Dad out to the car.  They were going to pick up Jimmy and then proceed on to the soup kitchen.

“You’ve worked out everything with Mr. Mason, right?” his father asked?

“Yeah, Dad.   Mr. Mason knows to be on the club repeater at 4:00 PM sharp.  That’s when I’ll put out a CQ to the North Pole”.

Davy and George had gotten permission from their local radio/repeater club, the Twin County Amateur Radio Club, to occupy the machine that afternoon.  All the club members agreed to let Davy and George allow the soup kitchen kids to talk with Santa at the North Pole that afternoon.  Davy and Jimmy were bringing their handhelds and George would be operating from home.  Jeannie Mason, George’s wife, even agreed to take on the role of Mrs. Claus for the afternoon, just in case there were kids that were too shy to talk to Santa.  She has a warm and friendly voice and a way about her that had succeeded in pulling children out of their shells in years past.

A few minutes later, Jimmy bounded into the Bolton’s Jeep and the threesome was headed to the soup kitchen.

To be continued …….

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

A new video (quite well done) that you may want to keep on hand for showing to those who have or are expressing a deisre to become an Radio Amateur.

First, here’s the link to the full version (which is a bit longer than what is embedded here):  http://youtu.be/ivUMIADFSDw

Next, from Jim W4QO considering the current “Buddies in the Caribbean” DXpedition to St. Lucia:

In order to step up the pace here in St. Lucia, if you (running QRP @5 cw/dig or 10 PEP SSB) work 3 of the 7 ops on the Buddies in the Caribbean DXpediton this week, you can earn the coveted BIC QRP certificate.  It’s not the Buddies who have to be running QRP – it’s YOU!  Many of us are running QRP
but some are not.

http://dx-world.net/2013/st-lucia-buddies-in-the-caribbean-dxpedition/

Sadly, Joe didn’t make it so you only have to work 3 of the other 7 using QRP to earn this valuable certificate.

We have worked many of you QRPers already so how hard can it be?  Find 3 of us on any band, any mode.

To find us, go to this easy link:

http://www.dxwatch.com/dxsd1/dxsd1.php?f=3647

The Buddies are the ones with a J6/ in front of their calls. There are still 3.5 more days to do this, so come on, work us!

Send a #10 envelope with SASE to W4QO at qrparci.org with a list of the 3 (or more) you worked.  If you work 5 or more, well, just wait and see what you get!!  🙂

If you worked J6/W4QO, then include your QSL card and get one in return.

73,

Budd, J68FF #6260
Chris, J6/W6HFP #15226
Rick, J6/AA4W #4046
Craig, J6/NM4T #8137
Jim, J6/W4QO #6515
John, J6/W5EXJ #15219
Jerry, J6/N9AW #6694

Lastly, I thought this announcement from the League regarding the Communications Act of 1934 was of interest:

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB033
ARLB033 Plans Announced to Update the Communications Act of 1934

ZCZC AG33
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 33  ARLB033
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  December 5, 2013
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB033
ARLB033 Plans Announced to Update the Communications Act of 1934

The US House Communications and Technology Subcommittee has announced plans for a multi-year effort to examine and update the Communications Act of 1934, the overarching law under which the FCC functions. The subcommittee, part of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee, is chaired by Oregon Republican Greg Walden, W7EQI. Walden and Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton of Michigan made the announcement December 3.

“Today we are launching a multi-year effort to examine our nation’s communications laws and update them for the Internet era,” Upton said in a news release. “The United States has been the global leader in innovation and growth of the Internet, but unfortunately, our communications laws have failed to keep pace.”

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, noted that the most recent significant update of the Communications Act was in 1996. “Under the leadership of Greg Walden, the subcommittee and its staff are well equipped to take up the challenge,” Sumner said. “The ARRL will be monitoring the work closely as it goes forward next year and beyond.”

The plan was made public via Google Hangout, where the committee leaders were joined by former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, who said he was “delighted” to learn of the update plans. Upton explained that the process, to start in 2014, will involve a series of white papers and hearings focusing on what might be done “to improve the laws surrounding the communications marketplace as well as a robust conversation utilizing all platforms of digital media.” He suggested a bill would be ready by 2015.

Walden said, “A lot has happened since the last update” and that the Communications Act is “now painfully out of date.” He pointed out that the Act, drafted during the Great Depression, was last updated “when 56 kilobits per second via dial-up modem was state of the art.”

Upton said, “We must ensure that our laws make sense for today but are also ready for the innovations of tomorrow.”

Walden said he wants to open the discussion to input from everyone. Interested parties may follow the plan’s progress via Twitter. “It’s important for people to have an opportunity to weigh in,” he said. “This is really a public process to get better public policy.”

Call me a pessimist, but I hope we’re not opening Pandora’s Box here.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!