W3EAX

In the 1980’s I attended the University of Maryland in pursuit of my Electrical Engineering degree and was both a member and president of the UM Amateur Radio Association. At the time, W3EAX was set up in the Nugent House. In the mid-80s the house was burned to the ground and replaced by a parking lot. W3EAX then moved to South Campus Dining Hall, where the station sits today.

Below are club members from that era to include Mark N3AVA, John WB3ERU / NA3J, John KA1TB / W1RT, Ted N3EWQ, Tom KB3YF and me Andy KA1GD / K1RA. Click on the picture below to see more shots from that time on campus.

Nugent House Tower Day 1.jpg

After graduation I maintained ties with the association and assisted in a group effort between the members of the organization and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to deploy the Spartan Packet Radio Experiment (SPRE). a shuttle experiment that flew on STS-72 in January 1996. You can read more about that experiment by clicking here or on the graphic below.

University of Md W3EAX SPRE

Over the years a number of the members managed to keep in touch and operated Field Day emergency exercises together. Click on the picture below to see one particular outing in June 1999 at Greenbriar Park in western Maryland, attended by Jon KD3FG, Ken N3FZX, Patti KB3CTO, Chris N3XRV, Scott NF3I / N7JI, Dave KA3PRU and me Andy KA1GD / K1RA.

JN29^019.JPG

To see the clubs online presence please click the following link w3eax.umd.edu and visit there web site.

4 Responses to W3EAX

  1. Mitch Graff says:

    Hey Andy! ‘Just wanted to say HI, and see how you, your family, and the rest of the guys are. I hope all is well with you all. Please tell all I said ‘hello,’ and if any of you guys want to visit Philly, you know to give me a call

    I look forward to hearing from you, if you have some time.

    mitch

  2. Leon Rosen says:

    Hello,
    N1XKT here.
    Wow! I must say you have quite a rover setup. I attended UMD and used the radio shack frequently in 1998-1999. After graduation I moved back in the my parents and operated with my Dad, Rick Rosen K1DS as a Pack Rat during major contests. I very much enjoyed the equipment and had some awesome QSO’s to the middle east early in the morning before class. Great memories.

    73’s
    N1XKT

  3. Terry says:

    Hi you young guys. Your link to W3EAX does not work. Is the club still active?

    I started in 1955 and graduated from Electrical Engineering. Degree served me well. I was W3DEA and/or W4ECP/3 from Frederick Hall. Club was across the parking lot in a building that I can’t remember the name of (English teacher would not appreciate ending sentence with “of”). Oh well.

    I don’t know how to attach a photo to his reply. I have a good photo of the equipment we had in 1956. You’d get a kick out of it.

    bcnu, Terry in Hartland Michigan

  4. Terry Griner W8TI says:

    ex W8GGQ

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