CQ CQ CQ – #HamRadio Saturday : Vatican

Ham Radio Father church antennaI haven’t posted about Ham Radio lately. I haven’t been active. I have no “shack” at the moment here in the Cupboard Under the Stairs. (No bird feeders, either… though I do have a stove, now. That’s something.) However, I had an evening with my local Elmer which was very pleasant. He had some great keys, which has made me get motivated again. I can at least work on Morse Code. I still must figure out how to get an antenna up. There was a plan, and then God, through weather, took out my target tree just as I gathered the necessary parts. Grrrr. A dramatic example of Zuhlsdorf’s Law.

Speaking of things radio, here is a sad story from CWN:

Vatican Radio ending independent operation

December 30, 2016
Vatican Radio will end more than 80 years of independent existence on December 31, 2016, being absorbed into the new Secretariat for Communications.

Broadcasting programs will continue—at least for the near-term future—but Vatican Radio will no longer have its own corporate identity. Ironically the radio station, which has always been operated by a Jesuit administrator, will disappear during the reign of the first Jesuit Pope.

Founded in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, Vatican Radio today employs more than 200 people, providing content in many different languages. However, with the reform of Vatican communications operations, Msgr. Dario Vigano has indicated that he plans to pare down short-wave radio operations. The broadcasts are seen as an inefficient use of limited Vatican financial resources; Vatican Radio has been losing between €20 and €30 million annually.

It is sad. But Vatican communications are, frankly, a massive goat rodeo. Something has to be done to get the act together. Is this the right move? I doubt it. They are thinking about money, not about people who have access to radios but not internet.

Finally, remember that one of our readers here has made his Echolink node available to us: 554286 – WB0YLE-R  (Thanks!) Remember: You must be licensed to use Echolink. BTW… there is a great iPhone app for Echolink. I can see quite a few hams using that method to connect.  The ECHOLINK node number for W9FRZ is now 225022.

I created a page for the List of YOUR callsigns.  HERE  Chime in or drop me a note if your call doesn’t appear in the list.

73!

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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6 Comments

  1. acardnal says:

    That looks like a cross-polarized antenna.

    [Heh.]

    Fr. Z's Gold Star Award

  2. Zephyrinus says:

    “Breaker 19”, this here’s “Rubber Duck”. “You got a Copy on me, Big Ben, C’mon” ?
    “Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a Convoy !!! ”
    “Cab-over Pete with a Reefer on and a Jimmy hauling hogs”.
    “Big Ben”, this here”s “Rubber Duck”, and I’m about to put the hammer down !!!”
    “There’s a road-block up on the Cloverleaf and them Smokies as thick as bugs on the bumper, they even had a Bear in the air”.
    “I says calling all trucks, says here’s the Duck, we’re about to go hunting Bear.”
    “I could see the bridge was lined with Bears, but I didn’t have a doggarn’d dime,
    I says Big Ben, this here’s the Rubber Duck, we just ain’t a-gonna pay no toll, so we crashed the gate doing ninety-eight, I says LET THEM TRUCKERS ROLL – 10-4 “.

    Check this out, dear Fr, on YouTube at https://youtu.be/3zNQL_00rVs

    A Very Happy New Year to you and all your Readers.

    “Roger that. Juliet One Nine. Out”.

  3. Zephyrinus says: ….

    Well… that’s rather more “CB” (citizen band) chatter than it is amateur “Ham” radio, but thanks for the transcript.

    Happy New Year!

  4. Allan S. says:

    I can’t find that new node number, but the previous WDTPRS Cafe appears to be still set up at node no. 554286. I check in frequently, but no one is ever in there. Let me know if I need to do something special to correct my Echolink settings. Thanks,

    Allan
    VA3BVM

  5. Allan S. says:

    Ok, I see that the new node is your’s Father and will appear only when you log into Echolink. The old settings for WB0YLE’s node remain correct (if empty).

    TY!

  6. Allan S. says:

    Wow – starting today, Canadian amateurs have the right to use special call sign prefixes for 2017 to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations. Details here: http://wp.rac.ca/special-event-canada150/

    73

    Allan
    CF3BVM (aka VA3BVM)

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