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/////////////////////////////////////////// Dave Benedict's Ham Radio Hobby Put Him in High Demand During WWII: Posted: 09 Apr 2016 05:00 PM PDT http://www.eham.net/articles/36542 By 13 years old, Dave Benedict was a licensed amateur radio operator. Boy Scouts introduced him to ham radio a year prior and it quickly became his passion. "I was interested in the world and other countries, and talking to people from other countries was very exciting to me," said Benedict, a teenager growing up with the cloud of World War II imminently hanging over him. By 19, he was proficient in high-speed morse code operation, something in high demand during war in the 1940s. "In the spring of '42, I'd been out of high school for over a year and was working as an apprentice machinist and had a deferment," from the draft because of schooling, he said. But that wouldn't last forever. The country was at war and few 19-year-old men at that time escaped the inevitability of serving in the military. "The draft was getting closer and closer all the time," Benedict said. "I was feeling the warm breath of selective service down my neck." Then came a telegram. "This message was staggering. It said, 'We will make you a sergeant upon enlistment if you will join our 2nd Communications Squadron," he said. With the draft a foregone conclusion, the opportunity to enter at the rank of sergeant was too good to pass up. "I decided I would take them up on that," said Benedict, who enlisted into the United States Air Force on July 15, 1942. "They stayed true to their word. Two weeks later, I had two weeks of basic training and I was made a sergeant. A month later, I was made a staff sergeant." Benedict was first stationed in Washington D.C. before moving on to Morrison Field in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he served as a radio operator on a crew who flew damaged warplanes from Florida to a repair depot in either Texas or Oklahoma. Benedict then entered the Army Specialized Training Program and attended then Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Melon). After nine months of training there, he was reassigned from the Air Force to the U.S. Army because of the German offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge. Without any Army schooling, Benedict "started right on the job." /////////////////////////////////////////// Pirate Radio Station on w5kub.com April 12: Posted: 09 Apr 2016 03:14 PM PDT http://www.eham.net/articles/36541 Back for part 2. Allan Wiener, world famous radio pirate will be back with us again Tues April 12 at 8:00 PMCT. There was so much that we did not have time to cover during his last appearance. Lets get more detail on why he put Radio New York International on the air from a ship off the coast of NY, how the FCC busted him, the crews arrest, the trial, and his straight path to owning several FCC licensed radio stations. Allan is also a highly skilled radio engineer and a collector and restores vintage equipment. Phone lines will be open for viewers to call in. /////////////////////////////////////////// Ham Radio: Wave of Popularity: Posted: 09 Apr 2016 03:15 PM PDT http://www.eham.net/articles/36538 What comes to mind when you hear the term "ham radio"? Maybe, when you were a kid, it was the fellow with the tall tower in his backyard that was blamed for causing squiggly lines on neighborhood TV screens. Or the guy at work with antennas bristling from his car who spends his lunch hour eating a sandwich and talking on a radio. Or maybe you've read a news story about "ham" operators helping in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Whatever your impression of the hobby, you may have no idea how dynamic and fun ham radio is, or just how crucial it can be when other forms of communication fail. And it's a perfect fit - both nationally and at local posts - with many American Legion missions, including civil defense. Every time you send a text on your phone, watch a TV show or use Wi-Fi at a coffee shop, you use technology developed in part by early hams - an old railroad telegraphers' term for "inexperienced operator" - experimenting with newly invented radio in their basements and attics. And throughout amateur radio's 100-year history, these cellar alchemists have helped create and refine innovations in the field. Meanwhile, others have helped save lives and ease human suffering during catastrophic events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Along the way, they've formed a tight-knit community that has a heck of a good time. In the early 1900s, with radio in its infancy, its possibilities appealed to a group of early adopters. They took the work of scientists and pioneered the first practical uses of wireless technology. Meanwhile, world governments saw the need to formalize regulation of this new communication medium to prevent on-air chaos. In the United States, the Federal Radio Commission was created for that purpose. Most regulatory agencies recognized the contributions of those early hams and saw them as a willing and valuable resource. They designated portions of the radio spectrum for amateurs to continue to experiment and provide backup communications as a public service. Fast forward a century, and the hobby is still as vibrant as ever. This surprises some people, who assume that smartphones, Facebook, online chat rooms and texting have made a pastime like ham radio obsolete. Yes, communicating with others is the ultimate goal of amateur radio enthusiasts, and there are plenty of ways to do that these days. But there is so much more to the hobby than simply talking to another person. |
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