he one whose QTH lies to the
east of the other. The calling frequency for Moonbounce is 144.011
MHz., and the duration of the call is 2 minutes, but for the first
minute and a half you call CQ DE SV1OE and during the last half minute
you also give the call of the station you are trying to contact, for
instance G3FNJ DE SV1OE. You must on no account transmit for more
than two minutes because at the beginning of the third minute the
other station will begin transmitting the same pattern of signals. But
if he has heard you he will alter the pattern. For the first half
minute he will send SV1OE DE G3FNJ and for the ensuing minute and a
half he will transmit the letter O which signifies that he has heard
your callsign completely and without difficulty i.e. Q5 in the Q Code.
If I have also heard your callsign completely I will send G3FNJ for
half a minute followed by RO for a minute and a half, which means that
I have also received your callsign and your O. And you will reply RO
73 which concludes the successful contact.

"There are one or two other letters that can be used. Sending M
signifies that I hear you well but can only copy 50% of your
transmission, equivalent to Q3. And the letter T signifies I hear you
but cannot read you at all--Q1.

"It has been found by experience that the best sending speed is 8
w.p.m. Sending slowly or very fast presents problems at the other
end."

CHAPTER EIGHT

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES AND ANECDOTES

The eight items which follow are not strictly part of the story of
the development of amateur radio, but they deal with some historical
events which are connected with our hobby. Two are of particular
interest: the account given to me by Takis Coumbias formerly SV1AAA of
the early days of amateur radio in Russia and the story of the Greek
broadcasts from Cairo, Egypt during the German/Italian occupation of
Greece in World War II.

Nearly all the photographs of the period were taken by the author.

1. Athanasios 'Takis' Coumbias (1909-1987)

When I met Takis in his office in May 1983 I told him I was
thinking of writing a small book about the history of amateur radio in
Greece before it was too late--so many of the old timers had already
passed away. Little did we both suspect at the time that he also would
not live to see the finished project. I asked him how far back he
could remember.

"Well, I can start from 19