THE ECHO
echo STAFF HAS
DINNER MEETING
Superintendents And Other
Enjoy Informal
discussion AnJ Meal
The reporters on The Echo staff,
eir supervisors and other guests
entertained at a dinner meet-
S Monday evening, April 7, at
® cafeteria. Forty-three were
P ®sent to enjoy the delicious din-
atiri the cafeteria staff
, “ to take part in an informal
jJ^ussion about the duties of re
fers on employee publications,
pr- B. Garrett, Jr., Director of
j^l^^°nnel, led the discussion
oieh breught forth many valu-
le suggestions from the report-
s and superintendents present.
® meeting was an informal, get-
j '^!'®*nted event and is the first of
meetings that the staff
hold.
I^EPORTER’S handbook, a
esDe^ little publication prepared
^^Pecialiy for reporters on employ-
j ^^wspapers, was distributed to
shn*^! ^®Porter. This handbook
Port* prove valuable to ECHO re-
Dart as they prepare their de-
^^ental news each month,
lom f menu consisted of
Pfim juice, lemon jello salad,
died Sreen peas, can-
hot ^^^^ots, potatoes, cherry pie,
•■oils, butter, and coffee.
Radio "Hams” Among Most Enthusiastic
Hobbyists; Jim Winget Is Typical One
No Limit To Interesting Ex
periences Enjoyed By Am-
ature Radio Operators
Room “A”
Shift Has Party
By “SPEEDY” JONES
..^riday night, April 18, at 8:00
o. “A” shift turned out in
Oco at Camp Sapphire. The
^^casion was to honor “A” Shift,
of the Refining Department
the r Weight Length Contest for
tirst three months of this year,
gy uice fire was going in the
ijp and tables were already set
Or Bingo. During the evening
played Bingo, cold drinks
hiem ®®'^ed to everyone’s enjoy-
Se/f Casterton and Lucille
Johran the Bingo game, after
all j.?''®rsman got it started. They
6m a good job. Everyone pres-
j Won a prize with Mr. and Mrs.
Clg ■ Rogers and Mr. and Mrs.
the Crow being the winners of
ivgj, °®t prizes. All of the prizes
\vav worth while—that’s the
^^custa does things.
the party was over, ice
^ and cake were served and
ilr- g®t “seconds”, too. Our
eatjn i ®^ay was a little off his
®o he didn’t go around but
before we left for home,
o( o ®nnett made a brief summary
Ofj . Refining department’s rec-
stavgj way that all shifts have
®ur tolerances and every-
‘X”praised for it, especially
the winner,
av "'^iter made a brief report
®*"ages. Earl Gray, the beater-
tof No. 1 Battery was high
^fatic ®^*ft with 98.94% in tol-
Clarence Crow, the
®ecoj,-*’'an on No. 2 was a close
Shift '^ith 96.55% The entire
Wijjj '''as 91,8%, and Jones com-
r>j ted all of the shifts for their
A radio “ham” is an interesting
individual. He follows a hobby
from which he receives not one
cent—on the other hand, he may
have considerable cash tied up in
it, depending upon the scale of his
operations. But you’d have to do
a lot of convincing to persuade a
“ham” that his is not the best hob
by in the world.
Typical of the several operating
in Brevard is Jim Winget of the
Filter Plant. At his home on Pro-
bart Road, Jim has taken over a
room to install the equipment nec
essary to operate an amateur sta
tion. He also has a portable set that
he carries along in his car. His ra
dio station, assigned by the Fed
eral Communications Commission,
is W4JQF.
ENTHUSIASTIC
Like all amateur radio hobby
ists, Jim is most enthusiastic about
his pastime. He says it’s very
thrilling to talk to a fellow ham in
England, then switch to one in
Porto Rica, and then to one in
South Carolina. He has contacted
every state in the union except
Virginia, Georgia and Illinois. Why
not contact states like Virginia and
Georgia? Nearby points are hard
er to contact on high frequency
wave lengths where Jim ordinarily
operates. Countries in Europe,
Africa, South America, and oth
er points are relatively easy to
contact.
Every ham keeps a careful rec-1
j ord of places he contacts. It is cus-
i tomary to send QSL cards (ex-
I change cards) to all operators that
you contact. Jim’s scrap book con
tains many such cards, some of
them very fancy, three-color jobs,
showing the interest and pride
hams take in their hobby To these
exchange cards, such information
as the date of contact, time, etc.,
are filled in.
Amateur radio is subject to cer
tain government restrictions. You
cannot play music and there must
be no hint of commercialism. Thou
sands of friendly, personal mes
sages are sent and received each
day, but of course no charge is
made for such services. On count
less occasions, amateur operators
have stepped in to perform valu
able services in floods, storms,
fires, and other mishaps.
Qfne of the many thrills, Jim
says, is to visit some of the men
with whom you have talked many
times. Perhaps you have your cor
respondent pictured as a husky,
220-pounder, judging from his
voice, and he may turn out to be
a frail fellow, about five feet,
three. Of course the operators can
not travel far to visit with other
hams, but Jim has made several
trips into nearby states.
SOME SIMPLE, SOME FANCY
The extent to which the ham
wants to go with his equipment de
pends on him. Some operate with
a few watts, some with several
hundred. Messages have been sent
around the world with a five or ten
watt station. The average is around
100. Jim’s home outfit is 320 watts
PAGE SEVEN
and his portable one is 120. He has
a 10-meter phone station and 80,
40 and 20 CW. He bought his re
ceiver from a radio supply con
cern, but most of his equipment
came from army surplus stocks at
greatly reduced prices. He built the
transmitter himself.
In order to be licensed by the
Federal Communications Commis
sion, an operator must be able to
send the Morse code at the rate of
13 words a minute and be familiar
with radio treaties which the Unit
ed States has with other countries.
After he gets on the air, the hame
is policed constantly by FFC. About
the only physical limitation that
will not permit a person to pass
the examination is deafness. Jim
has talked with an operator in
Utah who is totally blind.
CONTACTS AUSTRALIA
Other Ecustans who follow this
fascinating hobby include Bob Col
lier of Champagne Machine Shop
and E. B. Garrett, Jr., Director of
Personnel. Bob is now preparing
for his examination and after this
has been successfully passed, he
will be assigned a call number.
Garrett, who has owned and op
erated his W4ACA for nearly 18
years, contacted Australia the
other morning, a distance of more
than 12,000 miles.
An estimated 1,000 hams operate
in the two Carolinas and the grow
ing national list is pushing the 60,-
000 mark. Prominent men who
pursue this hobby include Herbert
Hoover, Alvina Rey, band leader,
and Amos of the famed Amos and
Andy radio combination.
“The unspoken word many times
is the best one.”—Author Un
known.
A Beer King is a malty-million-
aire.
Radio “Ham” Jim Winget
In Action
Among the several enthusiastic radio
amatour operators employed here is Jim
Winget of the Filter Plant. Below Jim is
shown contacting a fellow “ham” and to
the right is his motor-powered rotary
beam transmitter. Jim also has a small
portable radio set which he carries in his
car.
showing.
^oyabi to Ecusta for a very en-
evening and to John Ev-
^Uciii ’ Casterton, and Miss
”106 inK^®^^ner for doing a pery
of putting it on.
[jjati y tips: always say less
ho ^ think, and remember
*'5 ih it often means
^an what you say.
D
mi
□
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