Wednesday January 28th Topic with KC1HHK: 

The Challenger Disaster- 40 Years Ago Today

40 Years ago today: January 28, 1986 

The Challenger Disaster: How Critical Communications Shape Emergency Response and Aerospace Safety

Today is January 28, and on this date in 1986 the space shuttle Challenger was lost shortly after liftoff. The event reminded the world of the critical role of communications—telemetry, tracking, and clear procedures—in spaceflight and in any high-risk operation. Amateur radio operators share that same responsibility during emergencies: to provide reliable, disciplined, and redundant communications when they matter most. Tonight’s question for the net is: What practices in amateur radio help ensure reliable communication under pressure, and how can events like Challenger guide our approach to EMCOMM and technical preparedness?

Discussion connection to amateur radio:

• NASA’s shuttle operations relied on redundant communications, telemetry, and tracking—parallels to the fail-safe mindset of amateur radio.

• Hams routinely support emergency communications (EMCOMM) when systems fail; Challenger’s aftermath highlighted the need for communication clarity, redundancy, and real-time situational awareness.

• Opens a meaningful conversation about communication discipline, message accuracy, and technical resilience.

Suggested questions:

• How do hams ensure reliability when every second and every piece of data matters?

• Have you ever participated in the Eastern Massachusetts 2-meter traffic net?  They operate every day at 2000 hours on 145.230 MHz PL 88.5
  https://ema.arrl.org/eastern-mass-two-meter-traffic-net/

Wednesday January 14th Topic with KC1HHK: 

Amateur Radio Technological Milestones

Amateur radio has gone through many technological leaps. However, some hams and historians generally point to one milestone as perhaps the single biggest change:

The introduction of single-sideband (SSB) voice transmission

(~1947–1950s)

Why SSB changed everything

Before SSB, amateur HF voice communication relied on AM (amplitude modulation). AM is easy to understand but extremely bandwidth-hungry, power-inefficient, and susceptible to noise.

SSB flipped the game:

• 3× more spectrum-efficient than AM

• Far more power-efficient—an SSB signal with the same power “punches” much harder

• Less noise, especially on HF where AM quickly becomes unreadable

• Enabled long-distance rag chewing, emergency nets, and contests that simply weren’t practical before

• Smaller, cheaper gear became possible over time

By the late 1950s, SSB had largely replaced AM for serious HF operations, and it created the foundation for modern HF practices, net structures, and operating expectations.

Other major contenders (still important but not as transformative)

If you’re curious, here are the other “top 4” milestones people often cite:

2. The shift from tubes to solid-state transceivers (1960s–70s)

Made rigs smaller, more reliable, less power-hungry, and accessible to more operators.

3. FM and repeaters on VHF/UHF (late 1960s onward)

Exploded local communications, created community nets, ARES/RACES structures, autopatch, and later linked systems.

4. Digital modes & computer integration (1980s–present)

Packet radio, PSK31, FT8, APRS, D-STAR, DMR, Fusion, and SDR changed what was possible—but these were evolutionary, not the single biggest revolution.

5. Software Defined Radio (SDR) (2000s–present)

Massively changed how radios are built and used, but piggybacks on earlier digital innovation.

Summary

Many technologies reshaped ham radio, but SSB was the true turning point that modernized HF operating and made today’s style of amateur radio possible.

·         What do you think?

·         Do you agree with the list, or might you have an additional milestone?

Wednesday January 7th Topic with KC1HHK: Ham Radio Questions