Subj : Newsline Part 3 To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri May 05 2017 08:01 am VOA MUSEUM, A HAMVENTION 'PLUS' NEIL/ANCHOR: It's May, and Hamvention is coming! And not more than an hour's drive from Dayton Hamvention is another popular gathering spot for amateurs: the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, located at the site of VOA's Bethany Relay Station in West Chester Township. If you're going to Hamvention, and you're free after 5 p.m., check it out. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mike Akins KE5CXP has the details. MIKE: It's not quite quite Hamvention after dark, but the VOA Museum is still offering some incredible nightlife for amateurs visiting Ohio starting May 19th. Although the Bethany Relay Station stopped operating in 1994, and its towers have long since come down, its doors will be open to amateurs who'll want to experience its rich history in global radio. The museum's executive director, Jack Dominic, said there's plenty to see - and do. JACK: If you think about it, it is kind of a must-see for someone who hasn't been here before. If you are interested in ham radio, you are interested in shortwave, and this facility is arguiably the most significant shortwave presence in the whole United States. At one time, six of the world's highest-power shortwave transmitters were located here. MIKE: Take a tour, and see one of the transmitters, a 1960 vintage Collins rig, visit the control room, and see the antenna-switching matrix that once allowed transmissions to be aimed directly at Europe, North Africa and South America. The museum also contains equipment from Robert L. Drake's personal amateur radio collection. Museum board member Gary West, K8DEV, says yes, bring your license, and you can even get on the air! GARY: We have a club station here, the West Chester Amateur Radio Association. We are here in West Chester Township, and WC8VOA is our call sign. We have got six operating stations, and we do encourage people to get on the air when they are here. If they are interested, just let us know. MIKE: The open house promises to be a celebration of wireless. Admission is $5, and the doors are open on May 19th and May 20th until 9 p.m. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mike Askins, KE5CXP. ** NETS OF NOTE: THE AIR FORCE FLYERS CLUB NET NEIL/ANCHOR: We bring you another installment in our occasional series, Nets of Note. This one has real historical significance - and it's high-flying too. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Paul Braun, WD9GCO. PAUL'S REPORT: This week's "Net of Note" is a very special one with a lot of American history tied in. I spoke with group member Jon Stromsland, WA6LJS, about what makes their net special: JON: It's called the Air Force Flyers Club Net, and it's a historic and patriotic group of airmen from all wars, and all branches of the military - Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard - who served as pilots, air crew, ground crew, missile crew, and we've even got air traffic controllers in the net. The net was started in 1989 by WA7IFX, who's since become a silent key. Some of the original members are silent keys now, but the ones that started it were basically World War II pilots. The first member, Van Nordstrom was a B-17 gunner. We have the distinction of having the youngest fighter ace in history there - we had November Three Golf Tango Tango, Dale Karger was his name - and he was 19 years old when he flew P-51's and he had eleven kills. PAUL: This "net of note" has definitely had some "members of note," many of which were notable outside of the ham radio world: JON: We also have some historic people that were in the net. People have heard of General Curtis LeMay - he was called the Father of Strategic Air Command, and in 1961 General LeMay was the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He was also a ham radio operator, and in 1957, he established single-sideband as the standard for high-frequency communications for SAC bombers. PAUL: They have even had one former U.S. Senator: JON: Barry Goldwater, who I'm sure everybody's heard of, he used to check into the net way back when, and he did phone patches for the troops back in the early 60's. PAUL: Membership has fallen off in recent years, according to Stromsland, but still remains very active: JON: At one point, we had over 500 members, and a lot of the old-time members of course, have become silent keys, but currently we have about 69 active members. PAUL: I asked Stromsland where you can find the net: JON: The net meets on 20 meters every day, seven days a week, on 14.290 at 1530 Zulu. And then on Tuesdays only, we have a 40 meter net that comes on right after the 20 meter net closes on 7.181 in the morning, and on Tuesday in the evening at 7pm Pacific time, we meet on 7.278. PAUL: While you have to be either active military or a veteran in order to join the net, anyone is welcome to check into the net, and join in the discussion. And, as always, we here at Amateur Radio Newsline thank all our military, past and present, for your service. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO. NEIL/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, if you know of a net with an interesting story to tell, email us at newsline at arnewsline.org, and we might just feature it in our occasional series Nets of Note. Posted by VPost v1.7.081019 .