Satsuma "Tail-Gator"
The Satsuma "Tail-Gator" will be March 7, 2009! It will be held again at the Fred K. Wright Municipal Park in Satsuma, AL, from 8AM until 12 Noon.
ONE THING DIFFERENT: we will be moving 50 yards farther into the park, meeting at and around the pavilion and nearer the rest rooms! Talk-in will be arbitrarily on the 146.82 repeater, 203.5Hz tone.
We have had good exposure to the public at each successive "Tail-Gator" and hope to continue to be open and accommodating to the public, encouraging others to enter and enjoy Ham radio!
Directions: From north- or south-bound on I-65, take exit 19 onto Hwy. 43 south, go 1.1 mile and the park will be on the right. If traveling up Hwy. 43 from Mobile, just go through Chickasaw, Saraland and into Satsuma... the park will be on the left about 3/4 mile past the third light in Satsuma. WATCH SPEED LIMITS!
Also, there are several places to eat in Satsuma: Waffle House, several burger joints (all near/at the Petro Truck Stop), Subway at the Shell Station, and my favorite, Pintoli's Italian Restaurant at the third light previously mentioned - great for lunch and good prices, too! Gas prices are well in-line in this area as well. If anyone needs any further info, I'm good on QRZ... hope to see y'all there! SPREAD THE WORD!
Bud, KC4HGH
Visiting the Past: from TC N4XVP
I ran across this letter while browsing through my Old Saved Documents. Jim N4HXK was a close personal friend of mine. I talked with him almost daily for several years before his death. He lived in Anniston Alabama, and I passed through there six times a week as I drove between Atlanta and Jackson, MS, or Memphis, TN from 1986-1999. I visited him in his home many times. I thought so much of the “Ham’s” in and around Anniston, that I joined their local Radio Club. Jim held an Extra Class Ham Radio license, and was extremely proficient with Morse code.
At the time Jim talked with King Hussein of Jordan, the King was returning from a trip to the Ochsner clinic in Minneapolis, MN. The King had terminal cancer and had made many visits to the clinic. He was an avid Ham Radio operator, and was always on the air and available for a chat when in this country.
Below is the letter I received from Jim telling of the exchange of QSL cards with King Hussein. I saw it and it was absolutely beautiful. It was stuffed with some kind of material and looked like a small pillow. Just thought you’d like to know. T.C. The letter below was forwarded to me by Jim.
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Hello Friends,
I received this from The ARRL today. I thought I would add a thought or two and pass it along. I never met this man. Most of you know as much about him as I. But there was something about the Spirit of the man that connected with mine. I always felt lifted up a little when I was in his presence via the media. A "silent key" who was a close personal friend of mine (N4HXK Jim Elliot) was fortunate to have had a QSO with The King one morning as he was flying his personal jet from Minnesota to DC. He said the man was cordial and willing to "chew the fat" for a while. They exchanged QSL cards. The one he received was magnificent, very large and embossed with the Official Seal of Jordan. I'm sure that his wife (Francis N4RBK) treasures it as a favorite memento of Jim and that event.
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Radio amateurs around the world joined in mourning the recent death of Jordan's King Hussein, JY1. Hussein, 63, died February 7. The Middle East's longest-reigning ruler, he'd been Jordan's king for 47 years, taking the throne when he was just a teenager. His son, Abdullah, 37, succeeds him.
Hussein had earned a reputation as a catalyst for peace and as a conciliator in the Middle East. President Clinton was among the heads of state from around the globe who gathered in Jordan February 8 for Hussein's funeral.
Hussein had been active in recent months from the US while seeking cancer treatment at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic. A QSO with JY1 was considered by many hams to be both an honor and a privilege. His elegant QSL card was prized.
Hussein was a life member of the ARRL. ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, called him "an enthusiastic radio amateur whose support was invaluable to us in obtaining new amateur bands at the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference." Sumner recalled that in May 1979, International Amateur Radio Union President Noel Eaton, VE3CJ, was invited to Amman to meet with King Hussein.
"Jordan's support of the Amateur Service was much in evidence at the conference that fall, and was a crucial element in our success," Sumner said. The WARC-79 resulted in Amateur Radio's gaining the 30, 17, and 12-meter bands. That same year, JY1 was featured in the film, "The World of Amateur Radio." Hussein regarded his 1983 contact with Owen Garriott, W5LFL, on board the Space Shuttle Columbia, as a high point in his Amateur Radio activity.
King Hussein also participated in the historic 1995 joint Israel-Jordan JY74X operation on Mt Nebo, where hams from both countries participated in a Field Day-like operation. The King put in appearances both on the air and in person, much to the delight of the participants and those waiting to work him and JY74X.
Hussein's friend Bruce "Blackie" Blackburn, W4TA/JY9BB, of St Petersburg, Florida, called him "one of the world's most respected amateurs" and recounted many stories about King Hussein as a person and an avid Amateur Radio operator. Blackburn said King Hussein "promoted Amateur Radio to the hilt in Jordan" and saw to it that Amateur Radio classes were instituted in elementary schools. King Hussein also dropped in on meetings of the Royal Jordanian Radio Amateur Society in Amman. King Hussein also was involved with the early satellite experiments.
Former US Ambassador to Lebanon and Iran Armin Meyer, W3ACE, also recalled Hussein February 8 in a letter to The Washington Post. Meyer said JY1 "has for decades been promoting peace and good will among quite ordinary people." As Meyer put it: "For the king, ham radio was a different world, a community of diverse people."
All members of the Jordanian royal family automatically have Amateur Radio privileges in Jordan. Although the new king does not appear to have a call sign, King Hussein's widow--the American-born Queen Noor--is JY1NH. King Hussein's brother, the former Crown Prince Hassan, is JY2HT, while his cousin, Prince Raad, JY2RZ, is chairman of the Royal Jordanian Radio Amateur Society. --Jennifer Gagne, N1TDY, supplied information for this report.
The ARRL Letter Online Volume 18, Number 7 (February 12, 1999)
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