"CQ" "CQ" Calling all Amateur Radio Operators. Will you join us?

Question

Calling "CQ" on amateur radio means you are trying to reach any ham radio operator who hears you.  It is a way to connect, meet and share your love of amateur radio.

One hundred years ago, successful short wave transatlantic radio communications were made by "amateur" radio operators; proving the viability and usefulness of short wave radio as compared with the commercially useful long wave radio.

Today, with the rise of the internet, amateur radio operators are diminishing in numbers.  With your help, we would love to identify current and past HAM (amateur) radio operators. 

We would especially love to get the genealogies of those who have left us, whom we call "silent keys" in honor of our origins from the days of morse code keys that have now gone silent.

And, as 2021-2023 is the 100th anniversary of those successful transatlantic communications via short wave radio, I am calling CQ (seek you)! to all international radio operators.

Currently the Category: Ham Radio Operators has only 68 profiles.  We are missing many historic profiles.  Can we reach 100 international profiles for 100 years of transatlantic short wave communications?

"CQ" "CQ"  Will you join us?

- KD6DYB

Comments

Added category to my profile.  G6XBM, later G4XBM.

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Woo Hoo!  100 Profiles.  Way to go!

We are in the process of reorganizing and updating.  Keep up the good work and check back for updates to this project.

Stand bye for more news....

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I will add my distant relative Ralph Boshier (ZL2AG), who died in December 2019. When I visited New Zealand a few years ago I knew he and his wife lived in or near Auckland, but the contact details I had were long out of date. When I googled his name he came up as the contact for their local Amateur Radio Club.

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My father loved his ham radio, he sat for hrs and hrs talking to anyone he could get to listen. I don’t know if he had a handle/ radio name but I can hear him say he was in Southwest Oklahoma to many many people. Japan, Europe, all over the US. I even played on it a few times saying I was “Goldie Locks” from southwest Oklahoma, come on! We had them in our vehicles when we moved from Utah to Florida, they came in handy talking to one another for traffic issues and keeping up with the other family car.

We should break them out of storage and continue using them, great device.

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Thank you Martin, good to have your contributions.

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Nancy, do you know his call sign?  Does he have a profile on Wikitree that we can update?

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The list keeps getting longer. With over 3 million Hams world wide and 114, the last time I checked, in the category, 51in the Silent Keys category, we still have a lot to add so keep up the good work.

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Im sure he had one but I have no idea what it would be. It was many years ago and he passed in 2012. Wish I could help with this but don’t know where to get that info.

Thank you

Nancy Lea

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Nancy I have access to the call book from 1932 until 1977 so I could possibly find his call but with the privacy settings on his profile I could not add anything. Do you have any dates that could possibly narrow down my search?

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I can change privacy settings. I believe he had a ham radio 1967-1980’s.

Thanks for doing this.

Nancy Lea

Answer 1

Here's one. He has a profile but is not in the category:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hughes-6490

Comments

Yes, W5CY

Thank you.

Answer 2

John Griscom - KM4RVB

Comments

Thanks John!

Answer 3

I am an "Extra" ham radio operator, call sign AK6V.  I have greatly enjoyed being a team member with Yamhill County Amateur Radio Emergency Services.  We practice drills for providing ham radio services to the county in event of disasters local or widespread.  In addition we volunteer support at local events such as the Lafayette Fun Run, providing radio support to the event organizers during the run.  It has been a very enjoyable activity!

Comments

Welcome John!  Glad you have joined us.

Answer 4

I am a ham, technician class, call sign K1OSJ.

Comments

I am tech too. Welcome John. (That’s 3 John’s in a row!)

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Hey John,

I am KB6FNS is Calif.

My dad was W6PO  (W6UOV)

janice

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Michael,

Thank you.

John Sutherland

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Janice,

Well, you strike my genealogical fancy, Miss.  We might be related if Sutherland is your maiden name.

John Sutherland

Answer 5

Yes. WA4JLK

Comments

Thank you Edward!

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WA4JLK - my father's first call sign was WA5GNB, from 1963 until 2015 when he accidentally let it expire.  His new one is KC5RG.

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Good stuff Chuck, put that into his bio.  Thank you.

Answer 6

Nice to see hams here!  I'm ab3ap, mostly CW.

Comments

Copy that! Welcome Mike.

Answer 7

should be a few of use - Hayes-3650 - I'm FCC license / call sign - AG6MH

Comments

Now the Mike’s are checking in!  Glad to have you Mike.

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Hayes-3650

Mike Hayes

Call sign: KJ5TDN

First issued : 2011

Location: Kern County, Ca, United States of America

Class: Technician

Call sign: AG6LL

Upgraded: 2012

Class: General

Location: Fresno County, Ca, United States of America

Call sign: AG6MH

Upgraded Vanity: 2012

Class: Extra

Location: Fresno County, Ca, United States of America

Answer 8

N7GGS here (Adv). On 12 Nov 1995 I made a packet connection to RØMIR at the MIR Space Station on 145.56 MHz. It was just my callsign, which was acknowledged automatically via an onboard computer. I later got a QSL card via the QSL manager. My best spaceman contact ever.

Comments

Awesome Craig! Good work.  Welcome.

Answer 9

K0MSM here, one of the diminishing breed of Advanced class operators.

Comments

Indeed. Thanks for checking in Michael! (One more Mike and we will be 5x5.)

Answer 10

My father, Chuck Biggs, Sr was a lifelong Amateur Radio operator, call signs WA5GNB and KC5RG.  He was a member of the MARS Net (Military Auxiliary Radio System), a civilian program sponsored by the US Department of Defense, communicating using radioteletype (RTTY).  His MARS call sign was NN0VHX.  He was actively involved in the SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment) and OSCAR (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) programs.  He was named the “Ham” Radio Operator of the Year by NASA/JSC in 1987.

Comments

Chuck, very cool! Have you added the category to your profiles?

thanks for checking in!

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Just now added.

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My father was also a ham (K2SAU), and I added the Silent Keys category to his profile. In one of the earliest photos of me, I'm sitting on his lap in the ham shack with headphones on, and there is a similar one of my younger brother. It was a long time before I realized not every house had a ham shack. It also amused me that one of the first photos he took of his first new house was of the antenna on the roof.

Answer 11

My dad Robert MIlton Brown 1904-1950 (in my tree profile) was a Ham in Troy NY during his RPI college times 1924-1928 .... think I have a copy of his license.  My Father-in-Law David Levine (no profile yet in Wiki) .... Station KC2E out of Saratoga NY.  Both deceased.

Comments

Hi Daniel, were you able to update his profile?

Answer 12

Glad to see this ham radio group is growing. I am W6EJJ, Amateur Extra. First licensed in 1950 as W4SAT.

For many years I was a director and vice president of ARRL, the national organization of amateur radio operators. Will try to update my profile and contribute some information as time permits. 73 de W6EJJ

Comments

Thanks Jay, we are making some good progress.

Answer 13

Silent Key - N4DTH - [[Trumbull-368|Donald Trumbull Jr.]]

Comments

Thanks Jody, did we get his profile update?

Answer 14

Trained on U.S. Army radio equipment, couldn't go to Radio Teletype School because of my low Morse Code scores, but ended up training others on Air Force equipment on my way to Comm Center Supervisor. Now holding General License. Not on the air at this time, but help when I can. Most interested in emergency communications. - Michael Thomas, N0MRT

Comments

Thanks Michael, your contributions are most welcome.

Answer 15

Me. KC7TIK, my son, my husband.

Comments

Thanks Barbara, did you get them all updated?

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2 out of 3, yes! My son doesn't have a profile yet.

Answer 16

Charles (Chuck) Piercy, Extra Class KC3ZO.  I have had a ticket for many years but haven't been active for a while. My most interesting experience as a HAM was being the HAM operator on duty at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center while shuttle audio was simucast on 2, 10, 15, 20, 40, 80 meters, all over the world. We also provided Kepalarian elements for the shuttle to HAMs that listened directly to shuttle downlinks.

Comments

Seems we have a few Space Hams.  Thanks Chuck, good to have your help.

Answer 17

K7BAB - Extra class , in greater Seattle area.

Comments

Thanks Bruce.  I am in Poulsbo.

Answer 18

Another one!  ZL1MH (ex-G3JPQ, VS1LU, 9M4LU and ZL1BLJ) First licensed Jan 1954. Still active.

Mike.

Comments

We Mikes are well represented.  I will have to do a Mike Check. <grin>. Thanks Mike!

Answer 19

I'm KE5LFS.

My father was a ham in the 1960's and early 1970's. He was also a radio operator aboard the USS King DLG-10 from 1960 to 1963.

I was studying for a license in 1972. My dad left and took all of the radio equipment with him. I got interested again during a cub scout event with my sons that included a ham station radio during JOTA. Got my first license two weeks later.

Comments

I bet you enjoyed that even more.  Thanks Mike!

Answer 20

Shearer-2360 is a Radio Ham with callsign MM1HMV.  How can I help?

Comments

HI Brian,  First you can add the Category to your profile.  Check out our Free Space page.  We are working behind the scenes to get better organized.  The response has been tremendous.

Then stay tuned, we will update as we have new info to share.