W1UU today! WN1BPW June 10, 1954 just like yesterday!
Celebrating 54 years of ham radio!
Peter K. Butler was born October 7, 1940 in Salem, Massachusetts.
As a young boy he moved to Whitman, Massachusetts at the age of five,
and then entering school. He often visited
his grandparents in Lynn and Swampscott, Massachusetts and it was there
that he use to listen to a Western Electric medium and shortwave radio.
The sounds were exciting! He stumbled across 75 meter AM stations
talking away, and his curiosity lead to the beginning of his lifelong
hobby, professional development, and continued interest.
Along the way Peter became an avid saxophone player having been given
the instrument from his dad at the age of 9. Little did Peter know that
his musical interest was just as intense as the ham radio, and he
continues to play the alto saxophone in several bands today! Some
things never quit! Morse Code and music are the best!
Peter was first licensed as WN1BPW on June 10. 1954 at the age of
13. He took his written test and morse code copy at the Boston Customs
House. His interest began in Junior High
school after acquiring an old J-38 key and self teaching himself the
morse code. As seen from the photo, he received an S38C receiver as
a present from his father and with accumulated money (mowing
lawns) he bought himself a Heathkit AT-1. His first antenna was a Zepp
and he was off and running on 40 meter CW.
Ten months later, Peter passed the general class tests and morse
code copy, and immediately moved to 20 CW. Little did Peter know that
the sunspots were headed to the highest
recorded level during the
ensuing years and he improved his equipment (VFO) and went "high power"
of 75 watts! He also put up a tribander and started to work a lot of DX
from 80-10 meters.
Reflecting his interest in ham radio, and the launch of Sputnik,
Peter felt that a career in "radio engineering" would be appropriate
and he enrolled in Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ completing a
BSEE in 1962. He was the only graduate that specialized in radio and
antenna technology.
After graduation from Rutgers, Peter had become an accomplished DXer and
a contester. In 1962 he became an Extra Class licensee. In 1963, Peter
broke into the top ten ARRL CW DX competition and he started to further
build up his station with a 40 meter beam and a KW. During this time,
Peter met another Peter (G3PDL) finding out he was the same age and had
the same interests. Peter took his first plane trip ever to Heathrow in
London, met G3PDL, and then traveled around Europe, meeting many of his DX contacts.
In 1964, Peter received an invitation to join the UK "First Class
Operators Club" (FOC) and he became a member that year and it continues
to the present. This is, by far, an honor and a privilege being a
member. My friend G3PDL became a member.`
Through the sixties, Peter honed his DX and contest skills. He took
trips to the West Indies with K1IMP operating in contests in that
region, and enjoying his travel abroad for business.
In 1966 he joined up with his friend K1DIR to help W3WPG build the
first multi-multi operation in New England. The operation was under
K1JGD with the first operation in the CQWW contest in 1966. This
operation continued for a few years.
In 1967, incentive licensing was available, and Peter obtained
W1UU because it had nice cw rythmn (di-di-dah di-di-dah).
In October 1968, he was married and he had two children.
Life's
responsibilities changed while bringing up the children. In 1970 he
moved to Merrimack NH and set up his biggest antenna system on top of a
hill. At last he had two tall towers so he could experiment with phased
arrays on the towers and beverage antennas at the ground on top of the
hill! Contest operations continued along with chasing DX and building
interesting antennas.
In October 1974 he moved to Falmouth, MA on Cape Cod for a job change. He had a
small house and a small tower, but life was good! His work involved
underwater instrumentation and devices that tested food and beverage
containers, and he traveled worldwide to help sell these products.
Another child was born, and again ham radio took a back seat to raising
the third! After seven years, a job change was offered, and the family
moved to North Andover, MA in January 1983.
Again, the move gave Peter a chance to put up a slightly taller tower,
and within 1 week of moving in, and attaching a tribander to the first 10 foot
section, he worked HK0-Malpelo Island, to get him to the "Top of the
DXCC Honor Roll". He was the 15th W1 to do it.
With that ham radio mountain climbed and claimed, Peter turned his
technology interests to
Packet Radio in 1984 and doing things that interfaced ham radios to
computers
and the Internet. Peter joined in with NEDA (Northeast Digital
Association) that developed very interesting wide area digital packet
systems. Later, a more specialized group was formed called NETCPA
(Northeast TCP Association) to explore and use the IP-network
protocols. A lot of technical advances were made both in radio
construction and software development.
In March 1989 Peter was offered two business "brass rings", and he started his own
company called Russet Associates, Inc. He worked out of his basement,
and this started a new exciting chapter in Peter's life. His specialty
was microwave systems engineering with accumulated knowledge over his
business career. He specialized in the emerging technologies for Public
Safety, the cell telephone build out, and the introduction of wireless
LAN technology. His system background allowed him to win several
significant trunking radio systems and original wireless
designs for robots and in the health science fields.
Today, Peter enjoys what ham radio has always offered to the new and old!
Peter
still enjoys all the different pahases that ham radio has to offer.
Continued membership in the FOC, meeting of old friends over the years,
and making new friends still occupies his time. Peter is also a
grandfather now. His wife, Maria, retired from teaching in 2006, and they just
finished renovating the house in early 2008 for their retirement.
The transciever is a IC-746PRO and
an IC-706 with an MFJ-933 autotuner. The antenna
is an extended double zepp at 55' AGL on a Rohn-25 tower. A GAP
vertical antenna system is also used. Shown in
the tower photo is the "extended double zepp" that operates 160- 10
meters. There are several commercial antennas used for Internet
service including a dual polarized 5.8 GHz link, a 2.4 GHz link, and a
2.4 GHz omni-directional antenna. The grey box shown above the roof on
the tower is the control electronics for the microwave link operations.
The QTH in Falmouth is 200 meters from the busy Falmouth Inner Harbor
and another easy walk to the Martha's Vineyard Sound and the Atlantic
Ocean.
Peter also is active in the Falmouth Town Band playing the saxophone
and flute along with several bands, a student of the portuguese
language and culture, and running his Wireless ISP and working on
wireless engineering projects for port security and the Ferry systems.
His ham radio activity still flourishes especially with FOC and CW
ragchewing. The fun and thrill never changes, only time! Life is good!