HISTORY

The Principia College Amateur Radio Club began informally with a radio shack in a temporary shed behind biology and physics in the 1964. Student A.C."Kit" Bradley (C'67, K9FYR) and Dave Cornell (C'59, then WA9NLD, now W9LD, retired physics faculty) set up an old AM and CW receiver and transmitter and worked what stations they could on HF. Single sideband was just making its debut on the hambands about that time, but It wasn't possible with the equipment we had then.

By 1970 the station had migrated to the basement of the physics lab down by the old rack of submarine batteries. Two sisters from Pennsylvania, Joy (C'65) and Dottie Callender (C'68), whose father Ed was W3NM, had introduced themselves and kept schedules with the family at home with Dave as control operator. Ed Callender generously gave his Heath kilowatt HF amplifier, which was fed by a Hallicrafters exciter purchased by others' donations. About 1970 Dave applied to the FCC for a club station license. The FCC assigned our Club station the callsign WA9NYN, with Dave as trustee. Dave established a network on 20-40-80 meters and sent mailings to individual interested in the club.

Shortly thereafter Earle and Ellie Conner sent three daughters, Betty (C'70), Sue (C'72), and Pat (C'76), to the college. Earle, WA8CIA, was an avid CW operator. He and Dave kept schedules on HF for decades thereafter, including 1971-2 when Dave (as G5AWP) and family when to England on sabbatical.

The club's most avid operator, Alanson P. "Hap" Holly (C'74), came to College. Owing to Hap's visual challenge, he needed a radio which was up-to-date and which could be tuned with an audible tuning device. Thanks to generosity of Jack Troster W6ISQ, Warren Geary K9IH, and others, the Club acquired a Tempo One SSB transceiver, and a 50-foot Rohn tower, and Mosley triband beam for 10-15-20 meters. With this setup Hap operated frequently throughout his student years.

By 1980 the Club moved to a site in the lecture preparatory room adjacent to the physics lecture room, Watson 133. This was more convenient to the antennas, and more accessible to operators and visitors. There were occasional students who brought their ham radio licenses with them during these years, but principally it was a time of reduced activity for the club. One significant event was communication with the Romero family in Mexico City after the earthquake in that city. When Antonio "Tony" Paez came to College, Dave kept schedules for Tony with his mother, Ruth, whose great signal boomed in from Bogota on 20 meters.

Several faculty obtained their amateur radio licenses during this period, some maintaining contact with the College after they left. Among these were Douglas B. Swett, David A. Foltz, and John W. Williams. Student Christopher "Topher" Cawlfield (C'93) obtained his technician license.

Staff member Bob Burns, WB1GOG, encouraged his family to be licensed. Through Bob's efforts the College came into the world of VHF and FM repeaters. He purchased and installed the two meter repeater and antennas in the hut and tower on East Farm at the College. This repeater has used the Club callsign WA9NYN, operating on 145.310(-) MHz, with PL tone 79.7 Hz. Recently Dave and Ben Brown (C'71, and current physics faculty) have been working to refurbish the repeater to bring it up to prime operation.

In 2005 at the incentive of former faculty member Rick Dearborn (C'74) N9IH, he and Ben Brown led a group of ten Principia students, faculty, staff, and friends to Mississippi. There they set up stations and communicated emergency information to assist the Red Cross and other agencies in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. They found great respect for the efforts and impact of amateur radio in that emergency, and returned home with renewed appreciation for the role of ham radio in the nation. Given the substantial part played by the Club in the relief effort, ham radio has increased visiblity on both the St. Louis and Elsah campuses.

Both academic units are in the process of installing stations with the goal of intercampus contact and communication on a wider front as well. They expect to have capability on HF and VHF. Three extra class licensees, Dave W9LD, Rick N9IH, and Ben WB1D, form an ARRL-authorized VE team. Together they offer a convenient group to oversee licensing sessions on either campus. licensed amateur radio operators who are alumni and friends of Principia located around the world.

The organization was re-named PAWS - Principia Amateur Wireless Society in July 2006.

In September of 2006 the PAWS club callsign was changed to N9YN.