WEBVTT 00:00:14.189 --> 00:00:16.910 Thanks for tuning in ham talk live will be on 00:00:16.910 --> 00:00:35.189 the air shortly, please stand by Thanks for tuning 00:00:35.189 --> 00:00:37.649 in ham talk live will be on the air shortly, 00:00:37.750 --> 00:01:16.109 please stand by Good evening, everyone. This 00:01:16.109 --> 00:01:19.829 is HamTalk Live, episode number six, National 00:01:19.829 --> 00:01:23.689 Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. Recorded 00:01:23.689 --> 00:01:27.849 live on Thursday, March 24th, 2016. I'm your 00:01:27.849 --> 00:01:31.530 host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning in 00:01:31.530 --> 00:01:35.150 to this episode of HamTalk Live. Tonight on the 00:01:35.150 --> 00:01:40.329 show, Gary West, K8DEV, Jay Edrick, K8CJY, and 00:01:40.329 --> 00:01:44.459 Joe Gruber, WD8AZQ will join us. Our guests tonight 00:01:44.459 --> 00:01:46.959 are from the National Voice of America Museum 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:50.480 of Broadcasting and the Westchester Amateur Radio 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:53.579 Association. They will be talking about the Voice 00:01:53.579 --> 00:01:56.659 of America Museum in Westchester, Ohio and their 00:01:56.659 --> 00:02:01.700 club station inside the museum WC8VOA. And there's 00:02:01.700 --> 00:02:03.939 a special opportunity for hams to get a special 00:02:03.939 --> 00:02:06.540 tour of the facility and you don't want to miss 00:02:06.540 --> 00:02:09.979 the information on that. So stay tuned for that 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:12.879 and we'll take your calls live in just a few 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:16.479 minutes. Last week on The Big Show, Bob Alfen, 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:20.039 K4UEE, was here to talk about the big time, the 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:23.099 expeditions that he's organized. And if you missed 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:25.099 that show or any future show, you can listen 00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:28.919 to the replay on HamTalkLive .com or on Spreaker. 00:02:29.139 --> 00:02:32.620 Tune in, iTunes, SoundCloud, or YouTube. And 00:02:32.620 --> 00:02:36.199 last week we added Stitcher. We also added Google 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:39.199 Play, although Google Play is not ready for listeners 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:41.419 just yet, but we'll be on there as soon as they're 00:02:41.419 --> 00:02:44.800 ready to go. hopefully will be added to iHeart 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:49.620 Podcasts as well in the next week or so. Tonight 00:02:49.620 --> 00:02:51.919 we want to take your calls as always so in just 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:54.120 a few minutes be ready to call in. You can call 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:58.139 us on Skype, just use the audio only feature 00:02:58.139 --> 00:03:02.000 on Skype, and the username there is hamtalklive 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:07.479 or you can call us by telephone. It's 812 -net 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:15.539 -ham -1. That's 812 -638. 4261. My guests this 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:17.539 evening are from the National Voice of America 00:03:17.539 --> 00:03:21.199 Museum of Broadcasting and the Westchester Amateur 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:25.379 Radio Association. Gary West, K -8 DEV, was born 00:03:25.379 --> 00:03:28.300 and grew up in rural Ohio and came to Cincinnati 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:31.259 in 1964 to attend the University of Cincinnati 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:33.919 where he graduated with a bachelor of science 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:36.810 in industrial management. Gary and his wife Deedee 00:03:36.810 --> 00:03:39.030 have been married for 48 years and have lived 00:03:39.030 --> 00:03:41.710 in the Cincinnati area that entire time, most 00:03:41.710 --> 00:03:45.550 recently in Westchester. Gary is a semi -retired 00:03:45.550 --> 00:03:48.849 co -owner of GW Associates, consultants, packaging 00:03:48.849 --> 00:03:52.849 brokers, and manufacturers representatives. During 00:03:52.849 --> 00:03:54.870 his career, he held various management positions 00:03:54.870 --> 00:03:57.550 at the Kroger company and was also employed at 00:03:57.550 --> 00:04:01.889 Procter & Gamble, WONE radio and WUBE radio. 00:04:02.330 --> 00:04:04.349 Gary is currently serving on the board of the 00:04:04.349 --> 00:04:06.650 National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting 00:04:06.650 --> 00:04:10.629 and also the Gray History of Wireless Museum. 00:04:11.370 --> 00:04:13.550 Gary is an advanced class amateur radio operator 00:04:13.550 --> 00:04:18.910 and was licensed in 1961. Joe Kruber, WD8AZQ 00:04:18.910 --> 00:04:22.329 has been a ham since 1975. Joe's career spans 00:04:22.329 --> 00:04:24.889 37 years in the semiconductor industry, most 00:04:24.889 --> 00:04:27.990 of it with Intel Corporation. Joe was involved 00:04:27.990 --> 00:04:30.290 in many strategic roles at Intel but had the 00:04:30.290 --> 00:04:34.120 most fun as an evangelist for emerging technologies. 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:37.259 Joe retired from Intel last year and holds patents 00:04:37.259 --> 00:04:41.779 in telephony and in security. Today Joe is a 00:04:41.779 --> 00:04:45.500 partner in several web startup businesses and 00:04:45.500 --> 00:04:47.920 he's on the board at VOA where he manages the 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:51.120 STEM outreach program and is an associate judge 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:55.750 for the IADAS Webby Awards. Jay Adrick, our final 00:04:55.750 --> 00:05:00.129 guest, is K8CJY, and he's been active in amateur 00:05:00.129 --> 00:05:04.029 radio since 1961. He's a 51 -plus year veteran 00:05:04.029 --> 00:05:07.670 of the broadcast industry. In 2013, Jay retired 00:05:07.670 --> 00:05:10.310 from Harris Corporation as their Vice President 00:05:10.310 --> 00:05:13.329 of Broadcast Technology, but continues as an 00:05:13.329 --> 00:05:16.490 industry consultant specializing in digital television 00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:19.350 systems, television spectrum issues, and the 00:05:19.350 --> 00:05:22.670 upcoming television spectrum repack. He was awarded 00:05:22.670 --> 00:05:24.529 the Television Engineering Achievement Award 00:05:24.529 --> 00:05:28.250 by the NAB, is a fellow of the Society of Motion 00:05:28.250 --> 00:05:31.470 Picture and Television Engineers and the IEEE 00:05:31.470 --> 00:05:35.389 Broadcast Television Society and SBE, the Society 00:05:35.389 --> 00:05:38.490 of Broadcast Engineers. Jay serves as a board 00:05:38.490 --> 00:05:42.110 member on the Voice of America National Museum 00:05:42.110 --> 00:05:45.350 of Broadcasting. So thank you all for joining 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:50.269 us this evening on HamTalk Live. Thanks, we're 00:05:50.269 --> 00:05:53.839 glad to be here. Thanks, Neil. Thanks, Neil. 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:59.480 Well, we've got a lot of ground to cover here 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:03.259 this evening. First of all, Jay, if you would 00:06:03.259 --> 00:06:07.439 tell us a little bit about the history of the 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:10.540 Voice of America facility there, the Bethany 00:06:10.540 --> 00:06:14.879 shortwave relay station near Westchester and 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:16.600 tell us a little bit about when that was built 00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:21.819 and why it's there. Who got this all started? 00:06:23.100 --> 00:06:28.000 Okay, very good. Well, the station was a result, 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:31.319 direct result of our entry into World War II. 00:06:31.620 --> 00:06:34.819 At the time the war began, Germany and Japan 00:06:34.819 --> 00:06:39.300 were very active with propaganda radio broadcasting 00:06:39.300 --> 00:06:42.680 to various parts of the world. Germany in particular 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:47.040 was focusing on Latin America. And they had many 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:49.980 shortwave transmitters of fairly high power. 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:53.759 up in the 100 kilowatt range. Whereas in the 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:56.540 United States we only had 13 shortwave transmitters 00:06:56.540 --> 00:07:00.160 that were in broadcast service and the highest 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:04.360 powered one was 75 kilowatts and it was located 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:10.000 at Mason, Ohio with the colliders WLWO. As soon 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:13.839 as the war started the government commandeered 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:19.819 all 13 of those transmitters. about 10 sites 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:25.699 around the US and began some broadcasting under 00:07:25.699 --> 00:07:27.759 an organization that was quickly set up called 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:33.459 the Office of War Information, OWI. In February 00:07:33.459 --> 00:07:37.779 of 1942, a meeting was called in Washington and 00:07:37.779 --> 00:07:40.980 they brought in representatives from several 00:07:40.980 --> 00:07:43.500 of the major equipment manufacturing firms like 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:46.319 RCA, Westinghouse, General Electric. But they 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:49.800 also brought in representatives from NBC, CBS, 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:53.600 and Crosley Broadcasting. Now, some people would 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:57.439 say, well, why Crosley? Well, Crosley since 1934 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.740 had been broadcasting with 500 kilowatts on medium 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:04.720 wave at WLW with the transmitter located out 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:09.399 at Mason. And they also had been active in the 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:15.199 shortwave business since 1926, but became seriously 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:21.199 engaged in shortwave with WLWO beginning in 1939. 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:27.639 So the person that represented Crosley was James 00:08:27.639 --> 00:08:30.319 D. Shouse. He was the president of Crosley Broadcasting. 00:08:30.779 --> 00:08:34.139 working for Powell -Crosley, and he went to Washington. 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:37.899 They talked about the needs and the fact that 00:08:37.899 --> 00:08:41.080 they really wanted high power. 200 kilowatts 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:46.330 was their goal for each transmitter. And it had 00:08:46.330 --> 00:08:49.250 never been done. The tubes didn't exist. The 00:08:49.250 --> 00:08:52.870 technology really didn't exist. So Schaus called 00:08:52.870 --> 00:08:56.210 back to a gentleman by the name of Ronald J. 00:08:56.450 --> 00:09:00.450 Rockwell, R. J. Rockwell. Jim was, by the way, 00:09:00.789 --> 00:09:05.059 Ham, K8RR was his call. And he said, Jim was 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:07.580 the director of engineering for Crosley Broadcasting. 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:11.039 And he said to Jim, you know, this is what they're 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.580 looking for. 200 kilowatt transmitters. They 00:09:13.580 --> 00:09:17.899 need six of them at our facility. If we can do 00:09:17.899 --> 00:09:23.639 it, is that possible? And Jim was one of these 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:27.759 guys that never looked down at an opportunity. 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:31.669 So his answer was. Well, you know, I think we 00:09:31.669 --> 00:09:35.090 can do it, but I'll give it one hell of a try. 00:09:37.090 --> 00:09:42.789 And Jim was awarded a contract. I would say he, 00:09:42.870 --> 00:09:44.909 Crossley Broadcasting, was awarded the contract 00:09:44.909 --> 00:09:48.809 virtually on the spot in Washington. It was, 00:09:48.929 --> 00:09:52.409 as we're told, a one -page contract, pretty much 00:09:52.409 --> 00:09:56.090 a blank check, initial authorization of a million 00:09:56.090 --> 00:09:59.350 dollars. And they came back. They found land. 00:09:59.549 --> 00:10:03.509 consisting of three farms, basically one square 00:10:03.509 --> 00:10:06.649 mile of land down the road from WLW's transmitter. 00:10:06.909 --> 00:10:09.330 That was quickly acquired by the government. 00:10:10.350 --> 00:10:14.629 The land was cleared, and Rockwell pulled together 00:10:14.629 --> 00:10:17.289 the Crosley engineers, a very talented bunch 00:10:17.289 --> 00:10:22.990 of radio engineers, and also hired a group of 00:10:22.990 --> 00:10:25.929 University of Cincinnati engineering co -ops. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:32.480 Started researching found out that there were 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:35.259 no tubes that could do that kind of power at 00:10:35.259 --> 00:10:43.259 shortwave so they engaged The federal IT &T company 00:10:43.259 --> 00:10:47.059 to start developing tubes he developed a transmitter 00:10:47.059 --> 00:10:50.779 design with his crew and They designed a building 00:10:50.779 --> 00:10:54.799 to house the transmitters a total of six of them 00:10:54.799 --> 00:11:04.059 the Construction was started In 1943, the antennas 00:11:04.059 --> 00:11:07.919 were designed around a rhombic type of antenna 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:13.500 design with a whole group of them aimed at different 00:11:13.500 --> 00:11:16.360 locations starting at Northern Europe, going 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:18.559 all the way through Southern Europe and into 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:26.240 Africa and also Latin America. The antennas were 00:11:26.860 --> 00:11:30.559 put together by Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:33.759 and Dayton Light Heat and Power two utility companies 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:37.879 where they spliced power poles together and They 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:41.720 did all the stringing of the copper the transmitters 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:45.759 were Started in a machine shop quickly set up 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.220 in an old candy factory down in Central Parkway 00:11:48.220 --> 00:11:51.379 in Cincinnati While the building was being built 00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:57.080 it was in early 1944 that they started moving 00:11:57.080 --> 00:12:01.440 transmitters into the facility. And by late June 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:06.679 of 44, they had one transmitter on the air. By 00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:10.240 September, September the 23rd, which was the 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:13.730 formal dedication of the facility, they had all 00:12:13.730 --> 00:12:16.669 six transmitters up and running, and they were 00:12:16.669 --> 00:12:18.909 broadcasting with programming that came from 00:12:18.909 --> 00:12:21.629 New York, from the Office of War Information. 00:12:22.070 --> 00:12:24.330 The government had hired a group of professional 00:12:24.330 --> 00:12:28.070 broadcasters and set up studios in New York to 00:12:28.070 --> 00:12:33.600 broadcast. the message. So that's how it came 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:36.620 about and of course the location because of Crosley 00:12:36.620 --> 00:12:39.659 and the expertise at high power with the 500 00:12:39.659 --> 00:12:43.799 kilowatts on WLW. It's quite an interesting story, 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:49.139 a lot of details. The transmitters were, I guess 00:12:49.139 --> 00:12:54.840 you could say, home brewed by a group. Many of 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:59.019 the engineers were hams and They were pretty 00:12:59.019 --> 00:13:02.179 much built there in the candy factory and then 00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:05.799 later finished up there on site in the building. 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:11.059 The facility remained pretty much intact until 00:13:11.059 --> 00:13:14.100 the early 60s when there was a major renovation 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:17.240 that was done and three of the transmitters, 00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:19.940 the Crosley transmitters were removed and replaced 00:13:19.940 --> 00:13:29.519 with Collins 250 kilowatt transmitters. An interesting 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:35.840 place to work, they were on the air almost 24 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:40.360 -7. They had a couple of down hours overnight 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:45.279 when they retuned the transmitters and came up 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:49.100 on different frequencies. By the way, the transmitters 00:13:49.100 --> 00:13:52.740 that were used were actually a master and a slave. 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.480 So they had one power supply, one modulator driving 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:00.809 two RF decks. and they broadcast with frequency 00:14:00.809 --> 00:14:04.870 diversity, two different frequencies, same programming. 00:14:06.309 --> 00:14:09.789 And later in 61, three of those transmitters, 00:14:09.909 --> 00:14:13.429 the slaves were removed and replaced with these 00:14:13.429 --> 00:14:16.190 Collins transmitters. So that's a bit of the 00:14:16.190 --> 00:14:18.990 background, Neil. Yeah, I've got a clip here 00:14:18.990 --> 00:14:22.710 of one of the first broadcasts that was sent 00:14:22.710 --> 00:14:24.710 out. And I apologize, you won't be able to hear 00:14:24.710 --> 00:14:26.730 it over Skype. I didn't mention that to you before 00:14:26.730 --> 00:14:30.090 the show. We're gonna listen to a little clip 00:14:30.090 --> 00:14:33.470 here of one of the first transmissions to come 00:14:33.470 --> 00:14:45.600 out of the voice of America. This is a voice 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:49.820 speaking from America. A voice from America at 00:14:49.820 --> 00:14:53.779 war. Our voices are coming to you from New York, 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:57.379 across the Atlantic Ocean to London, from where 00:14:57.379 --> 00:15:01.960 they are relayed to you in Germany. Today America 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:06.580 has been at war for 79 days. Daily at this time 00:15:06.580 --> 00:15:09.919 we shall speak to you about America and the war. 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:14.200 The news may be good or bad. We shall tell you 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:18.580 the truth. So the idea was that we were going 00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:24.179 to provide the truth. Absolutely. That was what 00:15:24.179 --> 00:15:27.759 was insisted upon by the people that were hired. 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:30.399 Originally, it was thought that this would be 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:33.519 a propaganda source, but they quickly put that 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:38.899 to rest. And of course, the truth was given whether 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:43.830 it was good. or bad. And it served a very important 00:15:43.830 --> 00:15:49.529 role during the war. And then the role kind of 00:15:49.529 --> 00:15:53.730 shifted after the the end of the war. Yeah, we're 00:15:53.730 --> 00:15:56.970 just about up to our first break here. But mention 00:15:56.970 --> 00:16:00.929 just real quickly about what the role of Voice 00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:04.649 of America was after the war. So the Voice of 00:16:04.649 --> 00:16:08.159 America The Office of War Information, of course, 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:11.379 was the job was over when the war was over. But 00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:17.559 as you know, we soon had a Cold War. And so the 00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:20.539 operation was transferred over to the State Department 00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:25.240 and became a part of what became known as the 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:28.159 Voice of America. The Voice of America was both 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:31.720 a broadcasting arm as well as an information. 00:16:32.029 --> 00:16:34.669 And eventually that became, by the way, known 00:16:34.669 --> 00:16:40.309 as the USIA, the US Information Agency. So they 00:16:40.309 --> 00:16:46.649 provided a lot of truth and information to people 00:16:46.649 --> 00:16:50.629 behind the Iron Curtain and in countries where 00:16:50.629 --> 00:16:53.710 oppression during the Cold War was taking place. 00:16:54.070 --> 00:16:57.230 And we've had many, many visitors who have come 00:16:57.230 --> 00:17:02.250 to the facility who are people that immigrated 00:17:02.250 --> 00:17:06.069 to the United States and they have talked about, 00:17:06.069 --> 00:17:08.470 you know, how how great it was to be able to 00:17:08.470 --> 00:17:11.309 receive the voice of America and find out the 00:17:11.309 --> 00:17:15.950 truth. There's a great clip from one of the fellows 00:17:15.950 --> 00:17:18.329 from behind the Iron Curtain talking about, you 00:17:18.329 --> 00:17:21.549 know, in Russia. The crops were always good. 00:17:21.809 --> 00:17:24.470 Airplanes never crashed. And he went on and on 00:17:24.470 --> 00:17:28.130 with a lot of great detail. But what the point 00:17:28.130 --> 00:17:30.890 he was trying to make was that you really didn't 00:17:30.890 --> 00:17:33.630 hear the truth from the local broadcasters there 00:17:33.630 --> 00:17:37.960 in in Russia, but he got the truth from the Voice 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:42.700 of America. Now, Joe, if you can answer this 00:17:42.700 --> 00:17:46.759 for us, is Voice of America still in operation? 00:17:46.900 --> 00:17:50.440 Obviously, the facility there is not operating 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:53.799 anymore. So is that still going? And if so, how 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:57.640 are they accomplishing that? Thanks, Neil. And 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:00.460 indeed, Voice of America still is in operation, 00:18:00.460 --> 00:18:03.160 but certainly more of a contemporary role today 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:08.500 than existed back in the World War II era. To 00:18:08.500 --> 00:18:11.680 give you an idea, there's a yearly budget of 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:15.440 a little over $200 million supporting over 1 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.180 ,000 employees in The Voice of America. They 00:18:18.180 --> 00:18:22.460 do broadcasting in 44 different languages to 00:18:22.460 --> 00:18:25.359 an audience of nearly 200 million people every 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:29.559 week. So it's a huge operation that's underway 00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:33.759 right now. Voice of America programs are delivered 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:38.700 on satellite and cable and shortwave FM medium 00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:43.000 wave they do streaming audio and video You know 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:48.640 cell phones You name it every conceivable Opportunity 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:52.680 to reach audiences is being used today and the 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:56.410 mantra is still the same get accurate information 00:18:56.410 --> 00:19:00.430 out. Stories are verified by two independent 00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:05.769 sources or at least one representative of VOA 00:19:05.769 --> 00:19:08.569 who actually witnessed the event. So they want 00:19:08.569 --> 00:19:13.450 to get accurate information. It's a great service 00:19:13.450 --> 00:19:15.349 for the English language for people who want 00:19:15.349 --> 00:19:18.329 to learn English turned to Voice of America quite 00:19:18.329 --> 00:19:21.720 frequently. So the charter. I actually have a 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:24.839 clip here of a little bit of that. And also one 00:19:24.839 --> 00:19:26.519 of the things that fascinated me when I was there 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:30.619 was this, they call it special English. It has 00:19:30.619 --> 00:19:35.079 a limited vocabulary and is spoken a lot slower. 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:38.579 So let's listen to just a few seconds of that. 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:43.859 From VOA Learning English, this is the technology 00:19:43.859 --> 00:19:48.680 report in special English. Researchers are studying 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:53.519 how mobile phones can help to document the spread 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:58.480 of malaria. The study is part of an effort to 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:03.339 stop or at least control the disease, which killed 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:10.759 an estimated 655 ,000 people in 2010. So you 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:14.220 can tell, you know, it's a lot slower, simple 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:18.519 words to help people learn English while they're 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:23.859 getting the news. Exactly. And, you know, that 00:20:23.859 --> 00:20:28.759 along with trying to get non -tainted information 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:31.839 out there as events happen, you know, is still 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:34.839 the charter of VOA. You asked about transmitting 00:20:34.839 --> 00:20:37.700 facilities. There is still limited transmission 00:20:37.700 --> 00:20:41.319 coming from our sister facility down in Greenville, 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:44.059 North Carolina. It's not fully operational, but 00:20:44.059 --> 00:20:47.536 there is some transmission. And typically for... 00:20:47.529 --> 00:20:50.769 radio broadcast, they work with a third party 00:20:50.769 --> 00:20:55.069 company called the IBB to contract transmission 00:20:55.069 --> 00:20:58.150 operations around the world strategically as 00:20:58.150 --> 00:21:02.009 required. And each month, if you go on the website, 00:21:02.190 --> 00:21:04.289 you'll note that they actually change frequencies 00:21:04.289 --> 00:21:07.990 to kind of fit the time of year and maximize 00:21:07.990 --> 00:21:11.869 their penetration and presence in the areas that 00:21:11.869 --> 00:21:15.789 they want to deliver messages. Very good. Well, 00:21:15.930 --> 00:21:19.769 We need to take a break, but we'll be back with 00:21:19.769 --> 00:21:22.470 some more about the Voice of America Museum right 00:21:22.470 --> 00:21:24.849 after this word from one of our sponsors, the 00:21:24.849 --> 00:21:27.549 HamStation, right here on HamTalk Live. This 00:21:27.549 --> 00:21:30.230 episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you by 00:21:30.230 --> 00:21:33.230 the HamStation. For 35 years, the HamStation 00:21:33.230 --> 00:21:36.089 has brought new and used radios, antennas, accessories, 00:21:36.250 --> 00:21:38.470 and equipment to the amateur radio community. 00:21:38.829 --> 00:21:45.089 Give Jeff or Dan a call at 1 -800 -729 -4373. 00:21:45.150 --> 00:21:49.009 or order online at hamstation .com. Hamstation 00:21:49.009 --> 00:21:51.410 carries all the major brands like Icom, Yezu, 00:21:51.690 --> 00:21:54.609 and Kenwood. Shop from a wide selection of radio 00:21:54.609 --> 00:21:58.089 scanners, MFGA accessories, Heil Sound products, 00:21:58.470 --> 00:22:01.890 Mirage and Ameritron amplifiers, Cushcraft antennas, 00:22:01.970 --> 00:22:05.210 and more. Easy online shopping and fast shipping 00:22:05.210 --> 00:22:09.289 are waiting for you at hamstation .com or call 00:22:09.289 --> 00:22:15.930 1 -800 -729 -4373. The Ham Station, proud to 00:22:15.930 --> 00:22:20.109 sponsor this episode of HamTalk Live. Hey baby, 00:22:20.470 --> 00:22:25.609 what's your sign? What's your call sign? You're 00:22:25.609 --> 00:22:41.289 listening to HamTalk Live with Neil Rapp. Welcome 00:22:41.289 --> 00:22:43.890 back to ham talk live thanks to the support of 00:22:43.890 --> 00:22:46.089 the ham station to bring ham talk live to you 00:22:46.089 --> 00:22:48.890 each week Dan and Jeff for just a phone call 00:22:48.890 --> 00:22:51.069 away to answer your questions about a new rig 00:22:51.069 --> 00:22:56.609 or antenna call 800 -729 -4373 and be sure to 00:22:56.609 --> 00:22:58.589 listen to the show every Thursday night at 9 00:22:58.589 --> 00:23:01.210 p .m. Eastern Time right here on ham talk live 00:23:01.210 --> 00:23:04.569 comm also check out our Facebook page and our 00:23:04.569 --> 00:23:07.029 Twitter feed just search for ham talk live we 00:23:07.029 --> 00:23:10.279 do have some pictures of the Voice of America 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:13.660 Museum of Broadcasting in Westchester, Ohio, 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:18.299 up there on Facebook and Twitter. Okay, let's 00:23:18.299 --> 00:23:21.579 go to Gary now. And Gary, tell us how the museum 00:23:21.579 --> 00:23:25.880 came about. Well, Neil, as most of you know, 00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:30.680 in November of 1994, VOA Bethany was decommissioned. 00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:33.220 It had become the victim of changing technology 00:23:33.220 --> 00:23:37.320 that actually made the facility obsolete. In 00:23:37.320 --> 00:23:40.819 1997, on a very sad day for many of us, all of 00:23:40.819 --> 00:23:44.000 its towers were brought down and the property 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:50.140 was sold to the local community for $1. The federal 00:23:50.140 --> 00:23:54.500 government sold 25 acres to a private developer 00:23:54.500 --> 00:23:56.859 and that became the Voice of America Shopping 00:23:56.859 --> 00:24:00.829 Center. Miami University received 25 acres for 00:24:00.829 --> 00:24:03.029 the development of the Regional Learning Center 00:24:03.029 --> 00:24:06.410 and Westchester Township and Butler County Metro 00:24:06.410 --> 00:24:10.849 Parks received nearly 500 acres between them 00:24:10.849 --> 00:24:16.170 and the historic VOA building. Westchester Township 00:24:16.170 --> 00:24:21.579 later awarded its share of the 500 acres to Metro 00:24:21.579 --> 00:24:24.940 Parks of Butler County for the development of 00:24:24.940 --> 00:24:27.740 recreational facilities for the community's benefit, 00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:31.599 but retained the VOA Bethany building and surrounding 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:34.640 20 acres for restoration and development of the 00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:37.180 National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:41.599 In 2006, Westchester Township trustees created 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:43.920 and appointed a governing board for the museum. 00:24:44.569 --> 00:24:46.990 About the same time the township in the state 00:24:46.990 --> 00:24:50.089 of Ohio invested approximately $2 million in 00:24:50.089 --> 00:24:52.210 renovating and preserving the outside of the 00:24:52.210 --> 00:24:55.430 building. The renovation included replacing the 00:24:55.430 --> 00:24:58.970 buildings facing new energy efficient doors and 00:24:58.970 --> 00:25:02.230 windows and a new roof. The board was charged 00:25:02.230 --> 00:25:04.750 with creating and maintaining the National Voice 00:25:04.750 --> 00:25:08.210 of America Museum of Broadcasting. The board's 00:25:08.210 --> 00:25:10.470 responsibilities include creating a facility 00:25:10.470 --> 00:25:13.269 that pays homage to the voice of America's legacy. 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:17.099 and recognizes VOA's role in promoting freedom 00:25:17.099 --> 00:25:20.700 and democracy throughout the world and the technology 00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:24.220 VOA developed to accomplish this goal. The board 00:25:24.220 --> 00:25:27.440 was also responsible for supervising and coordinating 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:30.079 the activities of the three partner organizations 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:32.900 that are located at the museum. Those are namely 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:36.380 the Westchester Amateur Radio Association, Gray 00:25:36.380 --> 00:25:39.640 History of Wireless Museum, and Media Heritage. 00:25:43.280 --> 00:25:46.380 Well, I I had a chance to go there this this 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:49.559 summer this past summer and got went through 00:25:49.559 --> 00:25:53.319 the Grey Museum and the Cincinnati Museum of 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:55.599 Broadcasting and everything and it's just just 00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:58.200 fabulous and I know you've got a lot more work 00:25:58.200 --> 00:26:00.579 that you're planning on doing we'll talk about 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:03.980 that in a bit and how maybe some of our listeners 00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:08.440 can help out with that but It's a it's a great 00:26:08.440 --> 00:26:12.380 facility. So Jay, I understand there's several 00:26:12.380 --> 00:26:14.559 key components that make up that collection. 00:26:14.759 --> 00:26:18.099 Why don't you run those down for us and tell 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:20.259 our listeners a little bit about what they would 00:26:20.259 --> 00:26:24.140 see if they're able to come and tour the museum 00:26:24.140 --> 00:26:28.420 and when they can do that. Okay very good. Well 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:34.059 yes there are basically four overall components. 00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:39.380 The gray history of wireless is one of them. 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:44.539 The Gray history of wireless actually began with 00:26:44.539 --> 00:26:48.380 George J. Gray, Jack Gray, who was the first 00:26:48.380 --> 00:26:52.200 supervisor of the Bethany transmission plant. 00:26:53.059 --> 00:26:56.599 Jack worked for many years for the Crosley organization 00:26:56.599 --> 00:26:58.960 and then transferred to the U .S. government 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:03.980 when they took over the facility in 1963. in 00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:07.539 the early 50s began collecting early wireless 00:27:07.539 --> 00:27:13.400 equipment. And he had that in a building, started 00:27:13.400 --> 00:27:17.420 out with his garage and then added the structure 00:27:17.420 --> 00:27:21.519 to the garage and had that at his home in Mason, 00:27:21.559 --> 00:27:26.539 Ohio. And when Jack passed away, the collection 00:27:26.539 --> 00:27:32.269 was handed off to a group of hams and for many 00:27:32.269 --> 00:27:35.589 years resided at the WCET, the public TV station 00:27:35.589 --> 00:27:40.269 in the Crosley Telecommunications Center, but 00:27:40.269 --> 00:27:44.009 was forced out of there as they needed more space. 00:27:44.490 --> 00:27:47.890 And that became kind of the initial cornerstone 00:27:47.890 --> 00:27:53.150 for the museum. And then the, of course, collection 00:27:53.150 --> 00:27:55.650 artifacts and so forth related to the Voice of 00:27:55.650 --> 00:28:00.180 America itself. And the third major museum component 00:28:00.180 --> 00:28:04.200 is the Cincinnati Media Heritage Collection that 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:07.079 was started by a local broadcaster and former 00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:13.400 student of mine, Mike Martini. The collection 00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:19.619 has both artifacts and pictures and some great 00:28:19.619 --> 00:28:23.859 material. documenting the history of broadcasting 00:28:23.859 --> 00:28:25.700 in the greater Cincinnati area. And of course, 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:31.319 this was a major broadcast center compared to 00:28:31.319 --> 00:28:33.720 New York and Los Angeles. Cincinnati was right 00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:38.680 up there with them because of the the Crosley 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:45.440 activities in the 30s and 40s. This was was a 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:49.200 real Mecca for network broadcasting. So Mike 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:53.660 has a lot of that plus the archives of Fred Ziv 00:28:53.660 --> 00:28:58.200 who was a program producer. The fourth component 00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:00.980 of that of course is the Westchester Amateur 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:05.000 Radio Association and WC8VOA which resides in 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:10.619 the former control room of the original voice 00:29:10.619 --> 00:29:15.960 facility there at Bethany. Now the collection 00:29:15.960 --> 00:29:20.170 is open on the third Saturday of every month 00:29:20.170 --> 00:29:24.470 from 1 to 4 p .m. Our goal as part of the museum 00:29:24.470 --> 00:29:28.589 is to expand those hours but we have a fair amount 00:29:28.589 --> 00:29:32.430 of work to do in terms of making the building 00:29:32.430 --> 00:29:37.769 ADA compliant and some renovation in the museum 00:29:37.769 --> 00:29:41.029 exhibit space. Gary will talk a bit more about 00:29:41.029 --> 00:29:44.710 that later in the show. We are going to have 00:29:45.069 --> 00:29:49.549 a special open house, which I've hosted every 00:29:49.549 --> 00:29:55.650 other year at the VOA Museum for hams. It used 00:29:55.650 --> 00:29:57.869 to be on Friday night. This year we're moving 00:29:57.869 --> 00:30:02.529 it to Saturday night during the hamvention. And 00:30:02.529 --> 00:30:05.509 we'll be open from 6 .30 until nine o 'clock 00:30:05.509 --> 00:30:09.410 with tours and guides to take you through and 00:30:09.410 --> 00:30:13.119 explain the collection. Some very unique pieces 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:16.180 in the collection. We'll talk about that in a 00:30:16.180 --> 00:30:19.839 bit as well, Neil. Very good, very good. Well, 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:22.940 I'm glad to hear that that's coming up and we'll 00:30:22.940 --> 00:30:26.619 tell you just a little bit more about that here. 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:30.000 After we take one more break, we do need to do 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:32.559 that, but we'll be back with more about the Voice 00:30:32.559 --> 00:30:35.660 of America Museum and a chance for you guys out 00:30:35.660 --> 00:30:39.779 there listening to see this place. It's fantastic. 00:30:40.600 --> 00:30:44.279 We will be back in just about a minute and talk 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:47.319 about that right here on HamTalk Live. This episode 00:30:47.319 --> 00:30:50.460 of HamTalk Live is brought to you by Tower Electronics. 00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:53.039 Tower Electronics has been the Ham's dime store 00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:56.700 since 1978, bringing connectors, antennas, cables, 00:30:56.720 --> 00:30:59.359 and other parts to the world. Scott and Jill 00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:01.519 travel the country bringing their store to you 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:04.599 at HamFest, but you can also order online at 00:31:04.599 --> 00:31:14.200 pl -259 .com or by calling 920. 435 -2973. Stock 00:31:14.200 --> 00:31:17.420 up on those supplies like PL -259 and end connectors, 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:20.859 audio cables, mobile antennas, and hamsticks. 00:31:21.339 --> 00:31:23.599 Their silver -plated end connectors are even 00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:26.579 in use on the International Space Station. Tower 00:31:26.579 --> 00:31:30.380 Electronics is a dealer for MFJ, Comet, Daiwa, 00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:34.079 OPEC, Workman, and HamPro technologies. Tower 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:38.619 electronics online at PL -259 .com. Proud to 00:31:38.619 --> 00:31:46.740 sponsor this episode of HamTalk Live. CQ. CQ. 00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:51.799 CQ. You're listening to HamTalk Live with Neil 00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:58.369 Rapp. Welcome back to HamTalk Live. We'd like 00:31:58.369 --> 00:32:00.349 to thank Tower Electronics for sponsoring the 00:32:00.349 --> 00:32:02.750 show. Don't miss Scott and Jill at the Mobile 00:32:02.750 --> 00:32:06.250 Alabama HamFest on April 9th, where you can visit 00:32:06.250 --> 00:32:11.230 the site at pl -259 .com. The National Voice 00:32:11.230 --> 00:32:13.690 of America Museum of Broadcasting is our topic 00:32:13.690 --> 00:32:16.349 this evening, and we have some time for some 00:32:16.349 --> 00:32:19.309 calls. We'll be doing that shortly. So get ready 00:32:19.309 --> 00:32:22.670 to Skype us at HamTalk Live, or you can call 00:32:22.670 --> 00:32:27.470 us by telephone at 812. We do have a couple of 00:32:27.470 --> 00:32:29.990 things though. We had hoped to, uh, to squeeze 00:32:29.990 --> 00:32:33.450 in here. So let's do that. So, uh, the big announcement, 00:32:33.769 --> 00:32:37.930 Joe, tell us everything our listeners need to 00:32:37.930 --> 00:32:40.630 know about attending this open house on Hamvich 00:32:40.630 --> 00:32:44.890 and weekend. Excellent. And yes, we are having 00:32:44.890 --> 00:32:49.000 an open house. The WAN is Saturday, May 21st, 00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:53.359 630 p .m. to 9 p .m. It is at the Voice of America 00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:59.259 Bethany Relay Station. And gosh, what's the easiest 00:32:59.259 --> 00:33:03.740 way to find it? We have a website at voamuseum 00:33:03.740 --> 00:33:08.980 .org, www .voamuseum .org for further directions 00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:13.259 on that. It's $5 payable at the door. We'll have 00:33:13.259 --> 00:33:16.099 some refreshments there. And we will have some 00:33:16.099 --> 00:33:20.019 of the most special, coolest tours that we've 00:33:20.019 --> 00:33:22.200 ever done because we're going to have a lot of 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:24.720 hams coming down from Dayton. And we want to 00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:28.440 show some, some of the, um, the inside secrets, 00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:30.579 if you will. So we look forward to having as 00:33:30.579 --> 00:33:34.480 many people join us as possible. Well, that's 00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:36.819 excellent, Joe. I, I got to see, you know, a 00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:39.960 lot, but I'm sure there'll be a lot more, um, 00:33:40.059 --> 00:33:44.940 available there. And then, um, Gary, tell us 00:33:44.940 --> 00:33:47.960 a little bit about the club station there, the 00:33:47.960 --> 00:33:51.259 WC -8VOA. I was able to sit down and operate 00:33:51.259 --> 00:33:54.440 that for about 30 to 45 minutes that day and 00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:57.420 had a nice little pile up there. Tell us a little 00:33:57.420 --> 00:34:02.759 bit about operating that station. Okay, Neil. 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:06.200 Well, I'd like to let your listeners know that 00:34:06.200 --> 00:34:09.199 the station is available for operation by anyone 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:13.829 who visits the museum. The station is located 00:34:13.829 --> 00:34:16.929 in the restored original control room for the 00:34:16.929 --> 00:34:20.690 VOA facility and it has four operating positions. 00:34:20.909 --> 00:34:23.510 Three of the stations have amplifiers including 00:34:23.510 --> 00:34:27.110 one that has a vintage Henry 2K Classic. The 00:34:27.110 --> 00:34:29.269 remaining station is a beginner station that 00:34:29.269 --> 00:34:32.849 operates barefoot and has PSK 31 capabilities. 00:34:33.289 --> 00:34:37.170 We also have a VHF UHF operating position and 00:34:37.170 --> 00:34:41.650 a separate APRS station. We are currently installing 00:34:41.650 --> 00:34:44.489 an operating bench for some of our vintage equipment 00:34:44.489 --> 00:34:47.110 and we are in the process of setting up a vintage 00:34:47.110 --> 00:34:51.610 FT -101EE which was the last FT -101 to come 00:34:51.610 --> 00:34:57.630 off the Yezu FT -101 service line before they 00:34:57.630 --> 00:35:00.050 shut it down and that's going to be the first 00:35:00.050 --> 00:35:02.349 part of this installation. We hope to have that 00:35:02.349 --> 00:35:05.690 up and running here shortly. The facility has 00:35:05.690 --> 00:35:08.250 been undergoing restoration for several years 00:35:08.250 --> 00:35:11.659 so That's prevented us from installing any permanent 00:35:11.659 --> 00:35:15.039 antennas, but we do have two 60 foot temporary 00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:18.440 towers, one at each end of the building and both 00:35:18.440 --> 00:35:21.880 hold tri -band beams. The East tower also has 00:35:21.880 --> 00:35:25.599 a 75, 40 and 17 meter fan dipole and the West 00:35:25.599 --> 00:35:29.320 tower has a six meter beam and a separate dipole 00:35:29.320 --> 00:35:33.440 for 75 and 40 meters in addition to the tri -bander. 00:35:33.880 --> 00:35:36.710 And I know you've got a You've got a repeater 00:35:36.710 --> 00:35:39.309 too. Is the repeater located there or is it just 00:35:39.309 --> 00:35:42.449 in the area? The repeater is actually located 00:35:42.449 --> 00:35:45.170 over in Fairfield, but that is we will do talk 00:35:45.170 --> 00:35:52.989 -in on that. That's 145 .39 minus 600 and it 00:35:52.989 --> 00:35:55.670 has no access code. You don't need a tone to 00:35:55.670 --> 00:36:02.650 get into it. Excellent. Excellent. And it's really 00:36:02.650 --> 00:36:05.869 easy to find if you take the The exit there you 00:36:05.869 --> 00:36:09.170 can actually see it from from the highway, so 00:36:09.170 --> 00:36:13.650 it's it's not Hard to find so if you have some 00:36:13.650 --> 00:36:15.789 questions give us a call. We're going to open 00:36:15.789 --> 00:36:20.429 up the lines here Skype us at ham talk live or 00:36:20.429 --> 00:36:25.650 call us at eight one two net ham one That's eight 00:36:25.650 --> 00:36:29.829 one two six three eight four two six one if you 00:36:29.829 --> 00:36:32.969 have a question for any of these guys Gary Joe 00:36:32.969 --> 00:36:36.619 or Jay about the museum and about the open house, 00:36:36.840 --> 00:36:41.300 please give us a call. And Gary, why don't you 00:36:41.300 --> 00:36:43.820 go ahead and tell us about the development plans 00:36:43.820 --> 00:36:47.239 for the museum and how people can help out with 00:36:47.239 --> 00:36:51.420 that. Well, Neil, as you saw when you were there, 00:36:51.440 --> 00:36:54.059 we've already made some pretty significant progress, 00:36:54.059 --> 00:36:56.840 but you also saw that we've got a lot of opportunities 00:36:56.840 --> 00:37:00.460 for the facility. We hope to make this a truly 00:37:00.460 --> 00:37:02.900 first -class operation and we're going to need 00:37:02.900 --> 00:37:06.900 a lot of help to accomplish this goal. As I previously 00:37:06.900 --> 00:37:09.960 stated, Westchester Township and the State of 00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:12.940 Ohio have made some very significant contributions 00:37:12.940 --> 00:37:15.099 including renovation of the shell of the building. 00:37:16.039 --> 00:37:19.019 Members of the Westchester Amateur Radio Association 00:37:19.019 --> 00:37:21.860 have donated a very substantial amount of labor 00:37:21.860 --> 00:37:25.159 to accomplish several very significant projects 00:37:25.159 --> 00:37:28.340 at the museum. The most recent accomplishment 00:37:28.340 --> 00:37:31.539 is the development of the West Garage area into 00:37:31.539 --> 00:37:35.539 Clyde Hanley Hall, a multi -purpose exhibit meeting 00:37:35.539 --> 00:37:39.380 area. As an aside here, Clyde was a co -op engineer 00:37:39.380 --> 00:37:42.800 at the VOA station when it was constructed. He 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:45.059 later became vice president of engineering for 00:37:45.059 --> 00:37:47.960 Crosley Broadcasting, which was later known as 00:37:47.960 --> 00:37:51.539 Avco Broadcasting. Clyde is 93 years old and 00:37:51.539 --> 00:37:55.400 is currently a member of the museum board. Other 00:37:55.400 --> 00:37:58.059 significant projects include removal of two of 00:37:58.059 --> 00:38:01.900 the three Collins 250 KW shortwave transmitters 00:38:01.900 --> 00:38:04.659 and removal of the racking at the north end of 00:38:04.659 --> 00:38:07.360 the control room for exhibit and meeting space. 00:38:08.119 --> 00:38:10.800 The club also rebuilt the original control room 00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:15.469 into what is now the WC -8VOA hams shack. Current 00:38:15.469 --> 00:38:18.769 projects in various stages of development. A 00:38:18.769 --> 00:38:21.170 few of them are development of the East garage 00:38:21.170 --> 00:38:23.730 area into a more focused exhibit and meeting 00:38:23.730 --> 00:38:26.750 area. Expansion of heating and air conditioning 00:38:26.750 --> 00:38:29.269 systems in the building to areas that are not 00:38:29.269 --> 00:38:32.530 currently heated or air conditioned. Modifications 00:38:32.530 --> 00:38:35.250 to the building to make it more handicap accessible. 00:38:36.309 --> 00:38:39.489 Modernization of restroom facilities. development 00:38:39.489 --> 00:38:42.190 of exhibit areas to more effectively tell the 00:38:42.190 --> 00:38:45.750 VOA story and of special interest to us hams, 00:38:46.030 --> 00:38:48.750 installation of permanent antennas for WC -8 00:38:48.750 --> 00:38:52.909 VOA and replica rhombic and curtain antennas 00:38:52.909 --> 00:38:56.329 that WC -8 VOA will use to demonstrate the operation 00:38:56.329 --> 00:39:00.039 of the original VOA antennas. We have numerous 00:39:00.039 --> 00:39:02.400 other things that we want to accomplish, and 00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:04.880 we're looking for money, in -kind donations, 00:39:05.079 --> 00:39:07.679 and volunteers who can help us with these projects. 00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:11.000 Anyone seeking more information about these opportunities 00:39:11.000 --> 00:39:15.139 can contact us through our website voamuseum 00:39:15.139 --> 00:39:19.869 .org. That's voamuseum .org. More information 00:39:19.869 --> 00:39:22.309 about the Westchester Amateur Radio Association 00:39:22.309 --> 00:39:28.590 is available at WCAVOA .org. That's WhiskeyCharlie8VictorOscarAlpha 00:39:28.590 --> 00:39:32.190 .org. Or anyone who would like to reach me directly 00:39:32.190 --> 00:39:36.750 can do so at K8DEV, Kilo8DeltaEchoVictor at Yahoo 00:39:36.750 --> 00:39:40.070 .com. So that's a little bit of what we're up 00:39:40.070 --> 00:39:43.860 to. Well, very good and I know the day that I 00:39:43.860 --> 00:39:47.039 was there the the garage door was half open so 00:39:47.039 --> 00:39:49.059 we get some air in there and I was glad that 00:39:49.059 --> 00:39:54.579 it was a cold rainy day because it was warm and 00:39:54.579 --> 00:39:59.159 so that air conditioning I'm sure would Definitely 00:39:59.159 --> 00:40:02.199 help and a lot of those initiatives. So look 00:40:02.199 --> 00:40:06.900 forward to seeing that Grow as as time goes on 00:40:06.900 --> 00:40:10.420 so good luck with the with the plans for that 00:40:10.329 --> 00:40:15.190 We've got about three minutes left here and we 00:40:15.190 --> 00:40:19.190 could go on for hours. But Joe, there's some 00:40:19.190 --> 00:40:22.650 educational outreach. Can you give us a real 00:40:22.650 --> 00:40:27.590 quick rundown on that? Sure, Neil. We had an 00:40:27.590 --> 00:40:31.389 opportunity with a local organization who was 00:40:31.389 --> 00:40:34.309 setting up something called Pi Day. Imagine that 00:40:34.309 --> 00:40:38.760 3 .14, March 14th or the closest Friday. and 00:40:38.760 --> 00:40:42.139 they asked us if we would participate. And the 00:40:42.139 --> 00:40:45.599 club got together and put together a pretty stellar 00:40:45.599 --> 00:40:50.119 demonstration where we talk about magnetics and 00:40:50.119 --> 00:40:53.079 electricity and the magic that happens between 00:40:53.079 --> 00:40:56.940 them and how that ultimately turns into a radio 00:40:56.940 --> 00:41:01.119 wave. So we've participated in several events, 00:41:01.519 --> 00:41:05.239 thousands of students in the fourth, fifth, sixth 00:41:05.239 --> 00:41:09.719 grade. And our goal is to use the expertise in 00:41:09.719 --> 00:41:12.719 the club to reach out to the next generation 00:41:12.719 --> 00:41:15.619 and hopefully get them interested in STEM careers. 00:41:16.820 --> 00:41:18.900 Well, absolutely. And that's a lot what I do. 00:41:18.940 --> 00:41:21.960 So that's near and dear to my heart. And I was 00:41:21.960 --> 00:41:25.619 able to see a little bit of a demonstration set 00:41:25.619 --> 00:41:29.760 up there when I walked in. I didn't get a chance 00:41:29.760 --> 00:41:33.460 to look at it real well, but there had been some. 00:41:33.659 --> 00:41:36.820 some kind of a display earlier in demonstration 00:41:36.820 --> 00:41:41.079 earlier that day and saw some things you're doing 00:41:41.079 --> 00:41:44.440 so that's just great. Now I've got one minute 00:41:44.440 --> 00:41:47.940 left and I'm not sure who to direct this to but 00:41:47.940 --> 00:41:50.980 in our meeting the other day I know the Drake 00:41:50.980 --> 00:41:55.159 fans out there. Drake was just up the road in 00:41:55.159 --> 00:41:58.719 Miamisburg. I understand we've got a complete 00:41:58.719 --> 00:42:01.179 collection or near complete collection of Drake 00:42:01.179 --> 00:42:06.179 equipment up there. Yes, this is Jay. Bob Drake, 00:42:07.739 --> 00:42:10.880 who was the founder of RL Drake, was very good 00:42:10.880 --> 00:42:14.000 about putting one of everything that they built 00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:18.320 aside and stored it in McGee's closet, so to 00:42:18.320 --> 00:42:22.440 speak. When Bob passed away, much of that was 00:42:22.440 --> 00:42:26.659 discovered. When they relocated the business 00:42:26.659 --> 00:42:30.960 to Franklin, Ohio, the employees put together 00:42:30.960 --> 00:42:35.059 a museum essentially in the lobby, behind glass 00:42:35.059 --> 00:42:38.820 type display, beginning with stuff that he built 00:42:38.820 --> 00:42:42.900 during World War II, and of course the early 00:42:42.900 --> 00:42:47.079 phone patch and the filters, TBI filters, the 00:42:47.079 --> 00:42:49.480 high pass and low pass filters, then the Drake 00:42:49.480 --> 00:42:54.800 1A and of course the 2A, 2B, etc. When R .L. 00:42:54.880 --> 00:42:59.820 Drake was purchased by one of, by Blondertong, 00:42:59.860 --> 00:43:04.260 one of the cable TV companies, the collection 00:43:04.260 --> 00:43:06.800 was going to go into storage. So we contacted 00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:10.800 the president of Blondertong and persuaded them 00:43:10.800 --> 00:43:15.340 to donate the collection to the gray portion 00:43:15.340 --> 00:43:19.480 of our museum. And we're very fortunate to have 00:43:19.480 --> 00:43:22.820 this equipment. It is in pristine condition. 00:43:23.420 --> 00:43:28.690 Many pieces have never even been operated in 00:43:28.690 --> 00:43:31.429 service other than when they were on the bench 00:43:31.429 --> 00:43:36.690 being aligned. So we've got everything beginning 00:43:36.690 --> 00:43:39.230 with the, as I said, the World War II products 00:43:39.230 --> 00:43:44.989 all the way through the TR7 and R8 era of RL 00:43:44.989 --> 00:43:48.809 Drake. And it's quite an addition. That's excellent. 00:43:49.010 --> 00:43:51.309 So all you Drake fans, make sure you stop by 00:43:51.309 --> 00:43:55.780 this place and check this stuff out. Again, voamuseum 00:43:55.780 --> 00:44:01.019 .org is the website and the clubstationwc8voa 00:44:01.019 --> 00:44:05.340 .org. Check those out and guys, thanks for being 00:44:05.340 --> 00:44:08.300 here. And that's gonna be a wrap for this week's 00:44:08.300 --> 00:44:10.699 edition of HamTalk Live. I'd like to thank my 00:44:10.699 --> 00:44:14.920 guests, Gary West, K8DEV, Jay Aldrich, K8CJY, 00:44:15.420 --> 00:44:19.400 and Joe Gruber, WD8AZQ, and all the callers and 00:44:19.400 --> 00:44:21.619 listeners out there in cyberspace. and invite 00:44:21.619 --> 00:44:23.980 you all back next Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern 00:44:23.980 --> 00:44:28.719 when my guest will be Rosalie White, K1STO, who 00:44:28.719 --> 00:44:32.980 is the coordinator of the ARIS program at ARRL. 00:44:33.440 --> 00:44:36.239 They recently celebrated their 1000th QSO with 00:44:36.239 --> 00:44:38.679 the International Space Station and Rosalie will 00:44:38.679 --> 00:44:40.599 be here to reflect on the program and fill us 00:44:40.599 --> 00:44:46.199 in on the future of ARIS. So with Assistant Producer 00:44:46.199 --> 00:44:49.119 Nick Bauer, KC9 Cheesy Y, this is Neil Rapp, 00:44:49.280 --> 00:44:54.659 WB9VPG, saying 7375, and may the good DX be yours.