[ADXA] because it's almost Veteran's Day...

Tue Nov 11 11:24:13 EST 2025

George,

Those phone patches were very important back then.   I never was in a place
to be able to participate, but I was N0YIQ in Navy MARS and then later was
AFB5IIS in AF MARS (base support)

Just yesterday, I got an email asking if I knew how to get a QSL from our
Japan club station KA2DX — from 1972.

73,
Dennis/RZ

On Tue, Nov 11, 2025 at 1:45 AM WB5JJJ <wb5jjj at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'll add a comment to Dennis' on military and Ham Radio.
>
> I was in-country Vietnam for 2 years (1966-1968).  Most of those mornings
> were spent in front of a new Collins S-Line and Henry 4K amplifier just
> above 20m, feeding a 3 element armstrong rotating beam right on the sandy
> beach at Cam Rahn Bay.   This was a Navy MARS station (N0EFN) running phone
> patches back to a Ham operator and a telephone operator in Seattle, both of
> whom I met on my final return to the States.  This was my first real taste
> of my future hobby, but it took another 4-5 years to actually get
> started.  Just recently, I was able to talk to the new "owner" of that call
> on the air.  He had no clue of its history.
>
> I could go on and on about my experiences with Navy MARS and all the
> cherished calls back home I was able to facilitate.  Some were very
> emotional, to say the least - both good and bad.
>
> BTW, that was NOT my regular job, I was just a volunteer for a few hours
> every morning.  I was assigned to maintain the electrical systems and
> generators for the massive Navy Communications Station there.  A whole
> other story as well.
>
> -----
>
> 73's
> George - WB5JJJ
> HoIP - 100105
> Cell - 479.857.7737
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 6:26 PM Dennis Schaefer <dennisw5rz at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I've had an "interesting" couple of months and I'll elaborate on that
>> later.  Also, I was very sorry to miss the ADXA bash, because it sounds
>> like a great meeting and you are my lifelong friends.  Since it is almost
>> veteran's day, though, I was thinking about my time in the service.  A few
>> interesting things happened along the way, one of which involved ham
>> radio.
>>
>> ******************************************************************
>>
>> DX'ing with a MRC-108
>>
>>
>> In 1971, I was in the U.S. Air Force.  I was stationed at Bergstrom AFB
>> near Austin, TX.  Our unit was a tactical communications outfit and we
>> were on mobility status for immediate deployment anywhere in the world.  I
>> think I had shots for every disease known to man.
>>
>>
>>
>> Our exercises were way out in the country, and this led to an interesting
>> experience.  We set up our TRC-97A troposcatter microwave rig in a cow
>> pasture 30 miles from the base, in a place that required going through
>> several locked farm gates to get to.  A lieutenant in a jeep arrived at
>> our site and asked for me.  He had heard that I was an all-around smart
>> fellow and also a ham radio operator.  Well, at least the part about me
>> being a ham radio operator was true!
>>
>>
>>
>> One of the men at a site nearby started having chest pains and thought he
>> was having a heart attack.  Even though we had millions worth of comm
>> gear, no one at the base was monitoring any frequency we could transmit on
>> and no other military units could be reached.  Because of the distance
>> and the number of locked gates, the commander felt that driving him out was
>> not the best option.  He wanted the rescue helicopter at the base put on
>> standby.   We had a few Forward Air Controllers with us and they
>> operated VHF/HF radios from jeeps.  The HF equipment covered all HF
>> frequencies, so I tuned around 75 meters, and found a strong signal from
>> North Carolina.  I got him to call the base and relay our needs, and
>> then he stood by for any futher requests.
>>
>>
>>
>> Fortunately, the airman’s condition improved before the helicopter was
>> dispatched on the hazardous night mission.  If he had gone critical, ham
>> radio could have potentially saved his life.  Our squadron commander was
>> amazed at how this worked and sent the ham a nice letter of commendation.
>>
>>
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Dennis, W5RZ
>>
>> *********************************
>>
>> I know others in the group have had more harrowing experiences, and have
>> heard those "shots fired in anger".   Saying "thank you for your service"
>> always sounds a little trite,  I usually say something like "thanks for
>> going there so I didn't have to".
>>
>>
>>
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