GNARC September 2003 meeting  photos.                                                                                                    Don't forget to check the updated club web site. www.gnarc.org/ 

Jay NE2Q would like your opinion. Should we contribute money to the ARRL to keep CW as a  licenses requirement?  mailto:[email protected]

I will post your comments on GNARC Breaking News & Updates. www.qsl.net/w1ee/breaking 

Guest Speaker is a QCWA member Dave Mello W1DGM. Dave is a retired rocket scientist and he

recalls the days before Sputnik when money for the space program was not that easy to get.

Once the USSR lofted Sputnik into orbit, it was like opening a faucet. Obviously to make sure that we were not left behind in what looked like the beginning of a space race.  What if the Soviets had gotten an artillery platform into space while we were asleep. Dave's agency sprang into action and you know the rest.

The then young scientist (Dave) participated in fascinating  projects and events . We heard all about them in a time frame when money for research was no longer a problem while we were trying hard to keep the cold war from heating up. 

Dave Mello: a ham since 1954 is an Extra Class licensee and lives in West Hartford . He is active on 3.5-400 MHz., CW and SSB. Well, in truth, he admits, not too active.

He has held call signs: WN1UGH, W1UGH, and W3FOR.

Having been active in early Army and Air Force MARS, he also holds a Radiotelegraph 2nd Class License with Ship Radar Endorsement, Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit (for use with aircraft radio) and he even admits having held one of the early lifetime Citizen Band licenses—KAJJ-5618.

No slouch he, his additional  hobbies are chess, digital photography, computers, golf, woodworking, flying, sailing and ice boating. He holds a single-engine pilot's license with  land ,sea and glider and instrument ratings. Dave’s wife, Lainey, is also a licensed pilot.

He is a Bachelor of Science in Physics from UMass at Amherst , and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore .

Dave retired from the US Government after a 32-year career as Rocket Scientist/Physicist and telemetry engineer, and later as a program manager in the Department of Energy.

Dave is a modest guy and you don't know any of this until you start exploring. It was an interesting evening.