European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 05, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday August 5, 1978 the stars and stripes Page 9 Lam operators the cd has peaked Amateur radio continues of be More popular than Ever by Jim Coles i staff writer Necka sulm Germany is tile the citizen s band radio craze seems be receding some a form of radio com indication As old As radio itself Amair radio continues to gain  radio operators also known hams broadcast in virtually every entry in the world and provide a variety services ranging from Mars military dilate radio system to emergency Mun cations to educational broadcast in the australian Outback. A relative newcomer to the world offs Dick Molby a civilian employee ill the perching ground instrumentation program Here said of his 3-year-Oldhobby. Amateur radio really goes Back to Marconi the Man who developed wireless communication. Hams have pioneered communications in Many ways and that pioneering continues even  Marconi s original wireless transmitter was an air Gap or spar Kette device which transmitted about two Watts of Power. The earliest radio receivers were of the Crystal variety Molby  said it was Amateur operators who spurred the first interest in commercial radio during the 1920s. It was the invention of the vacuum tube made commercial radio practical. Radio was commercially possible during those years he added but it was impractical until tubes came along but hams ran radio stations  was after world War ii Molby said that the real revolution in radio communications began. Molby said the main difference Between hams and cobers is licensing. Anyone can buy a cd. Mail in the $4 and get on the  suspect that s Why there arc so Many problems with that kind of radio , on the other hand must pass tests for each Grade of License. They mus know Morse code radio theory Federal communications commission acc regu lations and logging procedures. There is a kind of self imposed discipline among hrs brings Home closer to troops by Jim Coles ii staff writer Worms Germany is Mars the military affiliate radio system is one of ise things people in the military tend Tot think about until they need it said set. Kenneth Homer 5th signal coma is Mars director As he prepared a ret urn to the  is designed to provide comm irions support service to All .  it also provides support for a eur operational plans As Back  in emergencies and discs _ r situations Homer  said there Are three classes of Mars class a the military unit station and supported by local com. Are the Type most commonly ass with the system. They operate 40 a week with their hours depending by upon when the frequencies to the  Are open for use. Class b or club stations Are operated by local Ham radio clubs. Homer said there Are currently two such stations in Germany but interest in creating other dubs has grown in the past few months. Class c or individual stations Are per haps the most numerous Type. Horner said there Are currently 110 such stations operating in Usa eur and they Are the Backbone of the whole  one of the services Mars stations pro Vides is teaching would be hams acc regu nations Morse code and preparing applicants for the acc exam Given twice a year at Ramstein a Germany. Homer said those classes Are Avail Able at most stations but scheduling of classes depends upon where there i enough interest to warrant having them. Our biggest area this year has been att Eydelberg. The people there have done a terrific Job. Only one of the people who took the test failed to get a  hams Are licensed in  the licenses include Novice technician general r. Operator and extra class ratings Home said. With each increase in licensing the operator is allowed a larger part of the radio spectrum and allowed to generate More radio emission Power. Some hams even operate Amateur to stations with video As Well As audio communication. Other major services Mars station provide the military Are phone patches to Teir Homes in the slates mar Grams and relaying messages. Homer said last year Mars stations in Europe handled More than 58,899 phone r patches or radio to Telephone connections. T for americans overseas and sent 78.497j mar Grams. � Homer said mar Grams Are general Lyon their Way to the states within 24 hours of of being Given to the station. We make throng Effort to get the mar Grams out m Al hours. They Cost nothing from this end and if there is a charge at All. It s to the recipient and then for no More than a postage stamp or a phone Call from the Volunteer Ham in the  has no operating budget and is composed primarily of civilian Volunteer Sand a few Hundred military people As signed to the system. Homer added. Heals said that much of the equipment used at smaller Mars stations is tactical radio equipment which the local commander May by regulation divert to Mars use so Long As it in t needed in its primary Tacti Cal role. He said much of the equipment used by Mars is old and needs replacing but is hopeful new equipment and More radio operators will be available in the next few years. S. Sgt. Reinaldo Cepida displays a Quick sketch he made of a Sailor. Kein Aio Lepco displays n so non n Smuc m � sgt. Says Arf is easy lust Brush up on skills a sat inc. That s the Amateur satellitecorp., an International non profit company run by and for  Molby  Cost about $60,000 to build As opposed to the $1 million Basic construction Cost for such a satellite Molby said. I m not involved in the system but i amazed that we re Able to do things like  added that it takes Only scant modification of a radio to enable a Ham to use the satellite system. He added that making friends through out the world is his motive for being a Ham. But the radio service provides other Bene fits to hams and the rest of the population in  of those he mentioned include emergency communications Aid to travel ers personal communications supple menting military and police communications and coordinating disaster Relief operations. I18th-Century warship found on sea Botto Pesaro. Italy Apt Amateur divers have discovered an 18th-Century sailing warship on the sea Bottom just 200 Yard from the coastline of this Adriatic town officials have announced. Authorities said experts believed the whole ship a Galleon could be rescued and started operations to recover one of i Scannon immediately. The Galleon Lay 12 feet deep on the Sandy  ship had been buried under Sand but it became visible after the construction Ofa jetty in the area. Two maritime archaeologists from rom came to help. One of them Concezio Dibartolomo. Said that the Galleon appeared in Good condition of preservation and promised to be a major find in Mari time archaeology for the whole Mediterranean