A tower accident during Field Day preparations around 11 AM EDT on Saturday, June 27 claimed the life of Larry Prelog, KE4PM, of Niles, Michigan. Prelog, a member of the Blossomland Amateur Radio Association (BARA), was airlifted from Watervliet to a Kalamazoo hospital where he passed away early Sunday morning. He was 57. BARA Public Information Officer (PIO) Matt Severin, N8MS, told the ARRL that Prelog "…was very passionate about Amateur Radio and was very involved in club activities. He was the driving force behind the first high altitude balloon launch for our club. Larry was the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back even if he didn't have another one for himself. He will be dearly missed."

The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for July is John Miller, K6MM, for his article "A No Excuses 160 Meter Vertical Antenna." Congratulations, John! The winner of the QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page. Cast a ballot for your favorite article in the July issue by Friday, July 31.

Registration remains open through Sunday, July 26, 2009, for these online course sessions beginning on Friday, August 7th, 2009: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1; Antenna Modeling; Radio Frequency Interference; Antenna Design and Construction; Ham Radio (Technician) License Course; Propagation; Analog Electronics, and Digital Electronics

Who was the first ham to be told he (or she) couldn't put up an antenna? Whoever it was is no longer with us and their identity is lost in the mists of history, but over the ensuing decades they have had plenty of company.

On the afternoon of Monday, June 29, US Supreme Court Justice David Souter -- in one his last official duties on the high court -- swore in Julius Genachowski as the new Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Genachowski, who clerked for Souter after finishing law school, will complete the four years remaining in the term of outgoing FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. Both Genachowski and current FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell -- Genachowski for his initial term and McDowell for his first full term -- were confirmed by the US Senate on June 25.

School won't be out this summer for Army MARS members as they begin the second round of an intensive retraining program -- MARS 101 -- that begins July 5. The 12 week course is designed to align MARS procedures with the newly-revised National Incident Management System (NIMS), as well as the Army's own updated role in civil support. It will be delivered to members via e-mail; Army MARS personnel will also be required to participate in on-the-air discussions with other members in their respective states.

Larry E. Price, W4RA, was honored at an evening reception following the first full day of Ham Radio 2009 convention activities in Friedrichshafen, Germany on Friday, June 26. The reception was hosted by the convention sponsor, the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC), and was attended by officials and guests from dozens of IARU Member-Societies. In a presentation made by IARU Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR -- who had served as President of the Norwegian Radio Relay League (NRRL) from 2000-2002 -- Price was honored with the highest award of the NRRL, Knight of the Order of the Golden Key. The award was given for Price's many years of service to the IARU, the ARRL and Amateur Radio in general. IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, then conferred the title of IARU President Emeritus upon Price. Price served as ARRL President from 1984-1992 and as IARU President from 1999-May 2009. For more on the convention, see the Friedrichshafen blog.

ARRL Headquarters will be closed in observance of Independence Day on Friday, July 3. There will be no ARRL Audio News, W1AW bulletin or code practice transmissions that day. The ARRL Letter will be posted a day early on Thursday, July 2. League Headquarters will reopen Monday, July 6 at 8 AM Eastern Daylight Time. We wish everyone a safe and festive holiday weekend.

WB8IMY was away from home on Field Day, yet still managed to catch a bit of the Field Day spirit.

Models, parts, designators, references -- they're all part of the radio game. The more you tinker and swap and change, the more of these little bits of "radio DNA" get lodged in your gray matter -- and there's nothing you can do about it. Resistance is futile! So load up on wireless weirdness and have fun with a whole catalog of conundra.