Contributing to Science

Larry Wolfgang has a good article in the May 2013 edition of QST titled "Contributing to Science." In it he recalls a few examples of how amateurs have helped professional scientists and engineers advance the state of the art in wireless communications. For instance Pat Dyer, WA5IYX, conducted an 11-year study of mid-latitude sporadic E, and Dave Olean, K1WHS, built a magnetometer to predict aurora to aid in 144 MHz DX. Hams also discovered trans-equatorial propagation. Mr. Wolfgang suggests that pursuing a meaningful scientific investigation of your own or maybe by your club would be a worthwhile and satisfying endeavor. BTW, while writing this I happened upon a resource for current QST articles on EBSCO Host website, which is significant because non-members of ARRL cannot access their online editions.

Posted June 2013

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...