This SARA meeting will be held at the Alplaus Fire House and will also be available via Webex
7:00—8:30 PM ………….Speaker Presentation
(Link to be sent out separately prior to the meeting)
The Importance of Technical Hobbies Like Amateur Radio to Advancing the World’s Technology
Speaker: Courtney Duncan, N5BF
Abstract:
Technical hobbies such as Amateur Radio have made profound and fundamental contributions to science and technology over the ages, often in surprising ways. Sometimes people fooling around with what they think are neat ideas stumble onto something really valuable. This talk gives an overview of several examples, including excerpts from the author’s own career experience.
About our speaker:
Courtney Duncan received a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Baylor University in 1978, a BSEE with Honors, summa cum laude, from University of Houston in 1985, and an MSEE focusing on Communications Systems from the University of Southern California in 1996.
After brief stints as an intern at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), Automations, a startup in electronic micro-measurement technology, and Microlink, a JSC spinoff, he joined NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)-Caltech in 1987, where he first worked on scientific grade GPS receivers for ground, sea, and space applications including ionosphere calibration for the Deep Space Network, Seafloor Geodesy, and the first demonstration of atmospheric and ionospheric radio occultation science using GPS from low earth orbit.
Later, he worked on optical interferometer testbeds in support of the Space Interferometry Mission JPL’s Multi-Mission Navigation Software, and derivative instrumentation and technologies. He contributed to STS-6, STS-9, GRAIL, and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM, STS- 99), for which he received a NASA Exceptional Service Medal . He promoted and contributed to Iris, the “CubeSat–compatible, Deep Space Network–compatible” transponder. He also served as the telecommunications lead for the Mars helicopter Ingenuity. Courtney retired from the Flight Communications Systems Section at JPL in July 2021 following Ingenuity’s Technology Demonstration phase and continued to follow the amazing progress of Ingenuity through its recent mission ending Flight #72.
Licensed since 1972, Courtney holds Amateur Extra Class N5BF. His interests have spanned multiple amateur radio activities such as contesting, award chasing, participation in the National Traffic System, amateur satellites, regulatory issues, and institutional leadership. He has been an official in AMSAT – North America, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Amateur Radio Club, and the San Bernardino Microwave Society. His current interests revolve around “space radio” activities such as earth-moon-earth and meteor scatter, mostly but not exclusively on the amateur radio microwave bands. He has also been heard in the CW Sweepstakes, Straight Key Night, and even Top Band! He was married for 45 years to Viann WD5EHM (SK) and his adult children were all licensed as teens or pre-teens: Viannah KG6GXW, Katherine KG6HUI, and John KG6HCO.
Note: The meeting location is 309 Alplaus Ave, Alplaus, NY, and the building is at the corner of Alplaus Avenue and Bruce Drive. Please park in the paved lot adjacent to this building. Do not park in the restricted area in front of the building that houses the fire trucks. We will meet in the Multipurpose Room (entrance is on the North side of this building).