Op: Carol Milazzo - YL
QTH: Citrus Heights, California, USA
Sacramento County
CQ Zone 3, ITU Zone 6 Locator CM98iq13
38.68° N 121.33° W
ex-WB2OZA(1970-76) ex-KP4EGZ(1975)
ex-KP4EMN(1976-78) AllStar Node: 53144 •
EchoLink Node: 307417
Seen at the 2011-2014 ARRL Pacificon Convention
the 40-minute documentary "An Insider Tour of the Arecibo
Observatory." Filmed on location, retired engineer Bob Zimmerman,
NP4B narrates an exclusive inside look into the communications
technology and workings of this famous world's largest radio
telescope in Puerto Rico, The National Astronomy and
Ionosphere Center.
Highlights from the
Logbook
WB2OZA in New York in 1970-1976
In 1966 my first short wave receiver was a Viscount Model 833 8 transistor 3 band
portable. It tuned the AM broadcast band and marine band
from 1.6 to 4.5 MHz on the internal ferrite antenna, and 6 to 18
MHz on the telescoping whip antenna. I collected SW broadcast
QSL cards and upon registering with Popular Electronics magazine
I received the short wave listener "call sign" WPE2RDU
in November 1969. QTH: Throgg's Neck, Bronx, NY Grid square FN30ct
MAY 1970 - Mark Grossman K2CON (now a Silent Key), salesperson at Arrow
Electronics at 97 Chambers Street, Manhattan administered my
Technician class license exam at his residence in Jamaica,
Queens, NY. I received the call sign WB2OZA.
21 NOV 1970 - My first on-the-air contact was with Lindsay
WA2HLF in the West Bronx on 145.3 MHz AM using the Knight-Kit TR-108 5
watt AM transceiver that I had built and a long wire
antenna. Later I added the matching V-107 VFO, a Heathkit Sixer
and Lafayette HA-460 6 meter transceivers, Hy-Gain 8 element 2m
Yagi and 4 element 6m Yagi.
MAY 1971 - First Class Commercial Radiotelephone Operators
License P1-2-29267
20 JUL 1971 - Upgraded to Advanced class. Added: World
Radio Labs Globe Chief transmitter, homebrew plate modulator,
Allied A-2515 receiver. Antennas: 75 foot flat-top at first,
then on 15 AUG 1971 mounted a Hy-Gain 14AVQ vertical on the roof.
18 AUG 1971 - My first 2m FM repeater QSO was with K2VZG via WA2SUR 146.19/73
MHz FM repeater atop 70 Pine Street in downtown Manhattan.
I used the Knight-Kit TR-108 transceiver and modulated the V-107
VFO to produce FM.
02 NOV 1971 - I modified a 2 watt military surplus sonobuoy transmitter
board for 2 meter FM. Purchased for about $20 from Leeds
Radio on 57 Warren Street in New York City, these were a popular
low-cost option for FM repeater operation before VHF FM
transceivers were manufactured for the amateur radio market.
16 MAY 1972 - I built my first SSB radio, a Heathkit HW-101 HF transceiver. 03 MAR
1973 - Added Swan FM-2X 2 meter transceiver and a CushCraft 2m
Ringo vertical antenna.
29 AUG 1972 - 10 MAR 1976 - My "Elmer" (mentor) John Jornet,
WA2MSM of Jackson Heights, Queens encouraged me to join US Air
Force MARS (my MARS call was AFC2OZA). He trained me in voice
and radioteletype message handling on the 6 meter 11NYA11 USAF
MARS net. I took the USAF microwave and radar correspondence
courses and qualified for the radar endorsement on the First
Class Commercial Radiotelephone License. USAF MARS assigned me
to their Youth Training Program and I conducted several Morse
Code and Novice radio theory classes and exams at Fordham
University club station K2FO. John A. Ross IV, WB2K (now a Silent Key)
was one of our students.
03 SEP 1973 - Made my first fast scan amateur television
contact with Ralph Molino WB2DTT in Cliffside Park, NJ on 439.25
MHz with a modified Motorola T44AAV commercial UHF transceiver
and CushCraft 20 element collinear antenna. I later published an
article in A5 Magazine on modifying
the WWII surplus BC-645 IFF transponder for ATV.
16 AUG 1974 - 02 SEP 1974 - Operated WB2OZA/KP4 from Ceiba,
Puerto Rico Grid square FK78eg
Participated with WA2BLM
multi-op station in White Plains, NY in the Sept 1974, June and
Sept 1975 ARRL VHF QSO Parties, and the 1975 ARRL VHF
Sweepstakes.
18 JUN 1975 - First AM QSO on 432 MHz with WB2MDR. Knight
TR-108 into a varactor tripler and Janel receiving converter.
11 AUG 1975 - 02 SEP 1975 - Operated WB2OZA/KP4 from Ceiba,
Puerto Rico Grid square FK78eg (Secondary station callsign
KP4EGZ issued 19 AUG 1975)
10 OCT 1975 - First SSB QSO on 6m with WB2GKB. Heath
HW-101 driving homebrew transverter. Built Micro-TO MK II
electronic keyer from September 1975 QST article.
I was a member of the Communications Club of New Rochelle, NY
(K2YCJ) and the Tu-Boro Radio Club of Whitestone, Queens, NY
(W2BMW).
KP4EMN/KP4MD
in
Puerto Rico in 1976-1987
01 AUG 1976 - Moved to Carolina, Puerto Rico (secondary station
callsign KP4EMN issued 29 JUN 1976), Grid square FK78aj. Equipment: Heathkit HW-101
with a fan inverted vee antenna. Unimetrics Ultracom 25, GLB
synthesizer and homebrew 2m groundplane. Agustín Santana
KP4CKY and his son, Papo KP4EQG, later WP4Q, were neighbors,
whose memory I dearly honor on this web
page in Memoriam of WP4Q.
18 JAN 1977 - 31 AUG 1979 - As Air Force MARS station AFP4MD,
then AFAØAF, operated on TRANSCON net and ran weekly phone
patches with AHA6AIR at Howard Air Force Base for servicemen in
the Panama Canal Zone.
27 JAN 1977 - First Oscar 6 satellite QSO
with W2BXA (New Jersey), keyed Ultracom-25 PTT line for CW
on the 145.90 MHz uplink with a coat hanger ground plane antenna
and received the 28 MHz downlink on my HW-101 with a dipole
antenna.
DEC 1980 - Moved to the Regional Hospital at Bayamón, Puerto Rico Grid square FK68wi
AUG 1983 - Joined the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, moved to
U.S. Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico Grid square FK78ee. Equipment: Heathkit HW-101,
SB-200 linear amplifier, Azden
PCS-2000 2m FM. Antennas: Hy-Gain 14AVQ vertical,
80m dipole, 2m Ringo vertical. I enjoyed great DX being on a small peninsula surrounded by salt water on three sides! Operated a simplex phone patch on 145.00 MHz.
14 JAN 1985 - The Navy disapproved of its members participating in Air Force MARS so I finally transferred to Navy MARS, callsign NNNØRSD.
SEP 1989 - Transmission through ATV repeater WBØHEU on 439.25
MHz. Equipment: a modified Motorola Mocom 10 transmitter
with a homebrew audio subcarrier and video modulator. Ham Hum, Vol 39:10,
October 1989.
29 NOV 1989 - Added AMTOR, PACTOR, HF and VHF packet
modes. TNC: AEA-PK232MBX
Software: LanLink
07 JUL 2011 - KI6FYF and I met with retired engineer Bob
Zimmerman NP4B in Puerto Rico and filmed "An Insider's Tour of
the Arecibo Observatory", an exclusive look at the
communications technology and workings of this famous world's
largest radio telescope.
Highlights from the
Logbook
12-14 JUN 1971 - Won
first place in the ARRL June VHF QSO Party NYC-LI Section
KP4EMN/KP4MD
in
Puerto Rico in 1976-1987
KP4MD in Nebraska
in 1987-1999
01 JUL
1999 - Moved to Folsom, CA, Grid square CM98kp. Hiatus in
amateur radio activity.
KP4MD/P Portable in Puerto Rico 2015-
