[QCWA] Morse Article

[ve6afo at rac.ca]

Well Curt - I think this time the NYTimes have the correct facts. See attached 
article, especially the 7th paragraph.

73,

Ken Oelke - VE6AFO
****************************************************************

W6YX: The Stanford Amateur Radio Club

As Stanford University celebrates its 100th year, the Stanford Amateur Radio 
Club is celebrating its 67th year of operation. Rumor has it that the Stanford 
Amateur Radio Club was founded on a dark and dreary day in 1922. The truth of 
this rumor cannot be ascertained, as records containing the club's history 
have mysteriously disappeared. It is certain, however, that a "Stanford 
University Radio Club" became affiliated with the American Radio Relay League 
(ARRL) on March 8, 1924. In the twenties, the club's unique callsign was 6YX, 
which was changed circa 1927-28 to W6YX, a designation which it retains today. 
The change was undoubtedly made in order to accommodate the great number of 
people joining the hobby affectionately known as "ham radio."

One ham, William Wells, 6AEG, remembered the club's formative years: "We had a 
regular schedule at around 3-4 a.m, Pacific time, with a ham in central 
Rhodesia, South Africa. Did excellent two-way CW DX for over an hour until 
ionosphere conditions became unfavorable again. No wonder I barely got by in 
Prof. Terman's newly introduced radio course!"

The equipment used to make these contacts was described by another ham, George 
Watson, K6WL: "The 'shack' (fall quarter, winter quarter 1929; spring quarter 
1930) was right near the fire station. I don't remember what kind of antenna, 
but probably was a vertical, with counterpoise... CW (code) was the only means 
by which 'intelligence' got outside the club's doors. Believe a mercury vapor 
rectifier tube got the AC out, and think a 50 watt UV 203-A was the 'final'. 
(There was nil else, of course -- just the exciter). Circuit used was a tuned 
plate tuned grid affair, using copper tubing in the tank circuit. The receiver 
was, I believe some sort of 'National'; regeneration with a stage of audio 
amplification."

Over the years, the Stanford Amateur Radio Club has gone through periods of 
growth and periods of dormancy. Orin Levis, W6DZK, notes that "When I arrived 
on campus, Oct. 1929 (Soph. transfer), W6YX was dormant. I got OK from Dr. 
Fred Terman and put station back on the air. Also started Radio Club up again 
and had QSL cards printed. We enjoyed CW schedules to Long Beach while I was 
in school. The last year (1932) we had to move station from 2nd floor of 
Machinery Hall to a room in Corporation Yard. I put up a new Zepp antenna from 
roof to smoke stack. Transmitter was a self-excited TPTG, using 852 tube. Dr. 
Terman talked to the club once or twice, but mostly the club existed to 
justify having a ham shack... There was some other, more sophisticated rack-
and-panel gear at the University, but it was not available to the undergrads, 
so the old TPTG did the job."

Frederick Terman's name stands out prominently in the memories of these hams. 
Dr. Terman was a true pioneer of amateur radio, who received his first ham 
license in 1916. A freshman at Stanford in 1917, before the founding of W6YX, 
Terman was nonetheless an active ham, operating under various callsigns and 
contacting stations as far away as Denver. W6YX dedicated their 50th 
anniversary directory to Dr. Terman, noting that,"Always a staunch friend of 
the Radio Club, he elected to remain in the background. But without his 
unfailing support and encouragement, the Club might easily have disappeared. 
For example, he made possible the separate building behind the Ryan 
Laboratory. And on more than one occasion, vacuum tubes which he acquired 
as "samples" during trips around the country to gather material for his 
textbooks, found their way into W6YX transmitters..." Dr. Terman was an 
authority on radio engineering, author of two of the most-used textbooks on 
the subject, Radio Engineering and The Radio Engineer's Handbook.

Another pioneering amateur who supported the Stanford Amateur Radio Club was 
Dr. O.G. Villard, Jr., who for many years served as the club's Trustee. Dr. 
Villard experimented with many modes of radio operation, often using the 
equipment at W6YX to test his theories. He published papers on "A Deluxe Multi-
band V.F.O. Exciter," "Overmodulation Splatter Suppression," "Meteor Detection 
by Amateur Radio," and "Single Sideband Operating Tests," all based on his 
experience at W6YX. The ARRL 1985 Operating Handbook notes that "On September 
31, 1947, Oswald G. Villard, W6QYT, operating W6YX, worked Winfield G. 
Wagener, W6VQD on the 75-meter band. The SSB [single side-band] era had 
begun." This was the first amateur single-sideband transmission, and it was 
made from the club station. SSB is still one of the most used modes of HF 
operation.

Over the years, W6YX has located its "shack" at various sites around campus. 
They began operations near the old Fire House, moved in 1930 to the second 
floor of the Machinery Lab, then, 1938, to the basement of the Ryan High 
Voltage Lab and, in 1940, to a shack on Frenchman's Hill south of Ryan. That 
shack was replaced by a portable building in 1947. Currently, the club 
operates out of two trailers, one for VHF/UHF and one for HF, located near the 
intersection of Campus Drive and Searsville Road. There are plans to move the 
club to a permanent building at Site 530 sometime in the future. That site is 
currently used for temporary operations.

The club has a selection of equipment, all of which may be used by W6YX 
members. The HF equipment includes two transceivers, for coverage below 30 
MHz, two linear amplifiers for running up to 1 kW of power, and separate 
rotatable Yagi antennas for 10, 15, 20 and 40 meter bands all mounted at least 
50 ft up. A triband (10-15-20) Yagi is also available for additional coverage. 
A delta loop is available for 80 meters as well. The VHF/UHF shack has 
transceivers and antennas covering the 6m, 2m, 60cm, and 1.2 GHz bands. The 
club also manages two FM repeaters on 1.2 GHz and one on 70cm. Other equipment 
includes an OSCAR satellite station, facilities for packet radio, and a 
satellite TV receiving station. The HF trailer also has a well stocked 
experimental bench with an oscilloscope, frequency counter, multimeter, and a 
SWR/power meter. Much of this equipment was donated by area businesses and 
hams in the '70s to replace the club's old gear.

Over the years, W6YX members have used the club's equipment to make many 
contacts with other radio stations in the U.S. and abroad. The club has earned 
numerous ARRL operating awards, including WAC (worked all continents), WAS 
(worked all U.S. states), and one of the most prestigious awards, DXCC (worked 
one hundred-plus countries). Members continue to earn awards individually and 
for the club, and they regularly participate in amateur radio events such as 
Field Day, a nationwide contest designed to test emergency preparedness.

The Stanford Amateur Radio Club is open to all licensed amateurs within the 
Stanford community, including undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, 
staff, and alumni. Prospective hams should contact the club for information on 
license preparation classes for the novice and tech no-code licenses. Dues for 
the academic year are $15 for currently registered Stanford students (graduate 
and undergraduate) and $35 for Stanford faculty and staff and other interested 
amateurs affiliated with Stanford. Club meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of 
each month and all members are encouraged to attend.

For more information about the Stanford Amateur Radio Club, contact John 
Beale, SARC President, or send an e-mail note to w6yx at stanford.edu.




Quoting Curt Phillips W4CP <robocurt at yahoo.com>:

> The NYTimes, writing a little more fiction as news, I think.
>    
>   Can anyone who's ever been to Palo Alto believe that there's a hilltop
> TRAILER there?  :-)
>    
>   "Inside a hilltop trailer above Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif."
>    
>   Curt Phillips W4CP
>   Raleigh, NC
>   

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