10/31/2024

The University of Scranton in Pennsylvania has a new amateur radio station,
W3USR. A dedication was held at the university's Loyola Science Center on
Friday, October 25, 2024, led by Dr. Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, an assistant
professor of physics and electrical engineering, and club advisor for the
University of Scranton Amateur Radio Club.

The new W3USR University of Scranton Amateur Radio Station[1] supports the
radio club, academic research, and the university's outreach to the community.
Frissell kicked off the dedication by framing the station's purpose for
education, research, service, and fun.

"With the establishment of your radio club and station, you're not just
creating a technical resource; you're building a vibrant community of learners
and innovators," said Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, the Director of Marketing and
Innovation for ARRL¨ The National Association for Amateur Radio¨[2].
Inderbitzen is also a staff advisor the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio
Program[3].

Club President Gerard Piccini, KD2ZHK, ceremonially handed an application for
ARRL affiliation to Inderbitzen, who responded by presenting the University of
Scranton Amateur Radio Club with a certificate as the newest ARRL Affiliated
Club. Since its inception in 1918, the Affiliated Club Program has united
amateur radio clubs to enhance the Amateur Radio Service, recognizing their
crucial role in developing active radio operators and serving local
communities.

"You are now part of a thriving network of college ham radio stations across
the country, each contributing to a larger tapestry of knowledge, innovation,
and fun," said Inderbitzen.

Before the dedication, students provided tours of W3USR. Perched five stories
up, the room committed to the new station is impressive for being well
appointed with the latest amateur radio gear, but also for its panoramic views
of the campus and city of Scranton. The station is equipped for HF, VHF, and
UHF, and has capabilities for voice, CW, and digital modes, and for operating
via the amateur satellites. Among the student tour guides were undergraduate
students Piccini; Thomas Pisano, KE2BAC, the club's Vice President; Alexandros
Papadopoulos, KC3WUD, Secretary; James Fox, KE2ANL, Treasurer, and Owen
Ruzanski, a freshman and new club member.

Guests were also guided to the roof of the science center for a closer look at
the antennas, described by Jeff DePolo, WN3A. DePolo is the owner of Broadcast
Sciences, LLC, which was responsible for designing and installing the station.
A centerpiece of the antenna farm is a 40-foot tower with a DX Engineering
Skyhawk Tri-Band Yagi for 20, 15, and 10 meters.

"One of the goals was to be able to install a tower without having to do any
roof penetrations or anything structural as far as the roof goes," said DePolo.
A 200-foot crane was used to set the tower and antennas into place. The tower
is attached to ten 12 x 12 steel tubes with 5/8-inch walls that are tied into
the steel structure of the roof. The tower also includes an antenna for the
W3USR 70-Centimenter repeater, and a fan dipole for 40 and 80 meters.
Additional antennas are installed on mounts across the roof.

Most of the more than $200,000 of funding for the new station came from a
generous grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), which has
awarded many grants and scholarships supporting amateur radio and students
pursuing higher education. Additional donations and support were made by Dr.
Mary Lou West, KC2NMC; Ed Hayes, N6XEM (Class of '61); Jeff DePolo, WN3A; DX
Engineering, and The National Science Foundation (NSF).

The dedication ceremony included remarks from ARDC Executive Director Rosy
Schechter, KJ7RYV; NSF Aeronomy Program Director Dr. Shikha Raizada, WP4PYE;
The University of Scranton President Fr. Joseph Marina, and Interim Provost Dr.
Tracy Stewart.

The ceremony concluded with a presentation of one of the many research projects
pairing students with radio amateurs and scientists. Papadopoulos described
programming techniques he and Piccini had learned in a DSP course which they
used to automate the analysis of an HF time difference of arrival (TDOA)
experiment conducted by Steve Cerwin, WA5FRF. Cerwin is a retired Institute
Scientist at Southwest Research Institute where he designed custom electronic
instrumentation and antenna systems. The experiment sought to identify
multipath propagation modes between two HF stations by transmitting an audio
chirp using conventional amateur radios and measuring the height of the F2
region of the ionosphere by sensing and analyzing the TDOA.

The University of Scranton Radio Club was established in 2020. Throughout its
short tenure, the club has garnered the attention of the wider community of
university amateur radio clubs for its success in developing student
experiences with radio communications and wireless technology.

The ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Program is sponsored in part by the W1YSM
Snyder Family Collegiate & ARRL Affiliated Club Endowment Fund, first
established in 2017.






[1] https://scranton.edu/w3usr

[2] https://www.arrl.org/

[3] https://www.arrl.org/WeWantU


---
þ Synchronet þ Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBS