UPDATE: QSL cards have poured in. We made over 3000 contacts and have become a little overwhelmed with the response. The W7W QSL card is ready for print and we are in the process of raising the funding needed to print so many cards. On an average year, we make around 100 contacts which we easily print on a printer. This year with well over 3000 and 100+ nations it is a chore. Hang in there, you will get your card asap. If you would like to donate to our print fund, please do. A few coins goes a long way. Many have sent a little, we thank you for that. We have paypal and a PO Box. Please click here for more info.
Matt, KQ7W, would like to thank K5AR, N6HC, W6ENZ, W6OEZ, KA6DOW, W5MMX, K7LAZ, LU5FF. "These guys tried to follow me around the bands to work me on every mode/band.."
Thanks all, was a true joy working everyone and sharing some stories and such.
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Washington State
A group of Amateur Radio enthusiasts will operate a special event station in memorial to the radio amateurs who perished while monitoring the volcano when it erupted in 1980. The station will be using the special event callsign W7W and will operate the upper sections of phone bands May 15th-16th 2010. There may be some CW and Digital operations as well. With special permission from the USFS, and in cooperation with the Mount St. Helens Institute, the station will operate from within the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
More specifically, near the Johnston Oberservatory located 5.5 miles from the crater in the blast zone of the volcano at 4313' above sea level.
See the EVENT section for more details.
QSL SASE via: St. Helens Event, PO BOX 2044, POULSBO WA. 98370 Email us
PLEASE NOTE: Additionally, the Clark County Amateur Radio Club and the Chehalis Valley Amateur Radio Club will be operating events as well. We encourage you to work all of these operations. The W7W station will be on site at Mt. St. Helens as well as CVARS who will be using the call W7V. The folks from W7AIA will be operating from various grid locations around the Clark County area with the exception of Sunday May 16th when they plan to have a remote station near the volcano as well. We are working to coordinate these operations. Please be aware of and work all three on the 30th year anniversary of the eruptions.
About WC7O and the W7W Event
"Our reason for doing this special event is clear. We simply want to say thank you to those amateur radio op's who died at Mt. St. Helens. Also, to pay respects to all that perished that historical day. I remember as a child fishing at Spirit lake and the beauty that surround me at that time. More recently when I visit the mountain, I find a new kind of beauty. A showing of unimaginable power, and the rebirth of life amidst vast amounts of devistation sustained to every living thing on the north side of the volcano. Still today, it facinates me. So without further delay:To those who gave their all. And the one who spoke his last incomplete transmission on a local 2 meter repeater. Thank you, SK"
About the Eruption and some affected..
It was a crystal clear morning. Many people, some of whom did not take the warnings by the USGS seriously, were near the majestic peak in Washington State known as Mt. St. Helens. Some were there working, others for recreation. Of all the people that were present at the mountain on the morning of May 18, 1980, it is the amateur radio folks who have a special place in our thoughts. Most were volunteers, others were scientist, all of them there to monitor the mountain and the equipment used to observe it. They were there to pitch in and help out in the true spirit of the amateur radio service. Our grand hobby. Most hams have this need to be useful, to contribute, and many will make great sacrifices to provide a service when it is needed. The hams tho died at Mt. St. Helens are the finest example of that service. They gave their lives while simply trying to help out. For this, we have dedicated this web page. And a memorial station event. We will soon be attempting to list the names of all who were lost that day. Please accept this as our wish for goodwill and respect. A time to remember. For all of those who were touched by this historical event 30 years ago.
The Sacrifice of Jerry Martin, W6TQF, Reid Blackburn, KA7AMF, David Johnston and more..
In the spring of 1980, Mount St. Helens' volcano in Washington state started to have small tremors. As emergency plans were made, radio amateurs were asked for assistance in providing communications. Amongst the over 300 hams who volunteered to help were Jerry Martin, W6TQF and Reid Blackburn, KA7AMF. Both were members of the Radio Amateur Emergency Service (RACES) and Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). Jerry and Reid went into the field to help the U.S. Geological Service (USGS) and National Geographic Society set up remote cameras in order to make scientific observations. This routine continued for several months.
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On May 18, 1980, Sunday, 8:32am, Mt. St. Helens errupted. Jerry was at his post 10 miles from the volcano using the tactical callsign "Coldwater 2." He radioed in the emergency to Washington Emergency Service Headquarters that the volcano had errupted. Contact was lost with Jerry within a few minutes. His observation post was later found to have been destroyed by the molten volcanic ash and mudflows. Jerry's body was never recovered. He was presumed dead. Reid was a few miles closer to Mt. St. Helens than Jerry. No signal was recieved from him. Later that afternoon a helicopter found his car burning in several feet of smoldering volcanic ash. It was not safe to recover Reid's body for three days. The photo reveals the grim outcome for KA7AMF. |
The eruption had an estimated equivalent to a 10 megaton nuclear weapon. The top 1,300 feet of the volcano was blown off. The clouds of volcanic ash reached 60,000 feet. The blast atomized much in its path. Victims were found on its fringe to be "Freeze Dried in the truck, with hands still on the wheel looking up out of the windshield" in the words of one rescuer. Old growth forests were leveled by a massive concusion 15 miles away. The northwestern U.S. was covered in several inches of volcanic ash. By the end of the operations hams passed over 3,000 messages. We normally do not think of ham radio as something one can die from. Jerry and Reid made the ultimate sacrifice through their devotion via ham radio which put them in harm's way. Please remember Jerry and Reid and for their honorable deeds. And always keep the spirit of amateur radio alive and well for generations to come. |
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David Alexander Johnston (December 18, 1949 – May 18, 1980) was a volcanologist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) until he was killed by the 1980 eruption of the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington. He was killed while manning an observation post about 6 miles (10 km) from the volcano on the morning of May 18, 1980. He was the first to report the eruption, transmitting the famous message "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" before being swept away by the lateral blast created by the collapse of the mountain's north flank. Ham radio operator Jerry Martin observed the lateral blast overtaking Johnston's camp. He described it, and then said "It's going to get me too" and that it did. (Source Unknown)
Though Johnston's remains have never been found, remnants of his USGS trailer were found by state highway workers in 1993. The ridge where he died was renamed to Johnston Ridge, and the Johnston Volcano Oberservatory was dedicated in his honor and receives more than 4 million visitors a year . Read more about David Johnston on WiKipedia
For some interesting insight on this 30th Anniversary of the eruption, vist This USGS page and get a Visitors Guide here.
Please note: If you have information about others who perished or played a role in the eruption please contact us and let us know for future events.
