USS Saratoga Museum Foundation, Inc.

PVARC Special Event of July 21: A Report

On 21 July 2001, the Pawtuxet Valley Amateur Radio Club held a "Special Event" on the Naval Station Newport pier alongside SARATOGA. Ken Carr, the president of PVARC, sent this report on the day's events.

The QSL card for the event is displayed at the bottom of this web page.

Thank you very much for obtaining permission for us to run the amateur radio special event on July 21. Everything went very well. We had a great time and helped give the Saratoga some national exposure.

We arrived at about 10:15 AM. The lot was open. We began to set up our radio, table, and canopy. Our first visitor was a Middletown policeman. He was very helpful. He already knew that we were coming. He also helped us find the portable head (it was on adjacent property: the gate had been left open for us). We were also visited by an official of the Navy (I believe his name was Cugnya (sp)). He welcomed us and asked if we needed any assistance. Since the lavatory problem was solved, we told him that we were all set. We also indicated that the place would be spotless when we left.

We had six adult participants (plus one wife) and three children. The police officer stuck around so long that we should include him too. Over 80 different museum ships, from all over the world, participated. We made over 80 contacts. That's a pretty good total for six hours during a time when propagation (atmospheric conditions that affect radio waves) was very poor. Our log was sent on to the USS Salem in Quincy. They were the coordinators for the international event. Certificates will be sent to all operators (we had 6) courtesy of the USS Kidd. Amateurs that contacted the USS Saratoga will receive individual QSL cards (confirmation of the contact) in return for cards they send us. We have already received about 12.

The picture (below) is of the QSL card that we will be sending out to our contacts. Our call was WA1USA (club call of the Pawtuxet Valley Amateur Radio Club).

Once again, thank you for this opportunity. ...Oh, I didn't mention the Saratoga veteran who stopped by. He came all the way from New York with his wife just to see the ship. He used to serve on a jet that was based on the Saratoga. He had tears in his eyes when he looked at the ship and talked about it.