[Dixielandjazz] Ham Radio - Not exactly OKOM, but..

[john petters]

Charlie W8FIM or .-- ---.. ..-. .. -- asked 
>I have been seeing quite a few "Ham" (amateur radio
licencees) call signs on this list, so it prompts the question:  How many
>well-known musicians are/were "hams" (in the radio sense).    

Wild Bill Davison claimed he was, although he could not tell me his call
sign and said it was pre WW1, which does not add up as he was born in 1906.
He was impressed with my, then, state of the art, small equipment when he
visited my home in the late 80s. Someone told me Jimmy Hamilton, the Elling
clarinet star had a callsign but I've not been able to verify it.
 
In the Uk, Pete Skivington, bassist with the Alex Welsh band has a G0U??
call sign. I sometimes meet him on the air on the 80 meter band. There are
others but can't bring callsigns to mind at the moment. 

Found this  http://users.tellurian.com/gjurrens/famous_hams.html
site with a link to Bob Ringwald's web site, who has  an interesting page on
amateur radio.

> It's hard to realize that just a few short years ago, Amateur Radio was a
>vital resource in civil emergencies - before cell phones and the internet.

It still is, I've been reading reports of Ham operators in Asia doing just
that when all the hi tech comms have failed.

>The thrill of making an overseas contact (DX) on a home-brew transmitter
and military surplus receiver (BC-348 etc) was a real accomplishment.   Now
>it is done routinely with a few key strokes and the click of a mouse

Its still done the old fashioned way here, tube equipment on AM (Amplitude
Modulation) or CW (Morse) with the old gear and a homemade Elecraft state of
the art transceiver. 

Jazz and Ham radio go well together. Having a sense of time helped with
learning morse code. Many of our jazz fans who attend gigs turn out to be
Hams also. In fact the age profile makes them an ideal target for OKOM
marketing. Perhaps Steve Barbone or Tom Wiggins may take it up to boost
their audiences.
My amateur radio page is on http://www.traditional-jazz.com/pge_ham.htm
73
John Petters
Amateur Radio Station G3YPZ
www.traditional-jazz.com