My father was one of the Seabees who took part in the first wintering over at the South Pole. Dad so appreciated the help that Jules provided in helping Dad keep in touch with his then fiancee that Jules became the best man at their wedding.

@euansmith3699

2 жыл бұрын

That is wonderful.

@TJ24050

2 жыл бұрын

That’s awesome!

@trob0914

2 жыл бұрын

Great side story!

@dawnmason2882

2 жыл бұрын

I think that's an amazing story you have! Bet your Dad could write a book about his experiences.

@KorbinX

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing

Only the HG could tie in teenagers, Ham radios, permanent Antarctic research stations, free-electron lasers, and EZ-Pass. Nowhere else would you get that tied together. Makes me recall Paul Harvey and the Rest of the Story.

@patricklewis7636

2 жыл бұрын

No pirates though☠️

@vbscript2

2 жыл бұрын

@@patricklewis7636 I guess the hams who were interfering with the licensed broadcast stations were pirating frequencies?

@PlanetEarth3141

2 жыл бұрын

Paul Harvey is a deserving icon of truth and history. Now marches THG in those footsteps. Sometimes you just have to believe in Karma.

@jamesslick4790

2 жыл бұрын

@@patricklewis7636 Perhaps SOMEONE had a Pirate RADIO STATION? LOL.

@kdawson020279

2 жыл бұрын

There was a series of UK television presented on US public broadcast and cable public interest channels called "Connections" hosted and narrated by James Burke when I was a teen. THG is cut from the same cloth, although I don't intend to diminish through comparison - consider it high praise that I find all of these presenters, storytellers, and curators of history to be some of the most memorable in their own unique and relatable fashion.

My father was on Deepfreeze 1. He was in one of the photos you featured in your video. The operation staged out of Navy base Davisville, RI.

I have had the honor of knowing Jules since 2015, he is a member of the radio club that I am now president of. I became aware of these accomplishments only several month ago as he has never mentioned it before. I guess to him and others who have known this it's "old news" . Seeing the story in this format makes me quite emotional, knowing you know someone with these accomplishments is quite overwhelming. Imagine you're Jimmy Olsen and you just found out Clark Kent is Superman !!. Jules is a source of tremendous knowledge and has helped me on several occasions. I always consult Jules before I flip a switch or key down on one of my crazy radio projects. Joe Sacco KC2JMS President Rip Van Winkle Amateur Radio Society

I think I am going to dig out my old Hallicrafter's receiver, find a long length of wire for an antenna and take a listen to the world this evening; something I haven't done for fifty years. I hope the tubes still fire up.

@michaelcerkez3895

2 жыл бұрын

Be sure to bring the set up slowly so you don't pop the capacitors. Good luck sir. 73 OM

@dr.barrycohn5461

2 жыл бұрын

If the tubes don't light up, it could be a heck of a job getting new ones.

@spotsill

2 жыл бұрын

I still have my fathers plus another better one . They haven’t been fired up in decades and i’am sure they will need recapping.

@jim874

2 жыл бұрын

The capacitors in that radio are probably dried out and need to be replaced. If you hear ANY hum, kill the power immediately.

@jim874

2 жыл бұрын

@@dr.barrycohn5461 Not really. You can find them on the internet with no problem.

The AARL provided phone patches to us GIs in Vietnam in 1969. Huge morale boost. Thanks, guys.

@mcdonald1743

Ай бұрын

Could you explain in detail?

Another great episode. HAM operators are selfless. My first military assignment in Korea, there were no cell phones, international long distance was super expensive, and the morale call system had so much demand, you could never access the trunk line out of Camp Walker. HAM to the rescue. The Military Affiliate Radio System, or MARS, did the same thing for us with voice calls to loved ones. I will never forget those people - unpaid volunteers who served in anonymity.

I am a Seabee, and I truly appreciate the mention of our efforts to build these stations. Can do! :-)

Ham operators have had a positive impact on many people. Most of that impact goes with out recognition. I was in Thailand in 1972 when I discovered that the MARS unit would help you place a collect call for you to a stateside number. I managed during the year I was in Thailand to talk to my mother and others in my family. It was a big help to my wellbeing. MARS stands for Military Auxiliary Radio Stations and they are Ham operators that had many types of service actions in addition to helping make phone calls. This was long before Cell phones of course. I don’t know what functions they still perform, but the US Army and Air Force still supports the group. Thank you MARS. And thank you Mr. History Guy for this story!

I found myself crying when the careers that the two New Jersey teens followed. These were truly two people who deserve to be remembered. My favorite episode so far!

@HowToHam_Tom

11 ай бұрын

They deserve the “Nobel Prize for Everything”

Retired Seabee and amateur radio operator her. Deeply moved and impressed. I’m keeping this story.

As a second-generation Ham radio operator, it was my privilege to have grown up around the ham shacks of several skilled operators who were able to maintain contact with Antarctica and provide phone patch services. I am also proud to say that I too have communicated with Antarctica via Ham radio. Growing up around all those radio operators, it may not be surprising that I became a US Navy Radioman myself, and eventually a General Class Amateur Radio Operator.

Never heard that story about amateur radio. My father was an early ham operator from 1933, W7DSY, and I proudly carry his call sign today.

I'm proud to say that 20 years later, in 1975, as a young USN seaman apprentice I put in my application to winter over in Antarctica as part of Operation Deep Freeze. I wasn't accepted for the duty, seems they had no use for a Gunner's Mate striker, but in 2011 I did manage to get my ham radio license. The previous year I had married my wife, whose step-father had worked in Antarctica as a Navy Seabee. Those three facts made this presentation on your channel especially interesting and somewhat personal for me and I thank you for doing it. de NT2C, 73 OM

@skyking6989

2 жыл бұрын

73

@mjklein

2 жыл бұрын

I'm also a ham. And I knew Richard Byrd Jr. who was living in the warehouse district of Boston back in 1981. He introduced himself as "DIck Boyd" which isn't far off, considering some accents. He didn't want anyone to know who he was.

@clintonroushff7068

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your service, my father was a civilian welder who went to the Antarctic both years. We have home movies from Antarctica! Good memories

@douglasjones6248

2 жыл бұрын

About 1979 I too volunteered to winter over but they wanted an Electricians Mate and not a Interior Communications mate. For me there was a family connection as my great uncle by marriage, Victor A Campbell, was with Scott on the expedition when Scott and his team perished returning from the South Pole. Scott had assigned Campbell to lead the “Eastern Party” which soon became the “Northern Party”. My great uncle’s diary was made into a book, called The Wicked Mate.

This actually continued for a lot longer than you might have expected. I was a teenage ham in the early 1990s, and one day I was tuning around and came across an American ham running these patches for the station at the South Pole. I could hear both sides of the conversation, and all the work that went into setting up the calls too. The guy at the South Pole would give the desired American phone number, and the American ham would call the phone operator and give the details. Then the AT&T operator called the number and asked if they'd accept a collect call. I remember one where the operator (who sounded like she thought this whole thing might be a prank) asked the lady at the other end, "Will you accept a collect call from Bob at the South Pole?" The lady practically screamed "YES!!!"

@cbroz7492

Жыл бұрын

5p years ago I was stationed in Germany and we had the MARS system.. I made many calls home on the MARS ...hearing both sides if the conversation...many seriously annoying..was funny...often folks forgot to say 'over'...

@zoolkhan

9 ай бұрын

other nations forbade hams to do phone-patching. i made my license in germany - and was explicitly forbidden any connection to commercial infrastructure. Which the phone system would have been. (i guess they feared competition or something) Noways i contact antarctica for fun. But obviously, hams get no limelight anymore - we have to please our egos some other ways. maybe by having our modems achieve dxccs automatically on ft8 with almost no operator interference :-) cheers

@loachoh6a

9 ай бұрын

Nothing meant offensive here. But with ALL the things going on in AMERICA these days, who knows how life will be here. But the world has turned upside down in the Middle East as it has, HAM RADIO COMM COULD BECOME THE ONLY FORM OF COMM FOR US TO USE FOR A BRIEF SEASON IN LIFE SOME DAY SOON! We may still be dependent upon HAM COMM AGAIN! So don’t chunk those Kenwoods &YEASU just yet my friends!

My grandfather was one of the men on that small team in Operation Deep Freeze II. He spoke of his gratitude for the HAM radio operators, most notably when they were able to inform of him my aunt being born and my grandmothers good health after the birth. The news ran a story when he returned profiling his time in Antarctica along with now treasured photos of him meeting the baby for the first time, and they also mentioned how the HAM radios had let him keep in contact with his wife and newborn in a way he otherwise couldn't have during the deployment.

@ephektz

2 жыл бұрын

Please, “ham,” not “HAM.”

@nozrep

2 жыл бұрын

ephektz your grandfather did not serve in such a capacity did he? golly, what a troll. It doesn’t matter if it caps or not, silly person. trolls like that really are just too much fun to clap back at and laugh at. Friendly Baron, fantastic story!

@ephektz

2 жыл бұрын

@@nozrep Who hurt you?

@dawnmason2882

2 жыл бұрын

Wow! That's awesome! Feel free to write a book about these experiences!

@vk2ig

2 жыл бұрын

@@ephektz Probably no-one hurt him, but it's just a correction of the terminology. Amateur radio operators don't refer to themselves as _HAM radio operators,_ instead _Ham Radio Operators_ (if it needs capitalising) or just _ham radio operators._ There should be no shame associated with getting something right or pointing out a correction to someone - even if it is increasingly an acceptable (and desirable by some people) societal norm in the West to stuff things up.

Thank you for the excellent historical coverage of those exciting years of exploration! I had almost forgotten about meeting Dr. John Wheeler which had later implications. Howard Shrader, whose tube collection we went to see, was a relative of our next door neighbor in Clark and would come over every weekend to tape record concerts of the Boston Pops over WQXR which did not have good reception at his Princeton location. My brother and I always went next door to watch Howard set up his home made tape recorder and, so learned about the tube collection. Brother John, in 2002 began to look more carefully at Dr. Wheeler and Dr. Richard Feynman's paper which discussed implications of the time symmetry of Maxwell's famous equations of electromagnetism and which inspired John to consider experimental proof of the existence of the so-called 'advanced wave'; his passing in 2016 did not allow him to complete that work. Have to correct one thing in the presentation. My good friend and business associate WB2LKZ, Jim Hedrick, and I were hired by the Thruway in 1985 to help modernize their toll collection system. I wound up dealing with hardware issues ... toll lane infrastructure, and Jim designed and programmed the dedicated computer which collected, stored and forwarded all of the toll plaza information. When around 1989-1990, a consortium of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania transportation agencies decided the only way to improve worsening congestion was to adopt wireless non-stop toll collection, the Thruway was assigned as the lead technical agency of the group and so it fell to us and our team of engineers and techs to evaluate and test available systems for the EZPass Group. That work resulted in the first EZPass lanes at the Thruway's Spring Valley, NY, toll barrier, opening on August 2, 1993. The rest is .... history. 73 Jules Madey - K2KGJ

@ckellynh

2 жыл бұрын

Mr. Madey, thank you for what you and you brother did all those years ago. 👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

@philrosebery

2 жыл бұрын

Dear Jules. I served in the Corps of Signals in Australia utilising VHF and HF radios and have a small appreciation for what you did with your brother in the 50’s. You efforts were awesome and one my 13 year old can’t comprehend. A great true story of pioneering communications. Cheers Philip

@jimwidgren4881

Жыл бұрын

It was an honor work for, and alongside of John M.J. Madey at Duke University and the University of Hawai'i. He was my mentor and friend, along with his wife Susan and I miss them both very much. I occasionally ran a QRP PSK31 rig from my UH office but sadly was not invited to help John set up his Honolulu home HF station (he was so very busy building the FEL lab and trying to secure funding for it). We spent many hours together at Duke doing experimental FEL physics late into the night and he told me the stories of "Operation Deepfreeze" almost casually. We shared stories about our cars (Alfa Romeo in particular), families, and time spent at the National Laboratories as well and radio and physics. He told me that the NJ rig was the (top of the line) Collins, but I've never seen any photos of it. Maybe Julius has some to share? The only true genius I've ever known. RIP John, de KD4YLQ

One other famous HAM radio operator not mentioned here: my Father, Kenneth Noal Wright (WA5ULG). In the late 60's through the mid 70's he established relationships with many other HAM's around the world, including merchant marines, missionaries on remote continents and, on a few occasions, the guys at the South Pole. He would run Phone Patches for them so they could talk to family back home...wherever that might have been. I think of my DAD as a true hero for doing this service. On many occasions I would sit in his radio room and soak it all in as a kid. Those were the days of true pioneers in technology. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!! Brings back many wonderful memories!

Thank you for this wonderful episode. I have had my "ham radio" license since 1974 and it is often difficult to make people understand the importance of this activity even in this day and age.

@jamesslick4790

2 жыл бұрын

When all else fails...We will always have HF and Morse code. Very many times "HAM"s were the ONLY ones to get messages through. "HAM"s are communications "Minutemen"!

@dawnmason2882

2 жыл бұрын

Yes your expertise in this HAM communication is still vital. There's more times coming when HAM will be the only means of communication available due to disaster and war.

@kdawson020279

2 жыл бұрын

I got my General license in 2017. I just bought a new 10m mobile today [I'm not putting my Icom 706 mkIIg in my car, it's capable but not ideal like the Yaesu FT817 etc] to take advantage of increasing propagation therefore interest and to help fight for the CW section of the band against illegal unlicensed 10m use [No, not while I'm driving]. It comes in handy in all kinds of unlikely places to have redundant means of communication in case any or all communications utilities go offline and in places I go where cell service just doesn't go. I have 2m/70cm, 11m, 4G, digital voice, and now 10m. All I need now is semaphore flags, an Alden lamp, and carrier pigeons and I'll be freaking set. 😁🤣🤣🤣

@vk2ig

2 жыл бұрын

@@kdawson020279 The number of AM carriers heard on 10m from SE Asia these days is phenomenal - they're even on top of the IBP segment so it can be hard to hear the beacons at times. Still, when paths open up the amateur radio signals usually drown out these pirates.

@kdawson020279

2 жыл бұрын

@@vk2ig The rise of the inexpensive export radio that can be modified through resistors or hidden menus to operate continuously from 26-30 MHz is the biggest domestic source of QRM on 10m's low end. When your VFO goes into 28 MHz and beyond, they just key up because it is next door to the "freeband" and besides CW you just have narrow data modes that can be filtered out. I bought an Anytone 6666 which is capable of 11m with programming because it was well liked for the cost and I won't cry as hard as if I had an Icom, Kenwood, or Yaesu taken or destroyed if anything happens to it. I'm hoping opening CB to FM will alleviate some of the malaise but the trouble with changing standards is that early adopters tend to hear a lot of dead air. That said, the only way for hams to keep their frequencies is by squeezing the mic, tapping the key, and using data mode bandwidth to deter pirates.

I have been a licensed Ham radio operator since 1976 and in the mid 70's I spoke with a radio operator in Antarctica, he was a medic and we had a discussion about what it is like to live there. I handled phone patch traffic after the 1976 Guatemala earthquake when Ham radio was the only means of communication. I handled phone patch traffic for the Peoples Temple religious group, that's right Jim Jones in Georgetown, Guyana (Jonestown) and all I can say is that the radio operators seemed sane and people just wanted to speak with loved ones back in California. All the traffic I handled for them was into California... K5AZE - Texas

@dawnmason2882

2 жыл бұрын

Great story! More times are coming that HAMS will be the only communication available!

@floydlooney6837

2 жыл бұрын

That is very interesting

I had heard a very little bit of this story as a kid in the early 70s, the barest facts...."There once was an expedition to Antarctica and some young fellows with a HAM-radio were communicating with them..." Thanks for filling in a ton of empty spaces on this one. It appears that I knew almost NOTHING about something that happened just a few years before I was born. I am grateful that you're making these videos, I always learn something from them. It's my belief that if you don't learn anything through the course of a day, then that day has been wasted and all the possibilities that it contained were lost forever. Watching your channel has kept me from wasting any days for a few years now. That is a huge public service. 🥇

@chrisbaround9094

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Kenny 👋 👋

I was a USAF MARS operator in the 80’s. My callsign was AFB4FL, and I had a blast & learned a lot while a member of MARS. I’ve been a Ham since 1976, and my current Ham callsign is W5JN.

My Grandfather was a big HAM radio enthusiast. He was an active member of the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) for many years up until his passing in 2006. I remember fondly him and others in the program doing MARS calls for service members serving away from home over the holidays. I still remember his call sign and that's something that I haven't thought about in 16 years. WA1BER. Thanks for the memories, HG.

At 21, my new wife and I were teaching in Bolivia, and we called home several times - going to the telephone business office, using a telephone there to call the States, and being "Patched Through" to our parents' home phones via those wonderful Ham Radio Operators!! Special!!

As a Ham and being from a large family of Hams, thank you for this. Great story!

Fantastic story. Great to show the effect one person who cares can have on the world.

Thanks for highlighting just one important attribute of the amateur radio hobby!

Good morning from Chicago heights Illinois. It's Always a pleasure to be with THG and Friends.

Man O'man THG, you never disappoint with great stories.

My brother got his Ham ticket (WB6RBA) in the early 60’s and the bug bit me as I listened to these and many other stories in my childhood. I eventually conquered Morse code to become a licensed Ham in 1978 and was our local EC during a flood event. Ham Radio Operators volunteer their time and skill everyday when disaster strikes. Great episode! 73, de N6NII

Man, I love ham radio. And so glad to hear that Jules is still alive! What a tale. Communication really can change everything.

Thank you for the lesson. You came in 5 x 5 this morning.

As a relative new "HAM" I really enjoyed some history of short wave radio and the service that it has provided in the past. Much service is still happening including disaster communication where other systems are too busy or not available. Thanks to all the "HAMS" world wide that participate in service to others in need, KI7RJS ...

Ham Radio patches were a morale booster when I was aboard my first ship. The OpsO. had a 50 watt radio and used it while we were in the Coral Sea and elsewhere. My mother couldn't understand why her son at sea was calling her collect at 4:00 am over a radio with an operator in MS. Why couldn't he call at regular hours??😆??? She was not Tech Savy in '72. 😁😆 Next time was in Byrd Surface Camp in Antarctica. We had problems with no ground and constantly blowing fuzes with really old equipment. Our call sign was KC4USB if I remember correctly. Was there from '70-'81 summer support (VXE-6) Fond memories down there ....................... enjoy

@mjkay8660

2 жыл бұрын

my dad patched thousands of guys from nam, germany, all over, often during the night, yet we had much inside info, we had our own dish abt 15 ft diameter & got warnings from faa abt out antenna

@mjkay8660

2 жыл бұрын

we had a submarine booster, so many knobs, also had to make some bulbs that we couldnt buy

@TrickiVicBB71

2 жыл бұрын

Thank u for sharing

@dougearnest7590

2 жыл бұрын

Wow, interesting to think about the technological challenges, even as it pertains to grounding of equipment and height of the antenna. "You'll need an 8 foot copper ground rod, and an additional 157 foot long pole to get it to the ground." And how did the difference in elevation between the ice and the earth affect the antenna?

@johnmaliskey7951

2 жыл бұрын

@@dougearnest7590 We were a mile up on the ice shelf................ Didn't have a grounding rod that long ........... 🤣😅😝

One of THE best ones you have done so far. What an amazing story. Can you imagine how easily this international story of the Bros could have not happened? If the Parents of these two, instead of helping/encouraging them ( You think the kids built the 110 foot antenna???) they stopped all of it? These two deserve a Movie made of them.

@dawnmason2882

2 жыл бұрын

Amen to that!

@philgiglio7922

Жыл бұрын

It helps to have supportive parents. All I wanted for my birthday in 1967 was a short wave receiver kit, the Knight kit Star Roamer. I still have it. Hopefully none of the tubes will/have burned out

Another incredible story that I would never have known if not for you,THANK YOU!

Great presentation of history! Even as late as the late 60's and 70's during Viet Nam, the only way to get to hear a familiar comforting voice from home was ham radio operators who would patch us thru. I was so impressed with their dedication and support that I finally became one myself - N7HNO. Having been licensed since the early 80's I'm amazed at the many technological advancements that the hams have made. We are a community of pretty selfless volunteers who stand ready to help their communities or fellow man in times of need, or just relax in the station ready for a ragchew.

Super cool to have a subject of a THG video still be alive

This is right up there as one of my favorites of all the excellent videos you've produced! A story of people helping each other, for no other reason than because they can, and they want to. Wonderful!

I'm a huge fan of Antarctic history (Shackleton especially) and the IGY, but I had never heard of the HAMs that gave of their time and talents to help out. Thanks for uncovering this gem of history!

@jakep5121

2 жыл бұрын

Me too. My neighbor has 1st edition copies of Shackleton books about the adventures. It's pretty fascinating.

@williamphillips4565

2 жыл бұрын

I have just started to be interested in Antarctic history. Years ago there was a Play called Terra Nova it was a good start to catch my interest. So far I have read,Endurance, by Alfred Lansing. Right now I am reading two books. One is "The Worst Journey in the World", by Apsley Cheery-Garrard. He was on the Scott Expedition. The other book is, "Alone On The Ice", by David Roberts. About the Sir Douglas Mawson expedition. Of the three I think the Mawson expedition is the scariest. Shackleton is a cliff hanger. If he hadn't don't I would say it can't be done. Scott's expedition was disorganized. The ending was close to success. I read another account of a man who went alone but died from exhaustion. He almost made it, but had to be rescued and died in a hospital. I would like to know more. Would you criticize my thoughts about the expositions. Also, What are some other books I should read next? Thank you for your patience, Bill Phillips, KD2BME

@malcomlovejoy

Жыл бұрын

Chris.. I grewup with it in my life, there was 1 particular lady..well into her 80s who was a godsend,it was her life hooking ppl up a blessed lady

Thank you, as always, for your dedication and presentation expertise. Your topic is really the tip of the iceberg, (pun almost intended) concerning Ham Radio and the many services they perform. As a Ham stationed in Barbers Point, Hawaii, I found that the Coast Guard had a navigational ship halfway between Hawaii and California. The name of the ship was Ocean Station November. Its mission was to provide navigation to overflying aircraft to insure the accuracy of their navigation. This ship was based in Hawaii and would be on station for weeks at a time. I was able to establish many phone patches with the ship over the course of months. My mission was to connect them with their family's. I did this in the years of 1965-1966. My reward was simply knowing that this communication was certainly morale building. I spent time in Adak, Alaska and of course the Southeast Asia activities, where ham radio was a morale booster way before internet and cell phone activity. My handle at the time was MAC and my call was WA8VCP. I also used the NAS station club, KH6AHQ. My present call is K9FLY. Once again many thanks for sharing this aspect of history.

Famous ham radio enthusiast, Al Gross (W8PAL), is worthy of show. Not the politician. Al invented the walkie-talkie, ground to air communication, and the garage door opener. He inspired the wrist watch for Dick Tracy.

Very enjoyable! I became a ham in 1955 when I was 12 and continue to enjoy the hobby to this day. I ran phone patches during Vietnam at Barry Goldwater's home ham shack. You did an excellent description of the hobby and patch operation. Thank you very much!

I have always respected and admired the Seabbes. I heard their motto is: "the difficult we do right away, the impossible takes a little longer"

@fjb4932

Жыл бұрын

". . . Miracles by appointment, only. " . . L.

My uncle was one of the Seabees in Antarctica on two tours of duty, with the second one wintering over at McMurdo Sound. My father was able to talk to him periodically through a friend of his named Tony Gupta (sp?) who was a Ham Radio Operator. My uncle sent us many things including a 8mm movie of him wrestling a penguin and such things as their food menu and other souvenirs. Thank you for this video. I wish my uncle was still alive to watch it.

And we hams are still out there! Having fun and serving. Why not take the test and join us? Only a 35 question multiple choice test gets you started. No Morse code required at any of the three levels. And the questions and answers are available on line! We have more fun than should be legal!🤣 73, Keith AC0SV of the Egyptian Amateur Radio Club, St. Louis area, Illinois.

@skyking6989

2 жыл бұрын

Got my extra ticket first time. All the way to extra in one testing session. 73

@goosenotmaverick1156

2 жыл бұрын

After this I'm going to be looking into it. Sounds like a blast

@keithweiss7899

2 жыл бұрын

No age requirement to get your ham license either! And it’s cheap, only $35 for your 10 year license. Study materials are free on line! If you are a needy person, especially a kid, someone will undoubtedly pay your way for everything and give you equipment to boot. Hams love helping others! A hunk of wire for low frequencies, high frequencies only need a walkie talkie. You can get into using one of our 18 satellites. You can talk to people on the International Space Station. Or bounce radio off of the moon and back. Or use inexpensive walkie talkies that go through the internet to talk to people everywhere. And kids who have their license don’t call an adult ham Mr. or Ms., you call us by our first names. We respect each other for getting their license. Most discoveries in radio communications were done by hams. Want to meet a rock star? Joe Walsh is a ham I’ve met. Also R&R hall of fame member Bob Heil! Hams provided communications for police and fire on 9/11. We help rescue an average of one ship in distress every month. Modern hams aren’t a bunch of geeks. (Unless you want to be!) We are a very diverse group of people from all over the world who help others and enjoy talking with people everywhere. Thanks to the History Guy for bringing this to the attention of the public. 73! 😁

@marypasco2213

2 жыл бұрын

Mr. Weiss, Where & how to start, please?

Wow Lance-not what I expected from the title. Outstanding EPISODE!!!! Now you have awakened a big in me lol As a twelve year old I saved my paper route money and bought a largish amateur station setup for sed. My father humored my drive and assisted in setting up the MASSIVE antennae array over our small home lol I believe it actually stretched over our tolerant elderly neighbors home as well…. Now I will need to have a little radio talk with my 17 year old

@dawnmason2882

2 жыл бұрын

There's a time coming soon when even your neighbors will be glad you provide this service because all other communications are subject to disaster

This is a great bit of history that I can somewhat relate to. I’ve been to Antarctica, on a ship, in the summer, and it was still bloody cold. It was actually quite beautiful, which I wasn’t expecting. Still, I can’t fathom spending a winter there. The cold, the darkness, the isolation, and the monotony would drive most anyone crazy.

Great story, especially toward the end when Jules was described as precocious for recognizing the value of current news. Even in the age of satellite news, having no access to it can be a big deal. I deployed to the middle of nowhere (Bale Dogle) in Somalia in December 1992. No Stars and Stripes. No CNN. But I had a shortwave radio. My team listened to the BBC and Voice of America and produced a one-page newsletter every couple days that was cranked out on the last mimeograph machine I've seen in operation. The greatest indirect compliment I ever received was when a Soldier picked one up, read it, then folded it up and put it in his pocket.

My grandfather was a pilot and an amateur radio operator. When he retired as chief pilot of a company that built large underground caverns in North America, he spent several years working for the same company, building and operating their HAM station in the Aleutian Islands. Though certainly not as harsh as Antarctica, he did describe the climate as cold and uninviting. I remember hearing him over the phone through a patch with a local HAM operator.

@dawnmason2882

2 жыл бұрын

Still, your grandpa did a wonderful service to many!

Loved this episode. My father was stationed in the Air Force in New Zealand and supported Operation Deep freeze. Not sure if the used HAM radio to talk. But I do remember talking to him over HAM radio when he was stationed in Vietnam. Thx to all the HAM radio operators out there

Great story. So glad the lives of the two young men were explained post the IGY. Over-achievers from an early age. Now, whenever my EZ pass email arrives telling me to update the account, I'll know who to thank, but, it is better than stopping for the tolls.

Thank you for the memorial dedicated to ham operators worldwide. There are more stories about Ham Radio, like the founder of the American Radio Relay League, Hiram P. Maxim. He was a genius and inventor. 73 to all de WA4CIF

As a ham radio operator and former Navy radioman this was a great piece.....tks again

Cudos to all those HAM's who boosted the morale of us soldiers in Southeast Asia via the MARS system. I was lucky enough to travel to Antarctica (McMurdo) in the late 90's. We had internet by then though! Great video, THG!

Hello History Guy! I just want to say thanks so much for such a great video. It was extra special to me because I am a Ham! I'm WB8YMV in Michigan. I've had an amateur radio license since my senior year of high school in 1976. Ham radio has a great tradition of the older hams mentoring and teaching the younger ones. My mentor was a man named Fred Schelter who's callsign was K8IVC. Fred is no longer with us but I will never forget him. Thanks again for a really great video and as we say on the air 73 (best regards!)

@lizj5740

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for saving me a trip to Google to find out the meaning of 73.

This is my favorite kind of history. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Very good THG.

Thank you!

Great story about the utility of amateur radio. Even in modern times, communication methods that don't require a network or satellite has significant value.

About the only thing to look forward to on Monday!

@theredyota6834

2 жыл бұрын

Looking forward to Tuesday comes a far second place

@pimpinaintdeadho

2 жыл бұрын

Final season of Better Call Saul comes out on Mondays.

Thank you for this story! I became a ham myself, and I even became Section Emergency Coordinator (ARES) for the State of Minnesota. And there are thousands of similar stories out there about ham radio!

I wintered over in 85/86. I used the Ham-a-gram and called home a few times. My folks couldn’t get the hang of saying over when they were done talking. Great bunch of people the Ham operators.

Great episode this morning. Definitely "History That Deserves To Be Remembered" .

What an interesting story. Thanks! I have always been fascinated by Operation Deep Freeze. While in the Navy from 1969-75, I volunteered every time the list came out. Unfortunately it was a short list and each time I was either the wrong rating or wrong rank. Very frustrating for me.

Thanks for the story and how Armature Radio was a big factor in this expedition. Armature contributions include inventing the touch tone key pad codes that are used in your mobile phone keypad today.

Great episode once again. I am primarily engaged in the study of military history and it's easy for me to forget that the past wasn't all death, destruction, and intrigue. I thank you for reminding me otherwise.

@dougearnest7590

2 жыл бұрын

Armatures talk about tactics - professionals study logistics.

Dear Mr HG Thank You very much on this outstanding video. On Amateur Radio & US Navy. Being a Ham Radio operator (since 1973) & ex-US Navy sailor. I had made request for duty on South Pole. But could not match navy requirements for Operation Deep Freeze. TNX OM 73 de WB5KWK

My missionary parents used ham contacts and phone patches in a remote part of Brazil to reach family in the US back in the 1950’s. The alternatives were telegraph and (very) slow mail.

@videodistro

2 жыл бұрын

My dad taught Missionary Radio Technology at Moody Bible Institute from 1957-1978, so I suspect he knew many of those involved in ham radio in missions!

@dawnmason2882

2 жыл бұрын

I think that HAM is still vital in communication in remote areas for missionary and persecuted in many places.

My family were missionaries and we lived deep in the Amazon jungle on a mission "base". Our radioman, a retired Marine, would contact other HAM operators in the US and they would phone our relatives and make a patch so we could talk with our families. I'll never forget that. "How's aunt Betty, over?" "She is doing fine, over." And the radio guys using codewords... "zulu, tango, foxtrot, alpha", that was sooo cool! What is wonderful is that they're still at it today, helping isolated families connect using their "hobby".

@videodistro

2 жыл бұрын

My dad taught Missionary Radio Technology at Moody Bible Institute from 1957-1978, so I suspect he knew many of those involved in ham radio in missions!

@Hannah_Em

2 жыл бұрын

What exactly does being missionaries deep in the Amazon rainforest actually entail?

@philgiglio7922

2 жыл бұрын

The assistance they provide in a natural disaster is inestimable

@clark9992

2 жыл бұрын

@@Hannah_Em Trying to convert the natives to whatever religion the missionaries belonged to. You know, important stuff like that.🙄

@Chef_Alpo

2 жыл бұрын

@@clark9992 you mock what you don't understand, but if you knew your life was a ticking timebomb you would seek spiritual truth. You know nothing, and what you do know can't save you. Don't be proud of that.

I was at McMurdo Station in 1997 with the Navy. That year was the first time they were able to set up internet video conferencing. I got to see and talk to my wife and 3 daughters which was pretty awesome. I had to be at the IT office at 3 AM (bright and sunny outside) and my family had to be at the IT office at NAS Point Mugu around 8 PM. At the time I thought what marvelous the technology was to be able to SEE my girls so far away, however jerky the video.

@malcomlovejoy

Жыл бұрын

Don my dad was at McMurdo 64'-66 CPO Radiomen U.S.S. BURTON ISLAND

My Dad was part of operation Deep Freeze in the late 1950’s. He was a Seabee who helped to build the science stations in Little America and McMurdo Sound. I remember late night calls when we got to speak with him with ham radio operators patching him through. Five little kids all lined up to say, “Hello Daddy, we love you!” This really is a history that should be better known.

My dad told me one time when he was in Vietnam as an infantryman, he and somebody's got the opportunity to do a ham radio phone patch call. But a lot of the times when they would call their mothers on the other end and the mother would not understand how the technology was working.

I used a MARS station to call home in 1977 from Germany. First time I talked to my folks in over a year. I greatly appreciated it.

KK1X here - another great episode. Thank you.

As a HAM this was a great episode for me. Though I am going through ALL of your episodes and subbed shortly after watching the first few. An awesome channel and thank you to you and your wife for all the great lessons in history! KG7TUO Am Extra, lead license instructor, VE, and former club President.

As a Ham Operator this is my favorite episode thus far.

Fantastic story!!! 73, W8QAS

@HM2SGT

2 жыл бұрын

73 in memory of K1MMF & N1SFM

@rherman9085

2 жыл бұрын

@@HM2SGT I still have my grandpa's hand written letter from Harry Truman thanking him for his MARS service during WWII. He connected Cincinnatians with their loved ones serving in Europe. His original call was 8QAS, then W8QAS.

@n1k0n_

2 жыл бұрын

Does this mean we can exchange qsl cards? 😊

@rherman9085

2 жыл бұрын

@@n1k0n_ IF you want.... OR I can just send you mine. I don't collect them. When they show up here, they go in a ziplock bag for my heirs to figure out what to do.... 73

I wintered-over at McMurdo in 1960. I was one of the operators of KC4USV. I had many conversations with Jules, made many many phone patch connections for our guys, and even exchanged recipes with operators at Thule Base in Greenland.

This might be one of my favorite episodes you've done! Just so random, but so cool!

Had to watch twice , so proud . been at sea for weeks and to here Voice was enough to make you smile

You did a great job in this! Kudos and 73!

@arghyam6

2 жыл бұрын

did not expect to see you here haha. or maybe i did

@hadmymonkeypoxvaccineimcra2328

2 жыл бұрын

Greetings from Inglewood CA! 😆

My father was an electronics engineer and designer, specializing in RF. We had 5 huge towers (165' - 220') in our back yard, all with beam antennas at the top that could be pointed. The cables going to the towers were 3" easily. He scratch-built a box with a flat map of the Earth and knobs for each beam antenna. Crank a knob and the antenna moves. He was running kilowatts. He could talk to people virtually anywhere. Could also hear people all over the world. Lots of Morse code too. That was his HAM radio rig.

@dawnmason2882

2 жыл бұрын

Must be exciting to here from all over the world! Hope he keeps it up! Time is coming soon when his skill will be greatly needed!

My dad was a young pilot in the USAF flying C-124s into Antartica, stationed in Christ Church, during Operation Deep Freeze. I remember playing in his gear; sleeping bag, muck luc boots, gloves, facing covering, etc as a kid. He flew into Macmurdo Sound his tour. His recollection of those events were very interesting.

@JohnSmith-yv6eq

2 жыл бұрын

Christchurch, New Zealand still supports the Antarctic programs of many nations..... I spoke to a man coming back from overwintering at the Base and asked him if he was going back next winter. He said he had done that for 17 years now..... basically going back to winter in the Northern Hemisphere until it was time to overwinter in the Southern Hemisphere....

That EZ pass fact was just the cherry on top of a delicious sundae of a story. Thank you.

I remember that in the 1950s and 1960s you could buy the parts to build a ham radio from Benton Harbor, MI. To get a 3rd class license you had to pass radiotelegraphy, demonstrate your ability to send and receive Morse code. There were a lot of radios back then that had a short-wave capability. You could listen in but not transmit on that band. My brother and I had a large radio with a short-wave band and we built what we called a 'clothesline antenna'. We had a lot of fun with that radio. We also picked AM superstations in San Antonio, TX, and Pittsburg, PA.

@tygrkhat4087

2 жыл бұрын

In the late 70s, my older sister and I attended St. Bonaventure U, which is in southeast New York. One night we were in sister's dorm room with a friend, just moving along the AM band on my sister's stereo and picked up the now-defunct WOWO in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. We found the number, called the station for a request and they played it. I can't rmember the song we requested.

This one warmed the heart. What a great piece of history.

Wow! Now every time I use my EZ-Pass I will think of this story! Thanks Mr. History Guy!

It's nice to hear of such dedicated people in life just giving their time and expertise to such endeavours... Ham or Amature Radio operators in the UK under the RSGB, usually are the comms HQ, RAYNET-UK, for emergency practice operations, one in Wiltshire, UK, involved a plane crash and a train chemical crash at the same time, so resources were stretched, usually operated by a couple of people in a caravan. RANET was formed in 1953 following the East Coast floods. Like seeing the Stanly ratchet screwdriver at 9.35, I have a couple from that era, brilliant devices when assembling equipment. Thanks for another informative bit of history.

Good to know. Thanks for your hard work on the show. Son does Ham and H club. Husband's father was telegraphed. Good stuff. Thanks.

@chrisbaround9094

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Barbara

My Pops was in Deep Freeze 2 times way long ago. Got a cool old book chronicling the operation. Thanks for making this video. Be well.!

Ham radio operators did the same thing in Vietnam, allowing us to phone home onve or twice a month. Priceless!

This story makes me appreciate the history of the HAM radio operators and makes me proud to follow in thier footsteps as a licensed HAM radio operator in these modern times! This is callsign KN4POW signing off. 73.

Nice history lesson of the south pole. Ham radios are still important today .

Thanks for recognizing the contribution of Amateur Radio! W3DEC

Very interesting. My father served on the ATKA GB-3 in the early 1960's. I think it may be in this video. Although the "3" is obscured. (It could be the GB-2.) There were four of these small ice breakers; the GB-1 through GB-4, I believe. Oh and, I got my ham radio Tech. license a few years ago. Thanks for another interesting journey into history.

As a former SeaBee myself, I was pleased to see us mentioned in this. :-)

Hams have a long history of public service. The dedication shown here just underscores what for many decades was the prevailing spirit among amateur operators, always willing to donate their time and talents to a good cause. Glad to learn about this particular chapter. Though, I never personally spent much time on the air, I got my license as a teenager and still maintain it. I spent *many* hours listening on my dad's old Hallicrafters receiver.

History Guy, your one of the brighter points of my days. I've been following you for 4 years, Thank You.

Nice to hear about dedicated young people giving so much of the their time and talents. Not just smart, but good hearted too.

Amazing! I'm a Ham doing the public service thing, but none of what I do holds a candle to this effort!