The New Directions Radio column shares the latest on radio activities, this issue highlights ham radio operators
located on the west coast.
Copthorne Macdonald is an amateur radio enthusiast, inventor of slow scan television, and founder of New Directions
Radio. New Directions Radio article MOTHER EARTH NEWS NO. 48, November/December 1977.
Ham Radio Operators on the West Coast
New Directions Radio is alive and well on the West Coast!
Alternatives-oriented ham radio has definitely exceeded
“critical mass” proportions out West and appears to have
established a self-sustaining chain reaction. Randy Brink,
WA78KR (who-together with “So” Bogardus, W6HSE puts out The
New Directions Roundtable Newsletter) claims much of the
credit for this . . . he’s been an active NDR promoter since
the early part of 1974. A while back, Randy and his wife,
Meta-who hail from Port Orchard, Washington — traveled
throughout the western U.S. in order to meet some of the
gang, and with characteristic thoughtfullness — took
pictures as they went. Here — to help the rest of us get
acquainted with “them that’s doing” — are a few of Randy and
Meta’s photos, along with some comments about what these
folks are up to.
Bo Bogardus (W6HSE), who currently lives in Berkeley,
California, is a retired military man whose interests are
now decidedly anti-military.
In addition to publishing The NDR Newsletter, Bo prints a
newsletter for the Women for Peace organization. He also
moderates the Sunday evening session of the Roundtable.
In Los Angeles, Randy spent an enjoyable evening
with Bill Goodart, K6CSP and Curt Barnes, WB6EUN. Randy’s three a and a half years in the military
helped sensitize him to matters of war and peace, too: He
is currently working with the Pacific Life Community in the
Trident submarine protest. In addition, Randy has been
active with a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group
called — of all things — New Directions, which is currently
focusing its efforts on the nuclear issue.
Bob Hickerson (WA6RRR) has been very active in New Directions Radio right from the beginning. Last July, he hosted a “New
Directions Workshop” at his homestead in Yreka, California.
Ben Parks (WB6CTI) is seen here at his homestead in Helena,
California . . . a homestead that Randy says is one and a
half miles up — “like, wheel-spinning up!” — a dirt road. For
electricity, Ben uses a Pelton waterwheel coupled to an
automobile alternator to feed a continuous five amps of
current into a bank of ten batteries. Auto taillights
supplement kerosene lamps to provide light for Ben’s place.
Cave Junction, Oregon Is the hometown of Jonnie Klein
(WB7NKC), whom Randy describes as a “dropout scientist” now
active with a tree-planting co-op called Green Side Up.
Among other things, Jonnie has been restoring old telephone
storage batteries for some of the homesteaders in the West
Coast NDR group.
After spending two years with Earthmind, Mark Dankoff
(WB6SMJ) has headed down to New Mexico, where he plans to
set up a homestead and continue his experiments with wind
power.
The Simple Receiver Project
Our ongoing effort to come up with simple, inexpensive ham
gear has borne a little more fruit: I’ve worked out a way
to convert six. transistor pocket radios into very usable
oneband (3.5 to 4 MHz) ham receivers capable of picking up
both code and voice signals. Cost: As little as $10. A
how-to-do-it write-up — simple enough for a beginner to
comprehend, but detailed enough for the person with some
electronics experience to put to use — is available for 50¢
from Randy Brink. You can write to Randy at Port Orchard, Washington.
Peace,
Cop Macdonald (VE1BFL)
Charlottetown
Prince Edward Island
Canada
New Directions Radio is an international network of radio amateurs concerned with those ways of using ham radio
(and related modes of communicating) that promote our own growth as individuals, and that we perceive as helping to
create a more aware, more caring, and more responsible human society. We encourage all who share these interests to
work with us. A current schedule of on-the-air activities is included in each issue of the bimonthly New
Directions Roundtable Newsletter, published by Randy Brink (WA7BKR) and “Bo” Bogardus (W6HSE) as a service to the
rest of us. Send one 13¢ stamp for each issue desired to: Randy Brink, Port Orchard, Washington.
