Dan Gravereaux N1ZZ about West Mountain Radio and Anderson Power Poles

N1ZZ

2/2/2019

Episode 235 - Dan Gravereaux - N1ZZ

Dan Gravereaux, N1ZZ, began his ham radio story as a kid leading to a career in electronics, a stint at the CBS Labs working on quadraphonic sound, and later founding West Mountain Radio creators of the Rigblaster interfaces for HF digital modes. West Mountain Radio also popularized the ubiquitous Anderson Power Poles that we all use now and love. N1ZZ shares his ham radio story and expertise in this QSO Today.

Show Notes

Listen to Podcast

QRP Labs QCX Transceiver Kit

N1ZZ Links:
QRZ Page
Paradan Radio
Facebook

Boy Scout 1 Tube Radio

QST magazine

Hometown: New Canaan, CT.

Heathkit AR-2

First License: Age 16, 1958, Novice KN1DMG
General upgrade: K1DMG

First Rig:
Heathkit AT1 Transmitter
ARC5 Receiver 80 Meters
Heathkit DX-40
Hammarlund HQ 100
Harrison Radio, NYC

Current Rig:
Icom IC-756 Pro
Ten-Tec Titan 425 Power Amp
R6A vertical 20 to 6 meters
40 meter dipole

Favorite operating mode: CW

Education: University of Connecticut, BSEE
Vietnam War, Army Reserve

Links from professional life

Transistor amplifier with gain of 10
CBS Laboratories
CBS Labs Gemini spacecraft recording project.
“Recording Techinques for SQ matrix Quadraphonic Discs” , Dan Gravereau, Benjamin Bauer and Gerald Budelman, 1973
Columbia Records engineering department
Quadraphonic Sound
Quadraphonic headphones
Quadraphonic microphones
DMX Audio System
Surround Sound
Dolby Surround Sound
Screen Grid Modulation

N1ZZ has worked 368 Countries and missing only North Korea

CQ World Wide DX contest

West Mountain Radio Links:
West Mountain Radio, Inc. History
West Mountain Radio Rigblaster
West Mountain Radio RigRunner DC Power Strip
Rigblaster Duo

PSK31 Digital Mode

Model Airplanes with electric engines

Anderson Power Pole connectors

Paradan antenna disconnect

Clubs:
PCARS - or Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society, in Melbourne, Florida
Curacao Contesting Club Association

GOTA Station

QSO Today Episode 183, Geoff Howard, W0CG

ARRL SSB Contest

Ham radio fox hunts - listen to Joe Moell - K0OV, Episode 40

Greatest challenge: radio is not well known by the general public
Makers Guild

Excited most by: New digital modes like FT8, computer to the radio interfaces

Joe Taylor, K1JT

Advice to new or returning hams: Look at the hobby and choose what you seem to like, meet other hams, and just have fun.

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Please join our QSO Today community by pressing the button below. It is the best way to suggest guests and topics, and provide feedback to Eric, 4Z1UG.

Heathkit AT-1 Novice Transmitter

RIGblaster

Paradan Radio Antenna Disconnect

Anderson Power Pole

2 Comments

Steven Whitehead NV7V

2/9/2019 11:03:50 pm

Now for the rest of the story.... Our local ARES group had a few of us that were engineers on a project to make a talking ELT for airplanes. They noticed pilots were using power-pole connectors for external 12V devices in their aircraft. They contacted the Power-pole manufacturer and asked which way to put the connectors for 12V which was backwards from the current "convention". So our ARES group and several other groups in Utah soon dropped the ARRL suggested molex connectors for the power-poles. We also contacted ARRL and tried to convince them to adopt power-poles as an ARRL/ARES standard for 12V connections but they said the power-poles were not readily available (was not true) and too expensive (also not true). Years later some group in California (those $&^%# sixes) adopted the power-poles polarity backwards and convinced ARRL to also adopt them as the ARRL/ARES standard. Needless to say there were a lot of upset Hams in Utah and other areas that had conformed to the "convention" suggested by the manufacturer who had to go through the (as in my case about 50) connectors they had and switch them. This was also the time when the ARRL was opposed to lowering or eliminating the code requirement. I and a lot of Hams dropped our ARRL membership....... BTW I eventually became an ARRL member again and have been for a long time.
BTW Eric I was looking forward to meeting you at Dayton last year but..... I and the rest of us will be there with HamStudy (hamstudy.org) again so come look us up if you make it!! Thanks for QSO today. It is a highlight of my week.

Eric 4Z1UG link

2/10/2019 10:01:05 am

Thanks for an interesting detail about Anderson Powerpoles. Did the ARRL adopt West Mountain Radio's Powerpole convention in the end?

Sorry, I will not be at Dayton this year either. I will be a Pirate in Penzance.

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N1ZZ

Episode 235 - Dan Gravereaux - N1ZZ

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