[Ham-Computers] All Subscribers: Please Read

Sat Jun 18 20:07:28 EDT 2011

Although this is about finding an assistant web site manager, I am certain 
one of you can fill the bill with your many skills! Thanks guys.

            Happy Father's Day To Whom It Applies!

CQ, CQ, CQ. Hi All!

     The Fathers Day edition of the 20 meter Sunday
Hallicrafters Net will be held as normally scheduled. So be
there and be counted!

     Please join us and help us celebrate the memory of our
fathers, both past and present. As well as the memory of the
father of Hallicrafters, William Halligan, Sr., W9AC and
W4AK. Because this constitutes a Special Event, we will be
using the former first FCC issued call to Bill Halligan, and
our current HHI Club call, of W9WZE.

     Bill received the W9WZE call in the Spring of 1937.
As to just who issued the Amateur Radio call signs prior to
the FCC, there seems to be a great deal of uncertainty about.
Bill's first Amateur Radio call was 1UL. It was issued for
his home town of S. Boston, Mass in about 1913.

     It is said by those in the know, that Bill Halligan
received his first Amateur Radio license when he was fifteen
years of age. Since he was born on December 8, 1898, he would
have been fifteen on December 8, 1913. However, if he was
'not' licensed during the next twenty-three days, then he
would have been licensed sometime in 1914 prior to December
8th of that year.

QUESTION: Do any of you know for certain who issued Amateur
Radio call signs prior to the Federal Communications
Commission?

QUESTION: When did the FCC begin to issue Amateur Radio call
signs? The month, day, year - please.

     There will be a W9WZE QSL card available for anyone
checking into the Fathers Day Net that is interested. Please
be sure to tell the NCS that you would like to receive a
W9WZE QSL card so that your call sign is tagged!

     There will be some changes happening on Sunday June 19th
so please pay attention to the following!

     Because of the instability and unpredictability of the
propagation, the NCS will be directing the Mosley TA-33 at
different geographical areas at specific time periods. You
can check in at "any" time! You do not have to wait until his
directional antenna is pointed toward your call sign zone!

     Here is the tentative schedule for the geographical
coordinates.

1630 - 1645 UTC: (12:30 - 12:45 PM EDT). North to East.
1645 - 1700 UTC: (12:45 - 1:00 PM EDT). Southeast to South.
1700 - 1715 UTC: (1:00 - 1:15 PM EDT). South to Southwest
1715 - 1730 UTC: (1:15 - 1:30 PM EDT). Southwest to West.
1730 - 1745 UTC: (1:30 - 1:45 PM EDT). West - Northwest.
1745 - 1800 UTC: (1:45 - 2:00 PM EDT). Due South from 83W.

     This schedule is strictly an experimental test! It is
hoped to give those Hams in the CST, MST and PST time zones
more of an opportunity to check into the Hallicrafters Net.
Naturally not even the current NCS, known to be this worlds
only totally blind professional Magician/Illusionist, can
not prognosticate or cause perturbations in the dispersion of
solar particles from the jet stream, so it is still only a
calculated roll of the ethereal dice at best! Nevertheless,
hopefully the direction of the beam combined with the time
variations from zone to zone will enhance vintage radio
devotees chances of being able to check in. If this
first experimental test ends up director down and reflector
up in a puddle of pathetic propagation swamp gas, we will try
a different homebrew recipe! Meaning, your suggestions and
time tested tidbits of antenna wizardry will be greatly
appreciated!

QUESTION: Is there still a HHI Pre-Net?

ANSWER: No! Any station is welcome to check in whenever they
so desire. Propagation permitting! The usual preferential
protocol for mobile stations, aeronautical contacts etc. will
still be honored.

     Both the alternate NCS, KG4KZG, Dale Rubin of FL, and I
concur that it would be advantageous to have several relay
stations across the country operating during the Sunday HHI
20 meter Net. Perhaps one in the Northeast that can beam
Southwest and another in the Northwest that can beam
Southeast. This would give the primary NCS station in
Michigan, and the alternate NCS station in southern Florida,
four quadrant coverage with the added ears of the relay
stations.

     So gentlemen, how many of you Hallicrafters, and other
vintage rig operators - owners - lovers of those wonders that
still go glow in the dark, would be willing to volunteer your
time, skill and talents to help out?

     This could be done on an every other Sunday basis, if so
desired. That is, a station in Oregon could trade off with a
station in Washington, Montana, Utah or Idaho. The same could
be true for the relay station in the Northeast.

     There is also the possibility of me doing every other
Sunday NCS duties. After all, the old blind dude has been
sitting in this NCS chair since March 15, 1999! My rump is
getting friction blisters on top of the callouses and the
leather once on this rolling Ham Shack command chair is gone
like last weeks paycheck! I stopped counting how many
consecutive NCS sessions that I had done somewhere after I
hit eleven hundred+!

     So if any of you gentlemen would like to share the
glorious, well payed and perk loaded job of NCS with me,
please send me an e-mail. There is no doubt that many of you
are more then qualified to be an NCS and your assistance will
be appreciated by all involved.

     While I am asking for volunteers to help keep the
Hallicrafters glow glowing, let me ask again for volunteers
to assist managing the Hallicrafters web site. While the web
site is automated to a large extent, it still needs human
supervision. So if you have experience in web site
management, and possibly maintenance, "OR" are willing to
learn, please contact the HHI - Halligan's Hallicrafters
International Web Master W5JT, Jim Thayer.

webmaster at w9wze.net

     Jim is a very bright and talented individual and is
willing to teach you everything you would need to know to be
his assistant and/or possible replacement. Not that Jim is
packing his suitcase and getting ready to pilot one of his
vintage aircraft off to some lovely Caribbean island, but
having a ready to rock and roll backup web master is just a
smart thing to do.

     So if any of you would like to help out with NCS duties,
being a relay station for either the Saturday 40 meter Net or
the Sunday 20 meter Net, writing a restoration column for the
web site, preparing and posting photos on the web site, being
the right hand man for the HHI web site etc. then contact
either Jim, W5JT or myself, W8DBF.

webmaster at w9wze.net

netcontrol at w9wze.net

     Thank you for taking the time to read this rather
lengthy post. Making all the various wheels and cogs that
keep the Hallicrafters legend moving into the future turn
smoothly is a challenge. We need some of you talented Hams to
step up with an oil can and give some of the sluggish  wheels
and tired springs a little squirt of "move it or lose it!'
encouragement. We all benefit from the Nets, HHI web site and
more, and it takes whatever each of us can contribute to make
all that happens keep on happening.

     Thanks to all of you for your support, participation and
contributions over the past decade+. Let's keep the
Hallicrafters wonders that still go glow in the dark glowing
into the next century and a smile on Bill Halligan's face,
where ever he may be, up or out yonder.

Duane Fischer, W8DBF - WPE8CXO
E-Mail: dfischer at usol.com
Hallicrafters web site: www.w9wze.net
HHRP web site: hhrp.w9wze.net