I graduated from Sewanhaka High School, Floral Park, N.Y., in 1951, at age 17. My main interests were in Science and Mathematics. My Junior Year Science Project was a "Prismatonic-Electronic Organ" for which I was awarded an "Honorable Mention" at the First Long Island Science Congress.
That summer I was introduced to Charles Manley, a Ham Radio operator whose call sign was W2GLU. He worked for McKay Radio Communications, Inc. Mr. Manley liked to work the two meter ham band and allowed me to talk to other "Ham" radio operators. As a result of this meeting, I knew that some day I would become a Ham Radio operator.
My Senior Year Science Project was the making of a 6" telescope mirror. I entered the Second Long Island Science Congress with a demonstration/talk on how to "Grind/Polish and Figure a Telescope Mirror". The blackboard presentation described the math and methods used to correct the parabolic curve of the mirror to a quarter wavelength of Sodium Light (a millionth of an inch). I won the First Place Physics Award and a Scholarship to Adelphi College in Garden City, N.Y.
While still in my senior year of high school, I had the good fortune to meet John H. Nelson of RCA Communications, Inc.
Mr. Nelson was in his front yard using a telescope to project the Sun onto a chart he had designed. I stopped and asked him what he was doing (his telescope was unusual in that it did not have a "tube" like most reflecting telescopes). He said he was recording the number and position of sunspots onto his chart. I also learned that he was a Propagation Analyst and his job was to forecast HF Radio weather conditions.
He explained to me that It was well known that the average sunspot cycle of eleven years changes the density of the ionosphere which provides HF Radio propagation. Waiting for the appearance of new sunspots to appear does not provide a very good means of predicting, in advance, what radio weather will be like. This prompted Mr. Nelson to look at the planets orbiting around the Sun. The planet Jupiter takes about eleven years to orbit the Sun (the same number of years in the Sunspot Cycle). He also studied the positions of the rest of the planets and found a more reliable method to predict bad radio weather conditions. He published his findings in the March 1951 issue of the "RCA Review" magazine. He was able to increase his long range predictions to 85% accuracy
Meeting Mr. Nelson prompted me to obtain a copy of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac which allowed me to make my own charts, similar to the Mr. Nelson's charts, where I plotted the position of the Planets. This made it possible for me to predict radio storms in advance of their occurrence as outlined in the John H. Nelson paper. I also recorded daily sunspots on a chart similar to Mr. Nelson's.
Click here for the 1952 updated version of his famous paper
Click here to view my telescope using the award winning mirror
My first year at Adelphi provided me with a golden opportunity. Adelphi has anastronomical observatory on the roof of the Science building. The observatory had not been used in many years. It has a motorized sliding roof and a 6" Clark Refracting Telescope. Neither the sliding roof nor the telescope was in good repair. I set about making the necessary repairs to the sliding roof and made it open and shut properly. It took many hours to clean and align the telescope and to get the all-brass mechanical drive working. I made the Observatory ready for use and provided an exciting "Open House Night" that allowed visitors to get their first look through a telescope.
Click here to view the Adelphi telescope in action
In 1952, my paper "Sunspots - Their Nature and Effects" was published in the Adelphi Science Journal
Click here to review the Sunspot article
In 1953, my paper "Atomic Energy States and the Electromagnetic Spectrum" was published in the Adelphi Science Journal
Click here to review the Atomic Energy States article
By 1957, my desire to become a Ham Radio Operator ( K2IGY) became a reality. I was working for ERCO Radio Labs.,in Garden City, NY as a technician, testing UHF transmitters and receivers. While at ERCO, I bought my first Porsche (a 1957 Speedster) and joined the Porsche Club of America. I met Wayne Green, W2NSD who wanted to buy a Porsche and helped him locate one (they were rare items and not easy to find).
During 1959-1960, some unusual circumstances occurred. I received a call from Charles Manley of McKay Radio, Inc. saying that an opening was available at Press Wireless Inc. (located at 660 First Avenue, NY) for someone who knew HF Radio propagation analysis techniques. I applied and was hired for the position as Assistant Manager of the Central Frequency Bureau. My job was to provide propagation analysis and make frequency allocations for communicating with various International Wireless Companies. This was a great place to be working and my knowledge of which frequencies to use for the Ham Bands allowed me to contact other Hams all over the world. In late 1960, I was approached by Wayne Green who was starting a new publication, called 73 Magazine. He knew of my work at Press Wireless and asked me to provide monthly Propagation Charts for 73 Magazine. These charts showed the different Ham Bands to use from the Eastern, Central and Western areas of the United States to fourteen different countries in the world. Right up my alley! As a bonus, I included predictions of radio weather conditions (one month in advance!) based on the knowledge I had learned from John Nelson. The first issue of 73 was October, 1960. While preparing the charts for the November 1960 issue, I realized that a great Radio Storm would probably occur from November 12th through November 15th. I put myself out on a limb and sent a copy of the November issue to J. Virginia Lincoln, Chief Radio Warning Services Section of Ionosphere Research & Propagation Division (part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards in Boulder Colorado). I received her answer on December 8th and was not surprised by it. She said, "I am curious as to the source of your information for your advance forecasts of radio propagation disturbances." They did not put much faith in Nelson's methods as (they considered his methods unscientific). I never told her that I used his methods to make my predictions
Click here to view My Propagation Articles.