NEXT EVENT: Lighthouse weekend
OLD NEWS:
W6YV operated for Field Day 2004, 2005 and 2006. Contact dnoble@usc.edu for logs and QSL Cards.
Special Event, during the USC vs. Colorado State Football Game, September 11, 2004
The USC Amateur Radio Club will be on the air before, during and after the USC vs. Colorado State home football game on September 11, 2004. Look for us on the 20 meter band calling "Special Event CQ W6YV from The University of Southern California." Call in to cheer on the Trojans or to name your favorite university.
Kickoff is at 5:00pm PST ( 0:00 UTC).
QSL Information:
To obtain a QSL card and a great certificate from W6YV for the Football Game Special Event, please send your QSL card and a large self-addressed stamped envelope to:
Prof. Douglas NobleFaculty Advisor, USC Amateur Radio Club, W6YV204 Watt Hall, MC-0291University of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA 90089-0291 USABe sure to use a large envelope if you do not want your certficate folded. The certificates are 8.5" x 11"
PREVIOUS EVENT:
The USC Amateur Radio Club activated the "Angels Gate" Lighthouse (USA-014) in Los Angeles Harbor for International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend, August 21-22, 2004.
QSL Information:
To obtain a QSL card and certificate from W6YV for the International Lighthouse / Lightship event, please send your QSL card and a large self-addressed stamped envelope to:
Prof. Douglas NobleFaculty Advisor, USC Amateur Radio Club, W6YV204 Watt Hall, MC-0291University of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA 90089-0291 USABe sure to use a large envelope if you do not want your certficate folded. The certificates are 8.5" x 11"
About the Angels Gate Lighthouse (from http://www.lighthousefriends.com).
"The Los Angeles Harbor lighthouse, also known as the "Angel's Gate" light, welcomes ships into the harbor of the City of Angels, Los Angeles. Don't let the name confuse you, Los Angeles Harbor is nowhere near downtown Los Angeles, but is located in San Pedro several miles south of L.A.. The lighthouse, completed in 1913 at a cost of just under $36,000, was built around twelve steel columns and sits at the end of the 9,250-foot San Pedro breakwater. The bottom of the lighthouse is multi-sided, while the top three stories are cylindrical. The twelve columns now covered with black pilasters, give the lighthouse a Romanesque feel. No other lighthouse was ever built to this design. The tower had room for three keepers, while their families were housed on shore."
"The original plan for the lighthouse was a wooden, square, two-story building like those constructed for Oakland Harbor and Southampton Shoals. Fortunately, the plans were changed and a more stout structure was built, as a wooden structure never would have survived the various forces which seemed bent on destroying the light. For five days, the lighthouse was battered by large breakers, spwaned by a gale. After the storm, the keepers dropped a plumb line from the lantern gallery proving their suspicion that the storm had given the tower a slight lean shoreward. Over the years, rust in the supporting columns has also contributed to the lighthouse's lean."
"In another incident that occurred in the early 1930s, a keeper was startled one night, when a tremendous blow was delivered to the base of the tower. Scrambling to the window, the amazed keeper saw the silhouette of a larve Navy ship, which had rammed the breakwater. The ship received damage to its hull and propeller and had to visit Mare Island for repairs.
Long Beach was hit by an earthquake in 1933 that killed 115 people. The keeper of the light at the time reported that the lighthouse shook violently for about twenty seconds and that mercury slopped out of the pool used to float the lens, but no signficant damage was done to the tower."
"The lighthouse has experienced several changes over the years. As the community and "light noise" on the hills behind the lighthouse grew, a green translucent cover was placed over the lens to change the characteristic from flashing white to flashing green. The old deep-throated two-tone fog horn, affectionately known to locals as "Moaning Maggie", was replaced by a higher-pitched single-tone horn. The new horn, nicknamed "Blatting Betty", was disliked by local mariners for years. The last major change for the lighthouse came in 1973, when the lighthouse was automated and the keepers departed."
"The original fourth-order Fresnel lens, which was first lit on March 1, 1913, was removed from the tower in September of 1987 and donated to the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in February of 1990. The lens is on display at the museum, which is located at Berth 84, near the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Sixth Streets, in San Pedro. The museum is open Tuesday - Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm, and there is a $1 entrance fee. (310) 548-7618." (from: http://www.lighthousefriends.com)
Meeting and Presentation by Gordon Marshall W6RR
Tuesday, April 13th, 2004
The next previous meetingof the USC Amateur Radio Club was heldon Tuesday, April 13th.
The organizational meeting was be followed by an informal presentation by alumnus Gordon Marshall, W6RR.
Mr. Marshall spoke about how his involvement in HAM radio while in school was instrumental to his successful career in the electronics business. Mr. Marshall (USC '46) recently retired, and gave $35 million to USC. As chairman of Marshall Industries, one of the world’s leading distributors of electronic components and production supplies, Gordon Marshall "...knows first hand the need for understanding global markets and for foreseeing the impact of technological change on business." The Gordon Marshall School of Business at USC is named after him.
We are just getting organized for the Spring 2004 Semester. We are discussing the following ideas for activities and events, and we would welcome hearing from you about your interests.
Licensing seminar
ARRL DX Contest
Weak Signal
FM Repeater
Remote Base
Satellite
Hidden Transmitter Hunting
Station Improvements
Prof. Curtis Roseman participated in a recent ARRL VHF contest:
"I operated W6YV, the University of Southern California Amateur Radio Club station, in the Single Operator Low Power category. The club is located on top of a seven story building on the USC campus about two miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
Virtually all of the Los Angeles basin can be seen from this spot, as suggested by the photos. I managed lots of local QSOs on five bands, but getting out beyond about 200 miles across the mountains was very difficult. Local noise problems and the propensity for almost everybody to be on top of each other on the calling frequencies contributed to this problem. Es to Texas on six meters produced two new grids at the end of the contest, but otherwise conditions were poor. In addition to contesting, I enjoyed chatting with a number of old friends."
73, Curt Roseman -- K9AKS
The 1296 loop yagi is looking for those elusive QSOs beyond the mountains to the north.
The Library Tower is the tallest building between Chicago and Taiwan.Visible to the south from W6YV is the Palos Verdes Peninsula,
For further information about the USC ARC, contact: Douglas Noble: dnoble@usc.edu. 213 740-4589
Website created by Karen M. Kensek and Douglas Noble
Website Created: February 16, 2004
This Page Last Updated: July 10. 2006
