Strong Ties Bind Amateurs and Broadcasters

Big Island ARRL News, 18 June 2017, 23:55 hrs, UTC, Post #228.

Source:

http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2017/june/strong-ties-bind-amateurs-broadcasters.htm#.WUcDq2ivvIU

Accessed on 18 June 2017, 23:55 hrs, UTC.

Please click link to read the full article.

Comment:

This article from the current edition of “Radio World” does an excellent job of describing the relationship between Amateur Radio operators and broadcast professionals.

“Radio World” says that, for many broadcasters, Amateur Radio “remains close to their hearts”, with many broadcast engineers, announcers, managers, and even a few station owners getting their start in radio and television via the conduit of Amateur Radio.

In my case, I finally passed my novice license back in 1977 at the behest of our station contract engineer, Don Nakano, who kept KHLO-AM (Hilo, Hawaii) legal and on the air. Although I’ve long forgotten Don’s call, he encouraged me to become a ham as part of my radio career. When I retired from the broadcasting business in 2011, I never forgot the day Don administered the novice exam and both of us waited for the formal license from the FCC. I kept my novice call (KH6JRM) out of remembrance for Don, who took the time to guide me into a most rewarding hobby, which also helped me with my various radio station duties. Subsequent engineers at my station urged me to complete the licensing ladder, with me eventually taking and passing the Amateur Extra exam.

So, this article from “Radio World” really took me back to those golden years of AM (and later FM) radio, complete with the “Gates Yard” console, the old Collins 20-E 5 kw transmitter, and the refurbished tower on swampland near the Hilo Harbor. Those were the days.

As broadcast engineer Walter Palmer (W4ALT) tells “Radio World”, Amateur Radio and broadcasting were cut from the same mold:

“Ohm’s Law is Ohm’s Law, whether you are using it to work on a home-built amateur radio transmitter or to keep a major-market radio station on air,” said Walter Palmer, W4ALT and director of broadcast operations, engineering and programming at Newsradio WGMD 92.7 FM in Rehoboth Beach, Del.”

“So it makes sense that someone who loved ham as a teenager would be drawn to radio engineering as a career. It was certainly true for me.” And, me, too.

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You can find more Amateur Radio-related articles at these websites:

http://www.HawaiiARRL.info.

https://oahuarrlnews.wordpress.com.

https://bigislandarrlnews.wordpress.com (this site).

http://kh6jrm.blogspot.com (Simple Ham Radio Antennas).

http://www.kh6jrm.info (breaking news for radio amateurs).

http://www.arrl.org.

http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news (weekly podcast updated every Friday).

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