Tag: Amateur radio

Porky’s Railroad

There’s a scene in the movie where a railroad telegrapher is sending a message in Morse Code… which I can copy. I pulled out a pad and rewound.

porky-pig

I just finished watching “Porky’s Railroad,” a 1938 Looney Tunes classic.

Why did I watch it? Because, Internet.

Sequence 01.Still001There’s a scene in the movie where a railroad telegrapher is sending a message in Morse Code… which I can copy. Landline guys wouldn’t have used the Morse variant I understood, but this was obviously being sent by a radio guy. I pulled out a pad and rewound.

QST QSL LEON SCHLESINGER HOLLYWOOD FOR PICTURE OF PORKY

QST and QSL are telegrapher’s abbreviations. QST originally meant calling all stations. QST was in 1938 and is still the name of the ham radio magazine of record. QSL asks for verification of reception. Leon Schlesinger was the producer. The rest is obvious.

The code was very rough and ‘sparky,’ which even by 1938 was disappearing from real radio communications.

This is really obscure. I wonder if I’m the first to discover it?

Webcast For The League

When the ARRL, the national ham radio organization located here in Connecticut, asked if I’d host a live video tour of their headquarters station I couldn’t say no.

I’ve been a ham operator since I was 16. Though not active at the moment it’s been a large part of my life. There’s something very spiritual about being in a darkened room, wearing headphones and pounding out Morse Code.

When the ARRL, the national ham radio organization located here in Connecticut, asked if I’d host a live video tour of their headquarters station I couldn’t say no.

We did the webcast this afternoon at 5:00 PM. Later it will appear on the League’s website.

For little nerdy me it was way cool. I even made a quick contact on Morse.

A Visit To Headquarters (Where The Nerdy Kids Play)

As it turns out the headquarters for ham radio’s largest organization, the American Radio Relay League, is here in Connecticut. Visiting the league is like visiting a shrine… well it is to me.

I became a ham radio operator while I was a teenager. As a high school junior I took a morning off from school and went to the FCC to take my Advanced Class license test. It was one of my most stress-filled days of my life! I was shaking so much I had trouble passing the Morse Code test.

As it turns out the headquarters for ham radio’s largest organization, the American Radio Relay League, is here in Connecticut. Visiting the league is like visiting a shrine… well it is to me. I was there earlier today.

The ARRL has asked me to host a video they’re producing. My pleasure.

Meanwhile while I was there I sat down in the league’s station, W1AW, and with their amazing array of equipment and spoke to Tony in Gent, Belgium… in Morse.

I’m not sure what it is, but there’s a certain sense of accomplishment to ‘work’ another station using paddles and a keyer.

I’m out of practice, but it was fun. Click below for a little video of my keyer technique.

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