WA1BXI

I read in the obituaries today that John Karezna, WA1BXI, died.

John was the first person to answer a voice CQ from me.

After I passed my Technician Class license, I bought a used Heathkit Twoer and put it on the air on 2-meters AM in April 1971. John came back to my first ever voice CQ and we became fast friends, chatting away for hours on the old Connecticut Mobileers channel (145.35 MHz).

John worked with my grandfather, Andrzej Gogolewski, at Chase Metal Works in Waterbury and being into metal, he built a tilt-over tower from scratch. The tower was about 75-feet tall and I drove over to John's house in Wolcott to see it was duly impressed.

I eventually moved to 2-meter FM leaving John on 2-meter AM, thus ending our long chats. I occasionally ran into John on the air during VHF contests, but during contests, there was no time for long chats and our friendship waned.

Anyway, 73, my old friend and thank you for answering my "CQ."

Surfin': A Wireless Dilemma

This week, Surfin' wonders what to do when ham radio transmissions interfere with the wireless equipment.

Surfin': More Radio Piracy on the High Seas

This week, Surfin' revisits Radio Caroline and other pirate radio operations in the North Sea.

Surfin': The Real Pirate Radio

This week, Surfin' visits the high seas where pirate radio once made its home.

Packet Status Register, Autumn 2009

The Autumn 2009 issue of TAPR's quarterly newsletter, Packet Status Register (PSR), which I edit, is now available here.

Surfin': Homebrewing Today

This week, Surfin' takes a look at some state-of-the-art homebrewing.

bear

On the way to work this morning, a bear ran across the road (Woodtick Road in Wolcott, CT) in front of the car in front of me. It was hauling dupa and heading in the general direction of my house about a mile away.

A bear (or bears) have been seen in my neck of the Wolcott woods for a few years now, but this was the my first sighting.

Surfin': Mapping Up

This week, Surfin' gets geographical with new online mapping features and applications.

Surfin': Remembering the Woodpecker

This week, Surfin' recalls a formidable ham radio nemesis from the 20th century.

An Update:

Sergey Paskevych e-mailed me this today:

If you interesting of Duga (Russian Woodpecker) - invite you to look on my photo report from Chernobyl here and here.

how big is Antarctica?

Pretty big!