SAN DIEGO YACHT CLUB AMATEUR RADIO GROUP
18 Years of Dedicated Service

From SDYC Mainsheet, January 2000

From helping to rescue horses and livestock in the flooded Tijuana river,  to providing coverage for America's Cup, Manzanillo, and Puerto Vallarta races, radio amateurs at the San Diego Yacht Club have proved themselves a vital resource for the general public and the yachting community.

In December, 1982, Dr. Ken Greene, KA6UAU, wrote a memo to Commodore Jerry LaDow suggesting that SDYC sponsor an Amateur Radio Group. A detailed proposal, including suggested Bylaws, was submitted to the new Commodore, Bill Stephens and his Board of Directors, in early 1983. The proposal requested the Club provide space for a "ham shack" and funds for basic equipment. The "crows nest" atop the main building was proposed as the first site.

In February, Ken Greene, Herb Johnson , W6QKI, and Fred Harris, WA6IES, went to the Long Beach Yacht Club, where hams from there and the Seal Beach Yacht Club gave them help and advice in setting up the group.

During 1983 and 1984, classes were held for those who wished to obtain their amateur radio FCC license. Herb Johnson and Fred Harris were instructors. By September, 1983, there were 28 licensed hams at the Club.

In 1985, formation of the Amateur Radio Group really picked up steam.  Richard Doering, WA6CFM, became acting Chairman and in June, Tom Faulconer, KA6YYE, generated a new request for ham station space. By July, the Board had allocated space for the ham shack in the maintenance building. A charter membership drive was begun, and the 1986 SDYC directory shows that forty-five members had signed-up and agreed to donate their $40 charter initiation fee to purchase equipment for the shack.

The antenna mast and beam antenna were raised over the maintenance building in January, 1986, and wire antennas were also installed.  Gil Herrlin, KA6GQL, donated the antenna tower. Jean Eichenlaub donated the beam antenna and Myron Lyon gave a VHF marine antenna. These generous donations made it possible to get the club’s shack up and running. Loaned equipment from Fred Harris, Herb Johnson and Richard Doering were also of vital importance in making the station operational.

An open house in the new shack was held on February 25, 1986, for Yacht Club members.

By mid  1986, the ARG membership had grown to 60. Regular classes and code practice sessions  were  held  for  those wishing  to become hams, as well as for those desiring  to  upgrade their license. For the first time, the ham station was used to receive daily position reports of the yachts in the Manzanillo Race from the escort yacht Yelad.

In his December 1986, report to the Board, Dick Doering reported that additional radio equipment for the station had been acquired. Ted Atherton, W6FDA, was elected the new Chairman for 1987, and Ralph Eschborn, N6ADJ, assisted by Jean Eichenlaub, assumed the role of training coordinator.

The Amateur Radio Group continued to grow and provide useful communication for both racing and cruising yachts. We have been fortunate to have had a series of dedicated and experienced hams assume the Chairmanship of the ARG Herb Johnson, Chairman in 1988, was followed by Ralph Eschbom from 1989 through 1993.

In 1994, it was decided that the !ong-term growth of the Group would best be served by rotating the chairmanship every two years. Accordingly, Rod McLennan, W6MWB, had the post in 1994 and '95, Ed Huggin, KK6GO, in '96 and '97, and John Lake, KO6QO, in '98 and '99. At the November 9, 1999, Amateur Radio Group business meeting, Dr. Woody Hunt, KE6FBR was elected Chairman for the years 2000 and 2001.  As of December 1999, ARG dues-paying membership (at $10 per year) stood at 84, not counting family members who are also active in the group.

From the beginning, the ARG has promoted the adoption of advanced radio communication technology. In 1992, a marine single-sideband radio was installed in the ham shack for use by SDYC members having the appropriate FCC license. A VHF repeater station on Mt. Soledad has been made available to ARG members to facilitate voice communication over a wide area, including coastal waters and western San Diego County. VHF packet radio, which allows the transmission, storage and retrieval of written messages, has been available on the ham station since the late 1980's, and has been used by many hams for transmitting messages to each other.

AMTOR (Amateur Teleprinting Over Radio) was used in 1989 for the first time to transmit Manzanillo Race data from the escort boat, Art DeFever's Dul-Sea, to the ham station at the Yacht Club. The station was operated by Sally Cable, N6FXN. AMTOR was an early error-correcting technology adopted by radio amateurs. PacTOR technology, an improvement over AMTOR, was adopted by the ARG in 1996. It was first used that year for communication of Manzanillo Race data from Dul-Sea to the Yacht Club.

Advanced PacTOR 11 equip¬ment was obtained in 1999 to help implement a new ham radio com¬munication system called WinLink. This allows hams to use their high-frequency radios to send, receive and store e-mail messages with friends and relatives. WinLink stations are in operation all over the world and are particularly use¬ful for cruising yachts and recreational vehicles, which do not have ordinary access to the Internet. The generosity of Jack and Pam Kelly, who donated a computer and the diligent expertise of Rod McLennan have made the WinLink system fully operational at San Diego Yacht Club.

Until mid 1995, the callsign N6ADJ was used by the SDYC ham station, by agreement with its assignee, Ralph Eschborn. In June 1995, the callsign KE6UWM was assigned to the SDYC ham station, with Rod McLennan listed by the FCC as the trustee. In early 1997, the ARG was awarded the callsign W6IM, formerly assigned to SDYC member Walt Maertins. Walt passed  away in 1992, but his former callsign was requested by the ARG and assigned in his memory to the SDYC ham radio station.

Volunteers from the ARG provided communication support for the three America's Cup regattas held in San Diego. In 1988, a radio room was set up in the Convention Center. For the'92 races, a special radio room was on the 21st floor of the One America Plaza Building in downtown San Diego. The '95 race radio room was closer to home, on Shelter Island Drive. A number of ARG members donated several hours each race day communicat¬ing wind and sea-state data telemetered from buoys near the 'ocean racecourse.

Several SDYC hams have been awarded the prestigious Maritime Order of the Golden Key by the Southern California Yachting Association. This honor is bestowed: "In recognition of persistent and outstanding contributions to yachting communications". The Golden Key was presented to SDYC ARG members Walt Maertins (deceased, formerly W6IM), to Ralph Eschborn in 1993, and to Ed Huggin in 1998. This year the Golden Key was awarded to Rod McLennan.

ED PHILLIPS, K6PH