Brings back fond memories. I had the honor of being an op there in CQWW CW for
a few years in the 1960-70
Pete Chamalian, W1RM
W1RM@Comcast.net
WWW.W1RM.COM
-----Original Message-----
From: CQ-Contest <cq-contest-bounces+w1rm=comcast.net@contesting.com> On Behalf
Of Dan K2YWE
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2026 7:26 PM
To: Art Boyars <artboyars@gmail.com>
Cc: CQ-Contest Reflector <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] W4BVV's long CQ
I used a tape loop unit from Burstein-Applebee and did the same rectified audio
thing to my 'TO keyer's driver for it's mercury-wetted relay. I may sstill have
that loop thingy somewhere here :)
73, Dan
On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 10:21 AM Art Boyars <artboyars@gmail.com> wrote:
> VE3DZ posted a link to a 1971 recording:
> https://hamgallery.com/dx1970/w4bvv.mp3
>
> I was one of the operators at the W4BVV(SK) Multi-Multi back then.
> (W3ZZ (then W3BQV, formerly K1ANV) (SK) said of me "He didn't know a G
> from a DL!").
>
> At some point during my years at 'BVV I built the boxes that were used
> for those CQ machines. Tom had little stereo cassette tape recorders,
> one for each band/station. They had cassettes that were short
> continuous loops of tape. We would record the CQ message CW audio on
> one track, and a continuous tone on the other track. My boxes had
> simple rectifiers for the audio tones -- the CW track to drive the key
> line, the continuous tone to drive the PTT; some kind of push button
> start. I don't remember what I used for drivers -- transistor
> switches?? relays?? For 'phone, the CQ message was recorded on the
> one track, and the second track was still used for PTT. Everybody called CQ
> with Tom's voice.
>
> Now, to the case in point. I think that the long and slow CQ in the
> linked audio file was K4YF (then K3NPV, formerly W8ZBX?) (SK) on 80M.
> You didn't get a lot of rate or volume on 80M back then. Tom's 80M
> antenna was four sloping dipoles off one of the towers -- a pretty
> good antenna in those days.
>
> Of course, "in those days" we were logging on paper, with paper dupe
> sheets. Except K4YF, a blind op, used a portable typewriter.
>
> Dupe sheets... W4BVV himself had access to a computer (later, we
> would have called it a "main frame"). Between the TWO WEEKENDS of
> each mode of the ARRL DX Contest he would enter the entire log for
> each band into a sorting program, and output a printed alphabetical
> list of stations worked for us to use, going into the second weekend.
> We would read the 80M list to K4YF just before the contest re-started.
>
> For 160M Tom had an old DX-100 in the corner (I think we still had
> power limits on 160M) and another set of four-sloper dipoles on a
> different tower. I think that now and then in the night somebody
> would fire up on 160M, work the few QSOs and multipliers you knew
> would be on, and maybe a sked or two.
>
> More on dupe sheets... One time, W3ZZ wondered, "If you had a computer
> that would give you a red light or green light to tell you if a call
> was a dupe, would it give you an unbeatable advantage?" Well, Gene
> did tend to overstate things, as those who knew him would attest. And
> he is still missed, as are W4BVV, K4YF, W1ARR (SK) and many of the
> other op's from the old W4BVV team.
>
> To tie this to another thread running here, remember that back in the
> day SS was TWO WEEKENDS for each mode. That's a change that even I
> appreciate.
>
> 73, Art K3KU (K3OAE back in the day)
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