Man was fixing ham radio tower before fatal fall. CHIPPEWA FALLS — James Linstedt was familiar with repairing ham radio towers, having worked on the structures that make receiving and sending signals possible for at least the past decade, authorities and people who knew him said. But that experience didn’t prevent Linstedt, of Eau Claire, from falling about 95 feet to his death from a tower Tuesday in the town of Eagle Point, north of Chippewa Falls, authorities said. He was 59. Linstedt was working on a 100-foot-tall tower at 8121 163rd St. when he fell.
Amateur radio — in times of trouble or just for fun. Sean Kutzko is media and public relations manager for the American Radio Relay League, the national association for amateur radio operations. He spoke to the Trib about the resurgence of ham radio operators in America.
A visit to ARRL headquarters. I had a chance to visit the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) headquarters in Newington, CT. The ARRL is the national organization of radio amateurs in the U.S., and provides training, resources and representation of radio amateurs in Washington, D.C. and internationally during world radio spectrum management conferences. While it provides a hobby outlet for many who enjoy worldwide and local radio communications, the primary purpose of ham radio is to provide backup communications to emergency services during times of disaster should normal communications systems fail. They also send and receive health and welfare information between those affected by the disaster and loved ones living elsewhere.
Ed W8EO says
Hi Dan,
Just came back from trip East with a visit to ARRL HQ. We had a great visit with the very attentive staff. I got to work with one of the consoles @ W100AW with the beam at 100 ft. and i KW. Lots of fun and a pileup from Europe. 73 de W8EO
Dan KB6NU says
I’d love to operate W1AW some day. Sounds like a lot of fun.