Memories of JY1

In the January 1971 issue of CQ we ran a story by Sylvia Margolis entitled "So Who's Looking After the Store?" which humorously documented the events recounted here. The photos in that article show a young man who, because of his amateur radio avocation, became suddenly catapulted, albeit briefly, to national fame for his contacts with JY1. While Laurie's time in the sun because of this incident might have been relatively brief, his comments here speak measures on the phenomenal and lasting impact King Hussein had on all those he came in contact with. The King, a wise and sagacious leader, will be missed by all. —K2EEK

In some ways, 1970 doesn’t seem that long ago. Plenty of the things we take for granted already existed. Jet travel was common, with aircraft that wouldn’t look all that out of place at modern airports. We had color television, video recorders were starting to appear, and there were push-button phones.

The amateur bands didn’t sound that much different either. Single sideband was already the dominant mode. There were plenty of good, small transceivers around, many of them being made by companies such as Yaesu and Kenwood in Japan. I still use an early 1970s Heathkit amplifier. There were contests, pile-ups, split-frequency working, and arguments over DXCC counters.

And yet, in many ways 1970 was a long time ago—29 years ago. Going back yet another 29 years, and the Japanese were planning to bomb