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W2IK SPECIAL EVENTS STATION
 SPECIAL EVENTS STATION COMMEMORATING
THE WORLD TRADE CENTER DISASTER
On September 11, 2005  W2IK, seven members of a local radio club and members of the UTSA Amateur Radio Club, operated a special events station to commemorate the World Trade Center Disaster. Since W2IK operated as a first responder at "Ground Zero" on September 11-13 th, the special events callsign was"W2IK/WTC911". The station was located on the grounds of UTSA (University Of Texas At San Antonio)  Even though it was the rainiest day of the summer, and HF band conditions were one of the worst of the year, we did manage to contact 174 stations using both HF and VHF and had a great sense of accomplishment.
A special thanks to the over 400 ham radio stations from the US, Europe, Japan, Russia, etc. who worked my "W2IK/WTC911" commemorative events station on September 11, 2006. I also want to acknowledge all the kind words of encouragement and thanks for my communications when I was at WTC "Ground Zero". Listen for me again next year!
On SEPTEMBER 11th, 2007,  We again operated our special events station to honor those people whose lives were lost during the World Trade Center Disaster. The callsign "W2IK/WTC911" was used because W2IK was the first call operating from "ground zero". It was a big success as we made contact with over 550 stations in 48 states and 10 countries, some who even waited through "pile ups" to contact me. I truly appreciate all those good wishes that were sent to me with each contact. Each station in my log who sends an s.a.s.e. will be sent a special certificate. I will be doing this event again in 2008 !
Pictures from the 2005 operation
Operating under a huge covered patio saved us from putting up our canopy and when the rains came it provided plenty of shelter.
To the left, telescoping out the 30 ft mast which held the center of our HF "inverted V". The pole easily inserted into the center umbrella hole. Pictured right was our VHF operation which used a "W2IK Telescoping J Pole" antenna system.
Playing cowboy to lasso one end of the HF antenna over a light pole
Two very happy operators as the bands started to behave and we were able to make many contacts on HF
Right: Churning out contacts to the "locals" on VHF and using the link system for more distant VHF QSOs

As always, Andy and Marie supplied moral support
A UTSA student from Venezuela stopped by and we soon put her to work, with W2IK, logging and operating. We did feed her, of course.
The rain failed to dampen our spirits as we were up and running two stations just a little bit later than we had planned. We enjoyed answering questions and handing out informational sheets about ham radio and what it can do during times of crisis that computers and cell phones cannot. I wish to thank those many hams we spoke to who encouraged us to do this again next year and thanked us for operating so people won't forget what happened on this day. Next year, perhaps, you can work us as we've decided to do it again.  Special thanks to all those people and hams who stopped by to observe, help, operate and the moral support they provided. It was all of you who made us feel very proud to do this special events station.(I also want to acknowledge, with gratitude, those hams I had personally spoken to on the air who thanked me for being at WTC "Ground Zero" and doing what I could to help - Bob Hejl W2IK)
FOR THE FULL STORY ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO AND THE WTC DISASTER, CLICK HERE:
To the left is a sample copy of the special events certificate that was mailed to each ham who made a contact with us in 2005.
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