USS Wisconsin Radio Club Meeting - Noon - Saturday, 13 April 2019

[CARMEN DROGO]

                                           

Air Mail

	QST … QST … QST de N4WIS The USS Wisconsin Radio Club will hold its regular monthly meeting at Noon on Saturday, April 13th .  The Club meets the 2nd Saturday of each month at Gus and George’s Spaghetti & Steakhouse, 4312 Virginia Beach Boulevard in Virginia Beach. Thanks to all who participated in the Wisconsin QSO Party onboard BB-64  the weekend 9-10 March.  That’s right.  We were not IN Wisconsin.  We were ON the Wisconsin.  All three of our rigs were in operation.  Several  museum guests visited our shack during the QSO Party and observed our operations.  One of our contacts was with the American Legion in Indiana. It was their 100th birthday, and they were very pleased with the USS Wisconsin contact.  The station under the control of Ed KW4GF worked a continuous stream of contacts, all logged with the radio information and the contact station’s QRZ information.  All went smoothly with the logs from February and March exported to Ed at his home QTH for processing. John WB3AYG will update the membership on the ongoing computer upgrades in our onboard shack.  Both Steven Griggs KC4CAW and Will Calnan KM4VLO have been instrumental in this task, as well, and they will be at the meeting.  A dedicated terminal for the WWII-vintage TCS station running the ACLog program on the common network and database was installed.  An existing VGA monitor was used to display the output of an Intel USB “stick” computer running Windows 10.  John, Steven, and Will are available to answer your questions.   I hope you were also active in the Virginia QSO Party and the QCWA QSO Party.  These events are an excellent way to sharpen your operating skills.  Our next onboard event is a remarkable opportunity.  In cooperation with Nauticus, we will operate a special event station on 16 April from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM EDT (1400 to 2030 UTC) in conjunction with the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the first commissioning of the USS Wisconsin. Another reason to celebrate is this is the day after tax day.  Operators are needed.  Please contact Butch KE4AZL or Ed KN4KL to coordinate as usual.  We have already registered with the USS New Jersey Amateur Radio Club to participate, once again, in Museum Ships On The Air (MSOTA).  More than 100 ships are involved during the weekend of 1-2 June.  Please mark your calendars. Our club has received a generous donation of a very unique item of historic gear - a World War II Vibroplex “bug” keyer which will be proudly displayed onboard the Wisconsin to be used for CW demonstrations when guests visit us.  See photo at left above.  How many adjustment knobs do you count? This bit of kit was also designated as the J-36 by the U.S. Signal Corps.  This particular bug is confirmed to have  actually been used in WWII aboard Navy aircraft.  Imagine trying to send CW while flying in wartime! We have heard from someone with a very special connection to the USS Wisconsin.   Carl Lamb, ex-W4RHS - that’s him in the center photograph, in Navy uniform - is a veteran of WWII, but the connection comes later.  During 1990-1991, Carl was Bi-Ordnance Director at NWS Charleston, SC. His team built a production facility that shipped 16” shells to the Iowa-Class battleships, including Wisconsin, during Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf.  During WWII,  Carl was a Radioman onboard a PBY - also known as the “Catalina” amphibious aircraft (seaplane).  See photo at right.   Ed KN4KL and I plan to visit Carey Brown KT4P on Thursday morning.  Back in June 2000, Carey was a founder of the USS Wisconsin Radio Club, and as such, is a “plank owner.”  We will be presenting him with a frame certificate in appreciation of his support over the years.  See this web page honoring our club’s founders:  CLICK HERE.   2019 dues are now past due, so if you have not paid, you did not receive this email - except that you are reading it, so you must have paid and for that we are grateful.  That will all make sense, if you just come to the meeting. 73 Bill, N3WM President