Students Learn CW as Part of Telemedicine Curriculum

DeVry University Biomedical Engineering Students Learn CW as Part of Telemedicine Curriculum October 30, 2015 Fremont, CA The President of the San Francisco Bay Area DeVry University Campus lingered in the doorway of our classroom.  She was fascinated yet at the same time annoyed by the blaring sound of Morse code at 16 WPM reverberating throughout the hallways.  She watched my students furiously scribbling meaningless strings of letters on notepads and eventually pulled our classroom door closed.  (Her office is located directly across from our classroom – I should have anticipated that problem) How did CW find its way into a DeVry University class room? CW Never Dies I am a software developer in the San Francisco Bay Area, a Ham (KT8E) and a member of MARCO.  My father is a Ham (4X1LL) and MARCO member as well.  I was visiting my Dad last month and out of the blue he asked me if I was working any CW and did I miss it.  I have not worked CW lately and I realized that I did miss it.  And that planted the seed for an interesting classroom experience. DeVry University has a long history of revolutionizing education in the electronics field.  Over 50 years ago, I sat in the shack with my Dad while he pored over his mail-order DeVry electronics course.  Each week, a package would arrive with a workbook and parts.  The final project for the course was building an oscilloscope from a kit.  Dad is color blind and my job was to read the resistor color codes.  That is how I got hooked. Fast forward to today.  As part of my consulting business, I hire student interns from the ranks of DeVry.  They are pretty smart kids and cheap labor.  My affiliation as an employer evolved into a visiting professorship teaching electronics and biomedical technology courses....

2nd US Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) Workshop

Over the past few years, the Center for Solar Research has been working to build a citizen science collaboration between the amateur (ham) radio and professional space science communities. This has resulted in a collective known as HamSCI, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (hamsci.org). This effort has led to vibrant discussions and participation from both communities, as well as numerous peer-reviewed publications in AGU journals. From March 22-23, 2019, the 2nd US HamSCI workshop will take place at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. This is an excellent opportunity to share scientific ideas with citizen scientists and give input to the direction of citizen science in our field. I would like to invite abstracts, presentations, and demonstrations that would be of joint interest to the professional science and amateur radio communities. This usually includes papers related to the ionosphere, space weather, and radio science and propagation. Any topic that is of interest to both communities will be welcomed. Participant support is available. Full workshop details are available at http://hamsci.org/hamsci2019. Please e-mail me at hamsci@hamsci.org for information. Regards, Nathaniel Frissell ——————— Invited Speakers Larisa Goncharenko, MIT Haystack Observatory H. Ward Silver, N0AX, ARRL Author Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, Raytheon (Retired) Science/Program Committee Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, NJIT, Chair Phil Erickson, W1PJE, MIT Haystack Observatory Ethan Miller, K8GU, JHU/APL Bill Liles, NQ6Z, HamSCI Community Local Organizing Committee (Case Western Reserve University) Kristina Collins, KD8OXT, Chair David Kazdan, AD8Y, Advisor Nathaniel Vishner,...

2019 Foundation for Amateur Radio Scholarship

The 2019 Foundation for Amateur Radio Scholarship applications are being accepted now. The application is due by April 30, 2019. MARCO offers a $500 scholarship through FAR for a licensed ham interested in a career in the Healing Arts. Numerous scholarships are often awarded to the same person. Apply online for all their scholarships in one application.  http://www.farweb.org/scholarship-information MARCO also awards a $500 scholarship through the ARRL The ARRL scholarship program deadline to apply is Jan. 31!...

ARRL Foundation Announces 2018 Scholarship Recipients

Our first ARRL scholarship winner has been announced in QST this month. The Medical Amateur Radio Council (MARCO) Scholarship – Nicola Thompson, K0MTC, of Platte City, MO The full list of recipients can be viewed at – http://www.arrl.org/news/view/arrl-foundation-announces-2018-scholarship-recipients. As MARCO President, I have written Nicola a letter of congratulations and have asked her to tell us more about herself…her education, ham radio and career ambitions. In addition to the 2018 ARRL MARCO Scholarship the 2018 Foundation for Amateur Radio MARCO scholarship recipient has also been announced. Congratulations to Kelsey Seymour, K3LSY. Kelsey’s bio follows. He has already joined MARCO as a student member and is a participant on our google group reflector. Kelsey is from Wellsboro, PA. He attends Mansfield University of Pennsylvania with a major in nursing science and a minor in information systems. After he receives his bachelor’s at Mansfield, he plans to further his education by attending a graduate school for a Doctorate in Nursing Practice with a focus in Emergency Medicine. After receiving his Technician in April 2012, he quickly upgraded to Extra in 9 months. He has since received the RCA Young Achiever Award, Spoke about Emergency Preparedness and high-altitude ballooning at the Dayton Hamvention. In his free time, he enjoys tinkering with new fields in radio, as well as portable and QRP operating. Kelsey had won the Single Op QRP Category in the EPA Section during the 2015 November Sweepstakes. Kelsey currently serves as a member in the K2BSA Amateur Radio Association, attended the 2017 National Scout Jamboree to serve on Ham Radio Staff, Equipment Manager for the PA Grand Canyon Repeater Group (NR3K), and is a member of the Pennsylvania Auxiliary Communications Service. Kelsey has a love for the outdoors and enjoys taking his hobbies with him. He is an Eagle Scout who is an assistant Scoutmaster with Troop 2220 in Liberty,...

ARRL Foundation Announces Two New Scholarships

Starting in 2018, the ARRL Foundation will offer two new scholarships for radio amateurs pursuing post-secondary education. They have been established by the Medical Amateur Radio Council (MARCO) and by the Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club (SVARC). The MARCO scholarship will provide financial assistance for the educational expenses of a radio amateur pursuing higher education in the healing arts and who is performing at a high academic level (grade point average of at least 3.0). The applicant’s field of study may include, but is not necessarily limited to, medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing, pharmacology, emergency medicine (EMT), or radiology. Preference will go to undergraduates and to those in certificate programs, but graduate students also may apply. Applicants should provide details regarding their involvement in Amateur Radio-related volunteer and/or public service activities. If possible, they should demonstrate a desire to encourage others in the healing arts to become Amateur Radio licensees. The scholarship award of $500 annually is to cover the costs of tuition, books, fees, and other educational expenses. The Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club Scholarship will provide financial assistance for the educational expenses of a radio amateur enrolled in an accredited 2- or 4-year college or university and pursuing a degree in a business, science, math, engineering, or technology-related field. Preference will be given to applicants who live in the Virginia counties of Page, Shenandoah, Warren, or Clarke, or in the City of Winchester, or living in the West Virginia counties of Hampshire, Jefferson, or Berkeley. If no qualified applicant is identified, the scholarship may be awarded to any applicant residing in Virginia who meets the other eligibility requirements. The award is intended exclusively to cover the costs of tuition, room, board, books, and/or other fees essential to the advanced education of the recipient. The ARRL Foundation shall determine award recipients to be academically superior and the best...

Local dentist accomplishes a lot in expedition to central Pacific

Local dentist accomplishes a lot in expedition to central Pacific By Christopher Baldwin Correspondent Published: Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 7:23 p.m. On Oct. 28, 2013, Dr. Jay Garlitz flew from L.A. to Fiji, where he met up with a 19-member international team of amateur radio operators, or HAMs, who were traveling to the central Pacific island of Banaba — which is known by HAMs as one of the world’s most sought-after locales. Garlitz, a dentist and president of Gator Dental Associates P.A. in Hawthorne, was asked to be a part of the expedition not just because he is a HAM, but because the island’s Rabi Council of Leaders requested they bring a dentist to provide much-needed  services to its citizens. Garlitz spoke this week to the Gainesville Amateur Radio Society about his experiences during the first such expedition to Banaba since 2004. The presentation was just one of many he has and will be giving over the course of the next few months. Garlitz said he received the request to be part of the expedition through his involvement with the Medical Amateur Radio Council and decided to accept the challenge, finding it important enough to take a month off work for the expedition.  At first, however, he didn’t even know where the expedition was headed. “They didn’t even tell us what the expedition was because it was only in the planning stages and was hush, hush at that point,” he said. The expedition team arrived in Fiji on the Oct. 30, 2013, then took a flight from Fiji to Betio, Tarawa, which is perhaps best known for World War II’s Battle of Tarawa. A Catamaran charter boat then took them to Banaba Island on Nov. 3, 2013. “A lot of the expeditions never get off the ground because the boats don’t show up,” he said.  “If that happens,...