93-year-old WWII Veteran Still Taps out Morse Code

Radio amateur Merle Taylor VE1VCI, 93, still practices Morse code in her basement outside Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Taylor learned Morse code at 20 when she signed up to help Canada and the war effort. Her war-time job was to teach it to the pilots through the British Commonwealth Air Training plan.

“There were 59 airbases built across Canada to accommodate the boys from England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. It was that group of boys that I taught Morse code to,”

Taylor said while sitting in her basement outside Antigonish — where she still taps out Morse code."It's a signal that will get through because of the sharpness where a voice couldn't.

And the other thing is you could send a secret message.

"Taylor has a network of people, mostly in Europe and eastern North America where the signal is carried the strongest, with whom she "chats" with using the old technology three times a week."

People say it's obsolete, it's really not," said Taylor."I have a lot of fun with this."

Media Story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/merle-taylor-morse-code-remembrance-day-1.3846368

AMSAT Elect Vice-President of User Services

AMSAT President Joe Spier, K6WAO recently forwarded the name of Robert Bankston, KE4AL of Dothan, AL, to the AMSAT Board of Directors. Robert, who was this year's AMSAT Symposium Chairman, has an MBA from Troy University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

On Tuesday 20th November 2018, Robert was elected by the Board as Vice-President of User Services.

“I want to welcome Robert to the Executive Team in filling a position that has been vacant for far too long. Robert has taken on the task of essentially providing the AMSAT membership with the services that our members expect in the 21st century. I look forward to working with him.”

— Joe Spier, K6WAO AMSAT President

The AMSAT Vice-President of User Services is the team leader for the AMSAT News Service (ANS), the AMSAT Journal, Dayton Hamvention, Contests and Awards, AMSAT Ambassadors, AMSAT Nets, AMSAT Website, and Electronic Communications.

CT1BAT New Vice-President of EURAO

José Machado, CT1BAT, has just been elected unanimously new Vice-president of EURAO by its Board of Directors, after the resignation of David, F1SXC before the summer.

José has extensive experience in the field of amateur radio and associationism. Since 2008 he is president of Tertúlia Radioamadorística Guglielmo Marconi, CS5TRGM, and very committed with the EuroBureauQSL project in Portugal from the beginning.