Stations in several parts of the US took advantage of a monster opening on 6 meters -- the "Magic Band" -- Wednesday, July 12. The Daily DX http://www.dailydx.com Editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, who also edits "How's DX?" for QST, says the band began warming up at his Maryland QTH before sunrise, but the biggest opening occurred just before 2100 UTC.

"The band stayed open to Europe until just after 0000Z today," McClenny said July 13. He credits fellow 6-meter DX chaser Marty Green, K2PLF, with tipping him off. "I ran downstairs and could not believe my ears," McClenny enthused in the July 13 edition of The Daily DX. "I have never heard conditions so good and so widespread into Europe."

McClenny said "the band was packed" from about 50.066 to well above 50.200 MHz with CW and SSB signals and even a few weak digital signals. So bountiful were the 6-meter DX spots, he recounts, "I didn't know where to begin." McClenny said conditions were so good "stations with 10-foot high antennas and 5 W were making it across the pond."

QST's "World Above 50 MHz" Editor Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, called it "probably the best 6 meter Es [sporadic E] opening of all time" into Europe. "I worked about two dozen Europeans as far east as Bulgaria but no new countries," Zimmerman said.

Rich Lawrence, KB1DMX, in Connecticut reported hearing stations in Italy, France, Spain, England, the Canary Islands, Serbia, Belgium and the Azores.

Rick Tharrington, KD4JRX, in North Carolina was among those posting exclamatory reports to the SixClub reflector. "I could not believe the European stations on the band," he said. "It sounded like 20 meters for while!" He worked EH8BPX and ON4IQ, among others, with 59 reports. "The magic band is working its magic today!" he added.

On the same reflector, Paul Lenharr, KB3NDS, reported working 18 stations in just under 45 minutes from his modest station -- 100 W to a dipole at 35 feet -- in Maryland. "This was one of the best openings for me since I started using 6 meters," he said.

In another SixClub posting, Jack Shutt, W9GT, said the band "was hopping" at his QTH in Indiana the evening of July 12, but he couldn't hear any DX. "Six meters, however, was open coast to coast," he reported, noting that he worked several stations to his west, including a couple in Nevada and one in California.

"I hope we can enjoy these conditions for a while yet," Shutt said. "Sure is fun when 6 is open!"

McClenny said Jose DaSilva, N4IS, in Southern Florida, may have been the first US station to work Montenegro on 6 meters when he snagged YU6DZ at 1559 UTC. "After four seasons on the band," McClenny concluded, "I would have to say that overall this has been the best -- and we are just about at the bottom of the sunspot cycle! Are you on 6?"

The FCC has suspended two Amateur Radio licenses because the holders had failed to maintain correct mailing addresses in the Commission's licensee database. Special Counsel in the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division Riley Hollingsworth wrote Larry L. Smith, KC7LJR, of Middleton, Idaho, and Larry J. Maniag, KD7JTG, of Payson, Arizona, on June 28 to inform them the FCC was suspending their Technician tickets for the remainder of their license terms or until each licensee provides a valid mailing address.

In his letter to Smith, Hollingsworth noted that on three occasions in late 2005, the FCC had been unable to deliver warning notices alleging deliberate interference to a 2-meter repeater system.

He told Maniag that the US Postal Service earlier this year returned as undeliverable two warning notices alleging deliberate interference with several repeaters.

Hollingsworth cited §97.23 of the Commission's Amateur Radio Service rules that requires each license grant to show the licensee's correct name and mailing address. The rule provides that "revocation of the station license or suspension of the operator license may result when correspondence from the FCC is returned as undeliverable because the grantee failed to provide the correct mailing address."

Hollingsworth cited the same rule to an Ohio licensee apparently tempting a similar fate. On June 26 Hollingsworth afforded Robert D. Reckner, W8IQJ, more time to respond to complaints involving his service as MIDCARS net control. The complaint alleges deliberate interference as a result of his starting the net on top of existing communications on 7.258 MHz in April. A June 1 letter enclosing the complaint came back to the FCC as undeliverable, he said.

In another failure-to-reply case, Hollingsworth notified William E. Kuth, KB2SGQ, of Utica, New York, on June 27 that his license renewal application has been designated for dismissal. That action effectively eliminates Kuth's Amateur Radio privileges, and Hollingsworth reminded him of that fact.

In May, the FCC notified Kuth that his renewal application "could not be routinely granted" and had been referred to the Enforcement Bureau for review. That came in the wake of a Warning Notice for allegedly operating on 26.815 MHz without a license and causing interference on 10 meters. Additional complaints alleged that Kuth operated on 26.945 MHz.

Hollingsworth said postal records indicate that Kuth received the FCC inquiry on May 5 but did not respond. The letter to Kuth noted that the address on his renewal application differed from his actual mailing address. Kuth's Technician license expired in November 2004.

The FCC dismissed the upgrade application of Andrew O. Ojwang, KI4LTH, of Roswell, Georgia, based on the licensee's response to "numerous complaints about the operation of your station since the grant of your General class license," Hollingsworth wrote. Following the complaints, the FCC last October set aside Ojwang's General license and his renewal application, which reverted to pending status.

"Pursuant to your response dated May 31, 2006, your General class application is being forwarded to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau for dismissal," Hollingsworth informed Ojwang on June 28. Complaints regarding Ojwang's on-air operation would have to be resolved before the Commission would consider an upgrade application, Hollingsworth advised. The FCC appears to have renewed Ojwang's Technician ticket for a full 10-year term, however.

Meanwhile, a Texas man, Billy J. Benefiel, W5BJB, turned in his amateur license rather than respond to complaints alleging that he was operating on frequencies not authorized to him as a Technician, and for causing interference.

Amateur Radio's value as one component in a cooperative effort to protect critical national infrastructure was the focus of an InfraGard "Communications Interoperability and Ham Radios" summit this week in New York City. An FBI program, InfraGard is dedicated to promoting dialogue between the private sector and the federal investigative agency "concerning critical infrastructure protection issues." ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, and Affiliated Clubs/Mentor Program Manager Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, represented League Headquarters at the gathering, which featured a range of speakers.

"This is the key to opening the door to a valuable model partnership," Hobart commented afterward. "They were very receptive. I think it was a good beginning."

Hobart says Amateur Radio came up on InfraGard's radar earlier this year and got the nonprofit organization thinking of Amateur Radio as a possible partner, ally and service provider in emergencies. New York Metro InfraGard put together the one-day session July 17 at Cisco Systems' New York office as a way to get more familiar with Amateur Radio.

"They understand that ham radio has 'been there' in terms of emergencies and disasters and is working to improve its ability to respond," Hobart said. She said New York Metro InfraGard President Joe Concannon "expressed his deep interest in Amateur Radio as a partner and a desire to learn more about our capabilities."

Keynote speaker for the day-long session was Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Famer and New York Public Television CEO William Baker, W1BKR. Jeff Pulver, WA2BOT, chairman and founder of pulvermedia.com and cofounder of Vonage, also addressed the gathering.

"This InfraGard meeting brought together a group of people who care about post-disaster communication preparedness, and a majority of the people in attendance were active members of the Amateur Radio community," Pulver observed later in a blog entry. "This was my first time in the post-VoIP era that I had a chance to talk to hams about my early experiences with VoIP and how my ham radio background has had a positive effect on the past 12 years of my life."

Pulver said the InfraGard meeting provided "a great audience to speak to, since we shared a common passion for communications and common ground on a number of topics." He said that includes the need for coordination between the ham radio community and fellow communication enthusiasts "who want to volunteer their time the next time disaster strikes."

In a presentation called "Radio Communications 101," New York City District Emergency Coordinator Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, spoke about the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the League's role in emergency and public service communication and training.

Allan Manuel, an attorney in the FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Branch, indicated the Commission is willing to be more flexible in accommodating Amateur Radio during emergencies and disasters. The FCC wants to hear from the public by August 7 in response to an FCC Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) regarding recommendations of the independent panel that reviewed Hurricane Katrina's impact on communication systems (EB Docket 06-119). Some of the wide-ranging proposals in the NPRM include possibly amending the rules to permit automatic grants of certain types of waivers or special temporary authority (STA) in declared disaster areas.

For their part, Hobart and Fusaro demonstrated the League's "Ham Aid" go kits of Amateur Radio gear that can be rapidly deployed to disaster areas where the Amateur Radio infrastructure has been lost or compromised. They also provided attendees with copies of the ARRL's Community Education Program brochures and materials.

Hobart says Concannon envisions a model in New York City that other InfraGard chapters across the country could emulate. "I think it's an opportunity for Amateur Radio to align itself with a high-profile group with key federal connections," she said.

There has been a lot of discussion on eHam lately about older radio equipment. I decided that a recent project of mine would hopefully make for a good article.

Collecting and restoring boat anchors is a very enjoyable aspect of Amateur Radio for me. The BC 348 Q is one of those radios that you always remember because it is very simple to operate, is a rugged design, and only takes a 100 turns of the VFO dial to cruise several MHz. in a single big swath of the dial.

/ A fine band cruiser that anyone can enjoy using.

Restored BC 348 "Q" The radio you are looking at is over 60 years old!

It was restored both electrically and cosmetically. It was completely retubed using original NOS replacement tubes from the year 1943. (See original "RCA" tube carton on top of the radio)

Parked at one of my favorite hangouts. (That's Megacycles not Megahertz silly) The glass dial display is scratch free and does not show much use or abuse from the Canadian military. (Like they actually used this radio in front line battles right?) Listening to 80 meters AM (3885) is both fun and educational. Many share in common interests using similar era equipment. While this can be accomplished using modern day equipment, there is a certain enjoyment using equipment of yesteryear.

Canadian radio Eh? …You mean they actually have an Air Force up there? This radio was used in a Lancaster bomber plane. It appears there is a slight scratch on the plate under the "Y" in Royal. Otherwise the identification plate is in perfect condition. So now I will present a favorite boatanchor restoration tip for you fans out there.

It appears that Kiwi brand shoe polish and a "Q" tip was very helpful to fill in and polish that scratch.

The scratch under the letter "Y" is now virtually invisible even when you look at it up close as this picture demonstrates.

The handles cleaned up rather nicely. Everything was repainted using a textured paint much like the original finish and appearance. I decided on a "black velvet" paint texture. I had no idea that there was brass located under the original paint finish on the dial screws and radio handles. I eventually decided that "black velvet & brass" was a nice contrast for this era of radio. (Goes nicely with my CW key shown on the left too) The original brass under the original paint surface had a forged metal appearance and was rough and unpolished. I used a dremel tool to smooth off the raised bumps and "jewelers polish" to bring out the original brass finish to a medium luster shine. The handles are slightly scuffed and not perfectly shiny. - I didn't want the handles to appear "too" new. I felt this would look out of place for a radio this old.

This photo demonstrates the shiny aluminum "rack like" frame of the BC 348. This is really high tech for a radio built 60 years ago! It has been polished to a like new finish using "mothers aluminum mag wheel polish" You can see your reflection in it! This is also a good close up shot of the refinished brass handles I mentioned previously.

I didn't polish the brass handles "too" brightly as it would have made the radio appear too new!

This photo demonstrates the "modular" design of the BC 348. Engineers wanted to protect the various stages and protect the delicate oscillator coils from damage using these high tech modular aluminum cases. Pretty high tech design when you think about it.

Original NOS mil spec tubes were used to replace all the tubes in the BC 348. The tube cartons are in such nice shape that I decided they too would make for a nice display in the Shack.

There, That's a better view.

The BC 348 Q dwarfs the Yaesu FT 847 in comparison. You will notice an original longwire antenna from 1943 attached to it (just kidding). This is a 135 foot longwire that is located outside above the roof at a height of about 35 feet off the ground. This antenna receives extremely well on all bands and the BC 348 provides many hours of listening enjoyment.

Well, that's the tour folks. Thanks for stopping by the shack

Do you have any shack photos or boat anchor stories you want to share? My Best, Charles - KC8VWM

The regular meeting of the SEMO Amateur Radio Club was called to order by President Willie Sandin at 7:05 PM in the Cape Girardeau County Administrative Building.

President Sandin read the minutes which were approved as given. The Treasurer reported a total of 29 members and $1212.12 in the bank. There is a $175.00 (+/-) insurance premium due.

Old Business:

The repeaters are operating fine.

A letter needs to be written to Zimmer Broadcasting to thank them for the tower space.

It was again recommended that NIMS Training be taken by members.

The Fish Fry will be October 14th at Steve and Martha's house.

New Business:

Meeting time announced on the 685 repeater is incorrect. Please change as soon as possible.

John Fry made a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Ernie Chiles. The business meeting was adjourned at 7:29 PM for social hour.

Respectfully Submitted

Martha Vandivort, Secretary