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 Previous: Amateur Radio Helps Save Four Lives |  Next: ARRL Headquarters Continues Picnic Tradition |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 26, 2001--The ARRL Board of Directors has announced the winners of several awards. The recipients were approved during the Board's summer meeting July 20-21 in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award
 Thaddeus W. Huff, KC0AQG |
A 19-year-old community college student is the 2000 Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award winner. He is ARRL member Thaddeus W. Huff, KC0AQG, of Clarence, Missouri, who attends Moberly Area Community College and majors in criminal justice.
The Hiram Percy Maxim Award goes each year to a radio amateur under the age of 21 whose accomplishments and contributions are of the most exemplary nature within the framework of Amateur Radio activities. The award was established in 1936, and formal nominations come from section managers.
ARRL Missouri Section Manager Dale Bagley, K0KY, had high praise for Thaddeus Huff. "Thaddeus is a bright and hardworking young man and has earned the respect of all who come to know him," he said.
Huff is active in community development and has spearheaded several programs to benefit his community, including an exhibit at the Clarence Community Resources Exposition to demonstrate Amateur Radio and emergency communications. A member of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, he has organized severe weather spotting courses for Macon and Shelby counties. Perhaps most important, he encourages those attending to become involved with ARES. For the past two years, he's organized and led simulated emergency tests in three counties.
In addition to his ARES activities, KC0AQG participates in SKYWARN, and he enjoys ARRL Field Day. He is a member of the Macon County Amateur Radio Club.
While also attending school, Huff holds a part-time job at a local computer store and works on radio electronic projects related to weather satellites and VHF equipment.
The winner of the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award receives a cash award of $1000, an engraved plaque, and travel and accommodation expenses to enable the winner to attend an ARRL convention for a formal presentation.
The Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award
 Bill Morine, N2COP, who's attending the 2001 Boy Scout National Jamboree as a K2BSA operator. |
William Morine, N2COP, of Wilmington, North Carolina, is the winner of the 2000 Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award. The annual award honors an amateur who demonstrates outstanding volunteer public relations success on behalf of Amateur Radio, and who best exemplifies the volunteer spirit of the award's namesake, journalist Philip J. McGan, WA2MBQ--the first chairman of the ARRL's Public Relations Committee.
As an ARRL PIO and the PIO for the Azalea Coast Amateur Radio Club, Morine has contributed significantly to raising public awareness about ham radio in his area. Since 1997, he has been racking up the media hits in television, radio, and print, including guest appearances on Wilmington's morning news magazine programs. His PR efforts have covered emergency communications, public service, restructuring, training classes, educational opportunities in schools and Amateur Radio in scouting.
A former news writer and producer for WCVB television in Boston, Morine has been licensed for nearly 30 years. Aside from his media relations activities, he is involved with ARES, Jamboree on the Air, School Club Round Up and as a volunteer examiner.
ARRL Instruction, Education and Recruitment Awards
Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award
 George Tranos, N2GA |
George Tranos, N2GA, of Bellport, New York, is the 2000 Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year. Tranos has been organizing, recruiting, teaching and demonstrating ham radio since 1992. His hands-on approach to learning even includes pieces of rope to teach the basics of knot-tying and rigging used for Field Day setup, and a laptop PC to demonstrate computerized logging.
Tranos is serving his third term as ARRL Section Manager for the New York City/Long Island Section, a post he's held since April 1998. In this capacity, he has made presentations at local radio clubs and the NYC/LI Section convention. He is also a key player in the success of Ham Radio University, an annual educational convocation that started in 2000--the brainchild, Tranos says, of Phil Lewis N2MUN. Tranos has also organized eight separate Amateur Radio courses since 1997 as one and two-day Technician licensing classes. He organized the curriculum, classes, publicity, instructors, demonstrations, course materials, amateur examination sessions, and even lunch and snacks.
While working with students either on a one-to-one basis or in a group, his enthusiasm for the hobby is evident to everyone. One past student referred to his "positive attitude, which promotes a you-can-do-it attitude in each student."
Educator of the Year
Allan Cameron, N7UJJ, of Chandler, Arizona, is the 2000 ARRL Educator of the Year. A teacher at the Carl Hayden Community High School in Arizona, Cameron co-founded the Carl Hayden Amateur Radio Club nine years ago with Alex Reyes, KC4UFM. This club regularly demonstrates Amateur Radio to students, and many of them become licensed.
The School Club Roundup, held each February, is a favorite activity of the club, which has been the SCR high school champion since 1994. Cameron starts the preparations well in advance of the weeklong event.
From the start, the Carl Hayden ARC has worked ham radio into classrooms at Kyrene de La Paloma Elementary School. A HF stations is set up at the school, and all the students in a class talk to a ham in another state or country. After locating their contact on a map, the youngsters design and send QSL cards.
In 1992, Cameron accompanied students for a weekend at the Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club's Field Day site. They did some operating, and enjoyed the fellowship. In 1995, 1996, and 1997, he took the students into the mountains and set up a station. He says the kids were the exclusive operators, and they loved it.
Excellence in Recruitment Award
 Dick Flanagan, W6OLD |
Dick Flanagan, W6OLD, of Minden, Nevada, is the 2000 Excellence in Recruitment Award winner. An ARRL Assistant Section Manager, Flanagan uses many different methods of recruitment for Amateur Radio classes. In one case, a press release to a local newspaper led to an article in a major regional newspaper. In addition, his ham radio posters are colorful, creative and to the point.
With more people becoming Internet-dependent, one of his ways to recruit students is through the Carson Valley Radio Club's Web site. Flanagan is the CVRC Webmaster. From the Web site, individuals, whether newly interested or experienced ham, can find out the latest information on classes, VE sessions, current events, and the ARRL. Flanagan, who helped found the CVRC, also edits the club newsletter.
Flanagan also has had success recruiting new hams through the Carson Valley Radio Club's reflector as well as on regional and local e-mail reflectors. Through these reflectors, hams and potential licensees can keep abreast of urgent or timely news and events.
"What continues to make Dick stand out is his very infectious love of Amateur Radio, of helping others," said a statement from the Carson Valley Radio Club. "He works diligently and hard for the interests and welfare of the amateur community locally and at large. Some may always want recognition or something in return. Dick's greatest gift is to see the success and enjoyment others get from amateur radio."
Professional Instructor of the Year
There were no nominees for the 2000 ARRL Professional Instructor of the Year Award.
The Lake County Amateur Radio Club of Crown Point, Indiana, cosponsored the 2000 ARRL Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award. The Lambda Amateur Radio Club of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a cosponsor of the 2000 ARRL Professional Educator of the Year Award. The Carson Valley Radio Club of Minden, Nevada, is the cosponsor of the 2000 ARRL Excellence in Recruiting Award.
ARRL Technical Awards
Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical Excellence Award
Dave Benson, K1SWL (ex-NN1G), and Howard "Skip" Teller, KH6TY, are the winners of the 2000 Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical Excellence Award. The article, "A Panoramic Transceiving System for PSK31" in the June 2000 QST was the product of their collaboration. The result was a QRP (low-power) dedicated PSK31 transceiver for 20 meters. Known as the PSK20, the transceiver sparked a surge of interest in home and portable QRP operating with PSK31--a digital mode ideally suited for the task.
 Skip Teller, KH6TY |
Howard "Skip" Teller, KH6TY, of Mt Pleasant, South Carolina, became a ham while in junior high school, passing his Novice and General exams, and spending most of his time experimenting with HF and VHF circuitry. After college General Electric's Radio Receiver Department hired him, where he eventually became chief engineer for multiband radio design. After GE, he held radio engineering manager positions for Sylvania, Hoffman Electronics and the Admiral Corporation. In 1970 he established his own radio design consulting company and shortly thereafter won a worldwide competition to design radios for Algerian manufacture.
In 1974, Teller created the original weather alert radio, still sold today at RadioShack stores, and moved to Taiwan to build a factory to manufacture them. Ten years later, he retired to Hawaii and has recently moved back to his hometown in South Carolina. Skip Teller is the holder of four electrical circuit patents, and, when not hamming, enjoys playing tennis and fencing.
 Dave Benson, K1SWL |
Dave Benson, K1SWL (ex-NN1G), of Colchester, Connecticut, was first licensed as WA1GMT in 1967 and was an inveterate homebrewer from the start. An electrical engineering graduate of the University of Connecticut, he also did graduate research in ultrasound imaging at UConn.
Benson lived in the Southwest (as KU7I) and worked as an aerospace design engineer. He contributed a number of digital video and serial-communications designs used on military aircraft. He holds two US patents stemming from that circuit design work. More recently, he served as systems engineer for a helmet-mounted display electronics for the Comanche helicopter program.
Benson founded Small Wonder Labs, an electronics kit company, in 1994 and took his venture full-time in 1996. When not laboring at this, he can be found renovating his recently-purchased home. Other activities include volunteer work as a team leader doing home-repair in the Appalachians. He enjoys hiking, gardening and also fancies himself a guitar player. Dave Benson has contributed to a number of QRP-related periodicals and is a member of the QRP "Hall of Fame" as well as a frequent contributor to QST.
Microwave Development Award
Paul Wade, W1GHZ, of Shirley, Massachusetts, is the winner of the 2000 Microwave Development Award. His work on antennas and parabolic dish feed systems has been documented in QEX articles as well as in his own On-line Microwave Antenna Handbook. His designs have been successfully reproduced worldwide. Wade also has done extensive propagation work with snow and rain scatter on 10 GHz in the New England area. He is always operational for the ARRL 10 GHz and Above contests, providing numerous contacts and technical assistance for newcomer and old timer alike. Wade also has written numerous programs for the Palm Pilot hand-held computer, most notably a grid-square calculation program that allows two stations to calculate six-digit grid squares and distance and bearings between each station. This information is extremely valuable in helping microwave stations to align their antennas for communication.
Wade also is an avid circuit designer. His latest contribution to the amateur microwave community is a compact, state-of-the-art 10 GHz transverter design that can quickly put a multi-mode 2-meter rig on 10 GHz. Wade is among the leading organizers of the North East Weak Signal Group's annual conference. Wade has written numerous technical and operating articles for other conferences, such as the Central States VHF Society and Microwave Update.
Technical Innovation Award
Two amateurs were named as winners of the ARRL 2000 Technical Innovation Award. They are Peter Martinez, G3PLX, of England, and Bob Larkin, W7PUA, of Corvallis, Oregon.
Peter Martinez, G3PLX, is well-known today as the father of PSK31, now a popular digital mode that uses phase-shift keying and a unique "varicode" to efficiently converse keyboard-to-keyboard within a narrow bandwidth. Although it got off to a quiet start, PSK31 appears here to stay and has proven to be a valuable shot in the arm to the digital side of Amateur Radio.
For some hams, PSK31 has been the gateway to a new world of hamming--where the computer sound card used to encode and decode PSK31 has become as integral a part of an amateur station as the traditional microphone or keyer. PSK31 not only has provided many hams with their first foray into digital radio, it has done so in a way that teaches them that in today's modern radio age, the lines between software and hardware are becoming blurred. Once a ham sets up that station capability, the use of new modes becomes as simple as downloading new software and trying it out. With this software approach to ham radio, the limits of what hams can do have been extended.
 Bob Larkin, W7PUA |
Bob Larkin, W7PUA, helped introduce software defined radios, or SDRs, into the Amateur Radio lexicon, with the design and publication in QST of the DSP-10 SDR. Pioneering hams have built these units and used them to do unimagined things like making 2-way QRP moonbounce contacts. The DSP-10 has provided a means for the amateur community to learn about SDRs.
Modern digital signal processing (DSP) technology has made extensive inroads into the domain of hard-wired components. With SDR, software generates radio signals, not a phase-locked loop oscillator, and DSP can generate a signal directly over a surprisingly large frequency range. Software also serves for filtering, automatic gain control and, more importantly, the direct modulation and demodulation of the signals used to communicate.
In the commercial world, SDR can be used over a range of tens of megahertz, with operating modes from "legacy" FM to modern spread spectrum. If a new mode is needed, the SDR can be hooked up to a computer and the new program installed--an instant upgrade! Ham manufacturers are jumping on this bandwagon, too.
TAPR has begun offering a DSP-10 kit.
Technical Service Award
 Steven Strauss, NY3B |
Steven Strauss, NY3B, of Orefield, Pennsylvania, is the winner of the ARRL 2000 Technical Service Award, which recognizes the contributions of an amateur who conducts technical forums and demonstrations. Strauss is distinguished member of the Agere Systems technical staff, a past president of the Allentown Works Amateur Radio Club and trustee of K3ME. During his career he has worked in the areas of Integrated Services Digital Networks, audio and video compression, and high-speed digital modem technologies. Currently, he is a systems architect and consultant of DSP and Modem technologies.
Strauss has written several sections of the HomePNA specification and serves as the Study Group Chairman addressing HomePNA to ARRL liaison (RFI) activities. He has written many technical contributions to the ITU-T and TR30 committees in support of home networking initiatives. He has also looked to minimize the affects of RFI egress and ingress to the ARS in high-speed modem technology.
Strauss has more than a dozen patents pending in support of his research and development activities pertaining to high-speed modem and home networking technologies. He's also published 25 technical articles and frequently speaks at various technical and industry conferences throughout the world.
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