nofars.net

NOFARS 1970-1985

By Billy Williams, N4UF

The January 1970 NOFARS meeting included a demonstration of a new marvel, the digital frequency counter. In March, a complete eclipse of the sun involved portable and mobile ham stations at eight locations in north Florida and south Georgia to assist scientists by relaying weather reports, exact times and observation results. 

Harold Hobbs, WA4VZF was appointed as Duval County Emergency Coordinator.  The 6 and 2 meter AM emergency nets were dropped.  A new net, each Weds. at 7:30PM, operated simultaneously on 28.690 MHz SSB and 146.94 MHz  FM. The 1970 NOFARS roster listed 60 members. W4IZ Field Day operators made the best showing ever (until that time) logging 2,232 contacts from the Gator Bowl.  This ranked 2nd nationwide in the 3-transmitter category. A new FCC fee schedule included a $9 charge for new and renewed ham licenses.  That equals about $45 today.

FM repeaters headed into the Amateur Radio mainstream.  Loved by those who valued reliable local communications and reviled by many VHF simplex operators, these automated relay systems were gaining popularity. FCC regulations stunted the proliferation of FM repeaters.  A specific control operator (and roster) was mandated for every minute that a repeater was in service.  Most repeaters were turned off after 11pm or so.  Simplex communications took priority over repeater re-transmissions.  FCC required that repeater transmissions cease when simplex communications occupied a repeater's output frequency.  Burdensome documentation and logging procedures for mobile operators and repeater sponsors did not help.  

Technology had not progressed sufficiently to allow an entire system to operate well from a single location.  Repeaters were “split-site.” A receiver was at one location with the transmitter several miles away.  Two high-altitude sites were needed along with a dedicated telephone line between sites.  Another line was required for use by control operators and a third phone line was needed to offer autopatch service.  High initial costs and monthly overhead had to be split among a relatively few number of users.
With no frequency coordination in Florida, when two (or more) repeaters with inadequate mileage separation competed on the same frequency pair, repeater “wars” broke out between operators in different towns.  

In Northeast Florida, the two meter simplex calling frequency was 146.94 MHz. which could also be a repeater output frequency.  Simplex operators were unhappy.  Other hams had no use at all for VHF and viewed two meters as an extension of Citizens Band.

1971-73

Several efforts to activate a Jacksonville repeater came and went.  In October 1971, the Jacksonville WB4QFL repeater group called an open meeting.  Around 50 hams supported the effort.  Using the top of the Riverton Towers/Jones College building, near the Mathews Bridge tollgates, as a site to receive signals on 146.34 MHz and the old Independent Life building as a location for a 146.76 MHz transmitter, the WB4QFL repeater went on the air in late 1971. The organization became RANGE and dues were $2 per month.

The February 1972 NOFARS Balanced Modulator described the correct procedure for using WB4QFL.  “After the repeater transmitter has been silent for at least five seconds, a station checking in need only to transmit his call and the correct time.  A tape recorder logs the first ten seconds of each transmission after the repeater rests for five seconds.  

To log out, let the repeater idle for at least five seconds and then transmit the time, your call and the fact that you are out.  To access the autopatch, it is necessary to transmit the number '0' for four seconds then standard touchtone dialing may commence. To disengage the autopatch, it is again necessary to transmit the number '0' for four seconds.  

Several things are on the horizon from WB4QFL.  A new higher powered transmitter (300 watts) is destined to replace the 80 watter now in service.  Plans call for a mobile priority input on 146.16 MHz leaving base stations on 146.34 MHz."

The repeater receiver was moved to the channel 12 tower near the stadium in 1973 and by 1975 the system became single-site with all equipment at channel 12.  FCC mandated distinctive WR prefix calls for repeaters along with a complicated application procedure.  WB4QFL became WR4AAF.  A 1975 Florida Repeater Council listing showed WR4AAF  146.16/.76; WR4AFL 146.40/147.00( Jax); WR4AHX 146.28/.88 (Jax); WR4AHY 146.07/.67 ( Jax); WR4AKP 146.25/.85 (Beaches); WR4ALA 146.01/.61(Callahan).

FCC considered a proposal in 1973 to take the top part of the 220 MHz. ham band and re-assign it for Citizens Band use. This was not popular with most of NOFARS 70 members.  In 1974, NOFARS meeting location moved from the Civil Defense building at 107 Market St. to the First Presbyterian Church at Ocean & Monroe Sts.

Dues increased to $5, the current rate.  (about $23 in 2007). A new weekly CW net, the Jacksonville Training Net, was started on 21.120 MHz. by Duval EC WA4VZF.

 A large Jacksonville hamfest was envisioned as early as 1970. A big obstacle was around $3,000 in seed money needed to rent a large building and cover contract obligations.  After several plans fell through, an independent group, the Bold City Hamfest Association, raised capital by selling “shares” for $50 each.  NOFARS became a minor shareholder. Individuals bought most shares, some as an investment.  The Securities & Exchange people would have had a cow if they knew.

1974-77

The first Bold City Hamfest was March 30-31, 1974 at the Jax Beach Flag Pavilion. NOFARS set up a booth and an HF station using an all-band dipole hung from the roof inside the Flag Pavilion to pass messages. Paid attendance was 720.  The hamfest lost money but those who attended were impressed and the future looked promising.  Each share was estimated to be worth around $38 at the end of 1974.

The 1974 W4IZ Field Day was the last at the Gator Bowl. A large convention in the nearby Coliseum on FD weekend caused parking problems and after 9 years, it was time for a site change.  The new site for 1975 was the Windy Hill fire tower at Beach Blvd. and Peach Dr.  The move was beneficial. NOFARS accomplished its first national #1 FD score ranking in 1975.

The Wacky Wing Ding certificate program, inactive for 12 years, was resurrected in 1975.  The first WWD net convened on Monday, Jan. 5th at 8PM on 28.690 MHz. To earn a WWD certificate, one checked in five times within an ten-week inaugural period.  WWD #1 was reserved for W4IZ. Those with ten check-ins during the inaugural period, followed by those with 9 check-ins, 8 check-ins, etc. got sequential numbers beginning with #2.  By late March, 25 certificates had been issued to local operators.  NOFARS membership topped 100 for the first time in mid 1975.

FCC proposed a “dual track” license structure with one series of licenses from Novice to Extra designated for HF operation and a separate track with no Morse Code requirement for privileges above 50 MHz. In all, eight license grades were proposed.  The idea was first introduced in 1970 by FCC bureau chief Prose Walker, W4BW who was also the driving force behind the incentive licensing system adopted in the ‘60s.  Another test would be required for current hams to maintain VHF/UHF privileges. Opposition was fierce and the plan was shelved.  By 1975, the philosophy had begun to shift away from more complicated and stringent license requirements toward a simpler structure and “de-regulation.” Repeater regulations and logging requirements were reduced.

The second Bold City Hamfest in March 1975 showed an increase in attendance and a small financial surplus.  CB gained popularity and interest spilled over into ham radio.  WIVY-FM, a highly-rated rock and roll station in Jacksonville, spotlighted Amateur Radio several times on their public service talk shows.   Response to a 75-minute talk show segment on Dec. 28, 1975 was very good.  A second two-hour segment on Jan. 25, 1976 included K4DSN, K4OAC, WB4RCY, W4IJJ and N4UF.

One of the callers was WA4EYU who patched in a live contact from 20 meters.  Several hams in a roundtable on the 16/76 repeater demonstrated the wonders of the auto patch and advantages of reliable short-range communications for emergency preparedness.  

85 prospects enrolled in a license class series at the First Presbyterian Church in early 1976.

A northeaster blew through during the weekend of the third Bold City Hamfest on April 10-11, 1976.  The hamfest committee had guaranteed a big turnout for a Saturday night beachfront luau.  High winds and rain killed luau attendance and the Bold City Hamfest Association went bankrupt.

The largest NOFARS meeting attendance was 103 at the Feb. 1977 meeting. Oscar, K4DDY sponsored an Amateur Radio club at Ed White High School and taught electronics there.  He also offered license classes through the Community School program at night.  Membership reached 215 by the end of 1977.

1978-79

The Jacksonville Hamfest Assn. was founded in early 1978.  Six area ham clubs including NOFARS contributed funds.  The 1978 and 1979 Jacksonville Hamfests in the Beach Flag Pavilion were very successful. 75% of the proceeds were distributed to participating clubs in proportion to capital investment. The other 25% was retained as supplemental seed money for the next hamfest.  The Jacksonville Hamfest was outgrowing the Flag Pavilion.

The W4IZ Field Day moved to FJC (later FCCJ and now FSCJ) North Campus in 1978 after three years at the Windy Hill fire tower. NOFARS operators were awarded the Florida Skip FD trophy for the highest Florida score in any category with 3,315 contacts and 9,512 points.  Things got even better in 1979. NOFARS scored #1 nationwide in its category for the second time with 4,170 contacts and 12,582 points.

A scare from hurricane David during Labor Day weekend 1979 led to evacuation of coastal areas.  16 shelters opened and 55 hams assisted Jax National Weather Service, Duval Civil Defense and NE Florida Red Cross with communications.

During the mid and late ‘70s, NOFARS operators staffed a booth at the Jacksonville Fair.  In 1979, W4IZ passed 1650 messages on behalf of fair goers.  Besides radiograms, a big attraction was a repeater auto patch demonstration. This was before the days of cellular phones and Internet.  A reminder of how much things have changed.

If the 1970s could be characterized as a decade when repeaters and VHF communication gained popularity, then the 1980s would be a decade in which computers and microprocessors became mainstream. A shift toward digital communications accelerated during the early ‘80s.  Solid-state, microprocessor-based gear began to replace balky mechanical RTTY equipment that data communicators had used for many years.

 Rapid growth and technological changes helped continue a boom in Amateur Radio popularity.  Computers were experimental in the 1970s with brands like Commodore and Radio Shack.  These were very crude by today’s standards.  Apple computers were popular with hams using logging programs and other applications.  FCC approved use of the ASCII code on ham bands in January 1980.

Three new HF ham bands were awarded as a result of the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC) in late 1979.  30 meters, a narrow all-CW band, along with 17 and 12 meters would be phased in during the ‘80s. Hams lost access to the 1215-1240 MHz spectrum but gained a new shared band from 902-928 Mhz.  73 Magazine Editor Wayne Green, predicted that WARC ’79 would abolish ham radio.  But Green and other naysayers were left eating crow with egg on their face.

1980

An editorial in the January 1980 Balanced Modulator stated “with the good news from Geneva now well-known, we can count on another decade of growth for Amateur Radio.  The new 30, 17 and 12 meter bands will be nice as will the growth of amateur satellites and the UHF & SHF spectrum. Sunspot cycle 21 will continue to provide good band conditions throughout the early ‘80s and may go on record as one of the best ever recorded.”

NOFARS membership reached an all-time high (until that point) of 263 as 1980 began.  NOFARS sponsored license classes at FJC North Campus. The local ham store, Hollister Electronics near Eighth & Pearl Sts., expanded its line of gear to include Swan, Cushcraft and Wilson.  CW memory keyers were selling fast at prices which declined to below $60.  The Florida Crown AREC Net ran simultaneously on 28.690 Mhz and on the 146.76 repeater.

Goodwill Good Turn Day and River Run occurred on the same day in 1980. A total of sixty hams provided communications coverage at both events.   FCC examiners visited Jacksonville in April and October.  Ham and commercial exams were administered at the Wilson Blvd. National Guard Armory.

Ham radio population in April 1980 was 363,520.  NOFARS member Tom Castiglia, NO4A took over as Red Cross Chairman of Disaster Services in May.  ARRL HQ announced that N4UF of Jacksonville won the Section Manager election over incumbent AA4FG of New Port Richey.  One of his first appointments was George WD4BII to serve as the ARES District Emergency Coordinator for a new entity known as Florida Crown.

W4IZ Field Day operators logged 3,037 contacts using 6 transmitters at FCCJ North Campus.  The total was good enough to finish in fourth place nationwide in our category.

The Jacksonville Hamfest outgrew the Beach Flag Pavilion.  The ownership of the Orange Park Kennel Club offered free use, except for utility costs which were not cheap, and the hamfest was held there for the first time in August 1980.  The Kennel Club was not used for racing during the summer and most of the building was not uniformly air conditioned. Temperatures exceeded 80 degrees in the swap area while those on the second floor exhibitor area sometimes shivered.   Over 2,000 people attended.  30 exhibitor booths and over 200 swap tables were sold.

1981-82

The 1981 ARRL National Convention was in Orlando at the Sheraton Twin Towers.  Phase 3 of the new callsign system began in early 1981.  Hams could apply for calls that reflected their license grade. FCC selected new calls on a sequential basis within four sequences.  One of NOFARS biggest Field Day competitors, the Hogtown Hammers from Gainesville, presented a slide show and program on their operation at the March NOFARS meeting.

NOFARS members began to report interference leakage problems from new cable TV lines that were being strung rapidly in Jacksonville.

A new administration in Washington proposed large scale deregulation of communications and a severe reduction of the FCC budget.  Fallout could include abandonment of licensing of Citizens Band, Amateur Radio and commercial operators. Hollister Electronics moved from 8th & Pearl to a new location near Arlington Plaza.

NOFARS meeting location changed to Ed White High School in September 1981.  Higher room rent and reduced availability of the big basement meeting hall at the First Presbyterian Church caused us to look for better arrangements.  The 1981 Jax Hamfest at the Orange Park Kennel Club attracted 2,750 persons.  

A  bill in the Florida legislature to ban possession of scanners in homes and cars was sponsored by a Naples representative.

Hams provided communications at the 1982 St. Andrews Society Scottish Games and the Hank Stram Celebrity Golf Tournament. The First and Second Class (commercial) Radio Telephone licenses were discontinued in favor of a lifetime General Radiotelephone license.  Postage for first class letters went up to 20 cents. QST technical author and VHF columnist Ed Tilton, W1HDQ presented a program on sunspots and propagation at the March 1982 NOFARS meeting.  

The 1982 W4IZ Field Day included 50 operators and support persons. NOFARS had the second highest score nationwide in the seven-transmitter category with 3,692 contacts.  FCC again proposed a codeless VHF license.  ARES operators provided communications at three hospitals for a test of capabilities during mass casualty events. The 1982 Greater Jacksonville Hamfest drew around 2,500.  The new 30 meter CW band became available to hams in October.

1983

Duval County ARES Emergency Coordinator Harold Hobbs, WA4VZF retired in May 1983 after 13 years of service.  Al Elmore, W4FHP was chosen as his successor in organizing emergency communications efforts in Jacksonville. A Washington Post editorial on April 30th declared the “CB craze” dead due to the abolishment of CB licenses by FCC.  The FCC Atlanta office agreed to attend the 1983 Greater Jax Hamfest on August 5th and offer license exams.  

Packet radio activity was increasing in Jacksonville. A new digital mailbox on 146.58 MHz. started operation.  Conditions for Field Day were very good.  W4IZ made 4,386 contacts using seven rigs at FCCJ North Campus.

Attendance at the 1983 Jax Hamfest was good but exhibitor booth and concession income was down sharply. Proceeds declined by 17%. FCC announced that ham licenses would be issued for ten-year terms instead of five.  Due to FCC budget cuts, exam opportunities became scarce.

Negotiations started toward a volunteer examiner program. On October 25th, Amateur Radio played a big role during evacuations of medical students from Grenada. Ham radio provided the only link to the St. Georges Medical School.  National and local news outlets provided extensive coverage of Amateur Radio operators.

Dr. Owen Garriott, W5LFL operated while in orbit on the space shuttle Columbia in early December.  Many hams around the world tried to contact him.  Two locals were successful.  FCC Chairman Ray Kowalski declared the no-code license dead after commissioners unanimously turned thumbs down in Dec. 1983.  Kowalski commented “this issue is over, once and for all.” 

1984

A Jacksonville Bulls ESPN football telecast on cable channel 18 in March 1984 brought complaints from viewers about interference from hams. Channel 18 uses 144-150 Mhz.  Cable interference leaked out and  two-meter ham transmissions leaked in.  In one Arlington neighborhood, viewers complained of interference from NOFARS member W4ESP.  Tom also received severe interference around 145.25 Mhz from “leaks” in the cable system.  Low grade cable coax and improperly installed connectors proved to be the problems. After some prodding, the local cable franchise, Area Cablevision, pledged to move ESPN off of channel 18 and upgrade their system.

Packet radio use was spreading in 1984.  The Florida Amateur Digital Communications Assn. began establishing statewide links between local packet networks and bulletin board systems (BBS). Its goal was to allow packet operators to routinely interconnect throughout Florida.

In May, owners of the Orange Park Kennel Club notified Jax Hamfest officials that their building would not be available in August.  With only 8 weeks notice, hamfest officials arranged a replacement site at the Jacksonville Civic Auditorium near Pearl and Water Sts.  Fortunately, flyers had not been mailed and the site change was accomplished with only minor disruption.

The change in location proved to be beneficial.  The air conditioning at the OP Kennel Club had always been erratic during the summer and the new location was centrally located.  Installation of additional permanent seats at the kennel club diminished floor space available for the hamfest swap area.

Area Cablevision operations manager Tom Tierney spoke at the June NOFARS meeting.  He asked hams to be patient with interference but pledged that problems would be fixed as Cablevision replaced thousands of connectors and many miles of cable.  A complaint line was established for hams to file interference reports.

The 1984 field Day at FCCJ North Campus was very successful with 3,247 contacts logged including 21 OSCAR (satellite contacts).  A W4IZ single-station record of 1,657 contacts was established by the 20 meter operators. The W4IZ score was the highest in Florida in any category and we retired the Florida Skip FD trophy by winning three years in a row over all other Florida FD groups.

The big news during the summer of 1984 was that NOFARS had been certified as one of the first volunteer exam teams in the nation.  The first exams were offered on August 4th at the Jax Hamfest.  Since ARRL had not yet agreed to participate, our team was arranged through the Central Alabama VEC.  No testing fees had been authorized, a sticking point with ARRL.  Pete Nissen, W4PTT and his exam team tested 85 applicants.

On August 18th, a large fuel tank explosion near 12th and Talleyrand Sts. caused large-scale evacuations.  A shelter at Jackson High School staffed by Red Cross used ARES hams for communications.  Duval EC W4FHP was pleased with the operation of the Florida Crown Emergency Net and the response.

NOFARS members at the October meeting voted to allow use of the club call W4IZ on repeaters of the Jax RANGE Assn.  W4IZ also was authorized for use at American Red Cross HQ as well as during all ARES activities.

1985

As 1985 began, it was reported that the number of newly-licensed hams had declined by 11% in 1984.  But the decline was not due to a loss of interest. Instead the lack of testing opportunities was the major factor.  FCC field offices cut back to quarterly testing and most travel by FCC examiners was eliminated.  That meant a trip to Tampa or Miami if you wanted to take an FCC exam.

The first exams under the volunteer examiner system were offered during the summer of 1984 but teams were slow to organize since FCC did not allow any fees to be charged.  ARRL did not enter the program until provisions were passed by Congress to allow costs to be defrayed.

NOFARS exam team was one of the first to offer exams with its initial session at the Greater Jacksonville Hamfest in August 1984.
Hamfests boomed in 1985 as easier testing access allowed the ham population to increase.  A half dozen new hamfests sprang up in Florida.

Another growing aspect of ham radio was computer technology.  A second bulletin board system (BBS) for hams becoming available in Jax.  FM repeaters, especially on two meters, were growing rapidly in number.  FCC declared a freeze on new repeaters in 30 metropolitan areas.  In Florida, it affected Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa-St. Pete. The freeze was lifted within a month though after objections from ARRL objected.  FCC developed better guidelines for frequency coordination.

A repeater system which was growing in popularity was operated by Red, NS4R.  Red was an innovator. He started with a single repeater on 146.925 MHz in 1979. Over the next few years, he added capabilities on four other bands and remote receivers.  By 1988, he had 200 users on his 145.45 system which covered five bands.

A change in location for the W4IZ Field Day for 1985.  At FCCJ,  the W4IZ FD was permitted as an activity of the FCCJ Communications Electronics program.  In late 1984, the FCCJ Geis Marine Center near the junction of the Trout and St. Johns Rivers opened and the electronics program moved to that waterfront location which included a 600 foot pier.   W4IZ moved to the new site along with the electronics program.  In spite of a low sunspot count, W4IZ operators logged over 2,000 contacts at the Geis Marine Center.

Ham radio blasted off into space for the second time in July with two hams on board: W0ORE and W4NTZ.  Dick Bash, KL7IHP and Bash Educational Services went out of business--a casualty of the volunteer exam program and its public question pool.

ARES under the leadership of W4FHP was active.  Communications during wildfires in the area, at River Run, parades and other civic events along with a new ham emergency communications center at the local Red Cross kept ARES busy.

The new 12 meter ham band opened in June and NOFARS administered the Florida Skip QSO Party.  Classes at the Geis Marine Center produced 16 new hams in August.  Another series began the next month.  The 1985 Greater Jacksonville Hamfest was successful.  It was a wet weekend with over 9 inches of rain but the downtown Civic Auditorium kept us dry and 80 hams took exams at NOFARS test session there. Expenses were down and income was up with around $3,000 being distributed to the six participating groups.

Packet radio was gaining momentum in 1985.  From its beginning with about 35 operators in mid-1984, packet radio in Florida grew to around 400 enthusiasts a year later.  A popular feature was the new “store and forward” BBS that handled formal and informal traffic to most of the US.  In November, FCC eliminated the 30-day waiting period before an applicant could retest. NOFARS membership increased to a new high of 240 members.

This article appeared during NOFARS Fifty Years series published during 2007-8 in the Balanced Modulator.

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