Senior Signals

     I purchased a “Crosley Radio” brand of replica vintage console am/fm radio. This radio looks just like the old time radios that were used in the 1920’s, 1930’s and 1940’s. Hidden inside this commercially available console radio is a CD and cassette player. I also fabricated a wooden harness that holds a small amateur radio receiver.  This harness is attached to and hidden in back of the Crosley Radio until needed.

      I wanted to have regular “vintage radio programs” in nursing homes and retirement communities nationwide.  The program would start with one half hour of listening to amateur radio conversations. The wooden harness holding the ham radio receiver that is hidden in back of the vintage looking am/fm radio is pulled out of it’s hiding place by pulling upward, forward and down to rest on top of the Crosley Radio. After the residents listen to ham radio, there would be one half hour of listening to the vintage radio programs that were aired in the 1930’s and 1940’s. “Gunsmoke”, the “Jack Benny Show”, “The Shadow Knows” and “The Green Hornet” radio theatre are now available as CD reproductions. World War Two veterans and their peers used to listen to these radio programs as youth.

      I would close the weekly program with one half hour of listening to classical music via the hidden CD player.

     I had a working prototype of this modified vintage looking Crosley Radio, but gave it to a friend  (Tom Barron of Ruthton, Mn. ) as payment for helping me move out of my veterinary clinic when it closed.

     I also want to mention that my KID’S CLUB units can be used in these nursing homes and retirement homes as a compromise to the institution management who are hostile to amateur radio. There are lots of ham radio operators who have loved this wonderful hobby, who are not able to use their hobby because they are now in nursing homes or retirement communities.

my four other ideas to improve patient care

example of distraction curtain technology

 

       1.  Recovery Radio:   

     Soothing music - Infrared remote controllable I-Pods along with a small audio amplifier-sewn into a pocket in the wall side, bottom margin corner of the “distraction therapy” curtain, with two speaker wires in a flat rubber runner, running on the floor by the wall to the pt.bed (programmed with choices of classical, contemporary,christian,country,instrumental music)  to be plugged into a PILLOWSONIC tm “under the pillow” speaker, (or ear buds) extension cord for the pt.-with idyllic, pastoral scenes on patient privacy curtains (now called “distraction therapy” or “guided imagery curtains”)are needed in hospital rooms. Custom scene selection of these high quality silkscreened pictures could be chosen by the pt. or patient’s family (choices of medieval castle scenes, New England villages, quaint English villages, father and son fly fishing mtn. streams,horses grazing rolling pastures, puppies and kittens playing etc.). This aspect of the project would be especially valuable in nursing home or hospice settings.   

          Another possible benefit of the use of these curtains is the possibly beneficial improvement of the psyche of the caregiver who looks the myriad of high quality images on these curtains for several hours each day.    

     Virtual reality glasses are expensive, have the possibility of being dislodged and broken, must be monitored closely and may become uncomfortable to use (the patient may not be able to move his/her head during use).     

     Dr. Yosaif August in Seattle has been producing choices of “Bedscapes” distraction curtains with the ocean sounds coming through the room’s television speakers. My idea takes this a step further.    

     2. Holiday Hams:    

     At Christmas, 2003, young patients at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls were thrilled to talk directly to Santa and his elves at their workshop at the North Pole via the magical amateur radio.The preschool pt. parents could be interviewed and the pt would listen/talk to pt.’s favorite fantasy hero over the strange/magical amateur radio tell the patient how special and thought of he/she will be during the patients’ illness. The sick child may be too ill to talk, but the pt. would benefit from knowing that the pt.s’ fantasy hero is thinking about the patient and thinks that the preschool pt. is special and that perhaps they can talk again when the patient is feeling better.These thoughts may give the very sick child the willpower to fight the illness that is consuming his/her young body. Disneyland is built on this type of fantasy. If a licensed amateur radio operator is not available, the hospital maintenance department’s own business band radios can be used. ”Personal Communication Service”  (PCS) or “Family Radio Service” (FRS) hand held “walkie talkies” can be purchased at Walmart or Radio Shack and used for this purpose after the in house biomedical engineers have given their approval for this use. I feel that it is important that a communication device other than a cell phone is used. The “magic”  is lost if an electronic device is used that the young patient has seen before.  

     Another way to obtain the needed benefits to the young patient of his/her thoughts about being “special and thought of ” by the young patient’s favorite fantasy hero would be to have a local actor’s theatre group donate their time to prerecord a message on CD for the young patient. The message would state that “This is a message to _____ (patient’s first name) now being treated at ______ (name of the hospital). This is _______  (child’s favorite fantasy hero’s name) in the land of make believe. The Tooth Fairy (or other fantasy creature) told me that you are ill. I just wanted you to know that all of us here in the land of fantasy are thinking of you, think that you are very special and I hope that I can talk to you again when you are feeling better.” This would be the end of the prerecorded message and this message would then be personalized with the patient’s name in the message, hospital’s name in this message and the pt.’s fantasy hero’s name by modern digital editing techniques. The prerecorded master copy can be reused with other young patients and the lapses on the tape would be personalized with the above mentioned names to match each young patient. This prerecorded message would then be uploaded into the Infrared remote controllable I -Pod that is in the patient’s personal distraction curtain (see above). Perhaps this method of self esteem building would be easier for you to implement.  

     3. Hospital’s Hobby Haven:    

      Comprehensive Hobby (all the healthy hobbies exhaustively discussed-along with the needed disclaimer information)  DVD’s should be routinely be given to the patient by the caregiver. This should be a part of the treatment for any patient. If I had not happened to see an amateur radio station at the county fair when I was thirteen, I would have missed  the life saving stress diversion this wonderful hobby provides. I have survived a struggle with cancer (malignant melanoma) and my bouts of depression largely because of the fun stress diversion of amateur radio. Don’t you see? People have to be exposed to a systematic, comprehensive information base for all these healthy, fun hobbies.  Perhaps a “Google Search” of “healthy hobbies” may be a good way  to start or perhaps the best way to start this aspect of the project would be to obtain an unabridged dictionary. Start with the first word in the “A” category and finish with the last word in the “Z” category of this dictionary. Write down all the words that name the healthy hobbies and then start the work involved with describing each healthy hobby- complete with script, photographs, and perhaps videos.    

      4. Crib Notes:  

      To be  developed in the allied health arena: Relevant and important information for students in all the allied health (including veterinary health) arena can be typed on standard eight and a half by eleven inch typing paper and then reduced in size to pocket sized by modern copying machine methods. These notes are then laminated for durability and easy cleaning and two holes punched in the top of them with two stainless steel rings placed in these two holes, to be used as “binders” to hold the notes together. Two sheets of paper can be left blank, reduced in size, laminated and used with an erasable pen as a  “white board”,which can be wiped clean after the notes are no longer needed.The crib notes can then be easily carried in students (including preceptors and interns) professional coats or pockets. I phones are being developed for this use. They require a monthly subscription fee, may be hard to disinfect properly after use at the patient’s bedside and may be hard to utilize (the menu may be difficult to access for the proper information). The I-Phones also do not allow the easy compiling of written notes.   

my “KID’S CLUB” project

KID’S CLUB cw keyer-trainer in use

“KID’S CLUB” amateur radio receiver and antenna in use

amateur radio station at the Tyler Youth Center (cw practice station also shown)

The ham radio station at my home

     KID’S CLUB is a project to expose hospitalized and other chronically ill children and their families to the joys of amateur radio. Another objective of the “KID’S CLUB” project is to make an effort to keep the  CW (morse code) mode of communication alive and well by exposing this historic mode of communication to the project’s target population.

     I do a lot of listening to the amateur radio conversations  over the amateur radio bands. Groups of two or more ham radio operators on any amateur radio shortwave frequency  across the United States and world are heard, discussing with each other almost anything under the sun (obscene topics and obscene words are against federal law).  I find that these topics, ranging from “apple harvesting” to “zucchini raising” and almost any topic in between are great stress diverters.

     CW communication is historic, fun (when mastered), takes effort and time to learn and is challenging. CW may be a source of self esteem for the youngster, since, once learned, it is something the youngster’s peers will not know how to do. Some children think that cw communication is a “secret language”. Learning CW may divert the sick child’s mind from his/her medical problems for a time.

     CW communication is considered a “sport” in europe. There is even a “high speed telegraphy” world championship each year. The championship contest for 2009 was held in Bulgaria. The “Belarus” team won the championship, the United States team finished 9th, I believe  (There was a “teenager” in the 2009 high speed telegraphy team from the United States who competed in Bulgaria.)

      Morse communication is still relevant for useful, effective communication. I saw this newspaper article:

      “Morse Code still dashing through the Cordillera”
      

       By Desiree Caluza
       Inquirer Northern Luzon
      First Posted 04:17:00 12/23/2009

     BAGUIO CITY—There is no mountain high enough to block a Christmas greeting because highland communities that have no mobile telephone signals can still be reached by Morse Code.

     In this day and age, the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) in the Cordillera Administrative Region is still operating a telegraph system that serves clients here. 

     Nothing beats the old technology, according to telegraph operators working at the Baguio City Post Office, never mind that each word transmitted costs a customer P2.40. (Mobile or landline telephone calls cost P10 a minute.)

      There are still a lot of amateur radio operators to talk to over the ham radio bands using cw (morse code). I am concerned that this may change, and this historic and fun mode may one day become a “dead language” if public exposure is not initiated and maintained. I can converse with people using morse at a rate up to thirty words per minute, copying the morse in my head without the use of written notes.

     I tell the children that cw communication was the language of the Wild West: of Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp, and the Pony Express.

     I would like to see “KID’S CLUB” amateur radio exposure units in as many of the nation’s children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses as possible.

     This project is new and novel because:

1.  No license is needed to use the units (no signal is transmitted).
2. Minimal supervision is needed once the operator is familiar with the equipment.
3. Because signals are not transmitted, there is no danger of radio frequency interference with other electronic equipment.
4. The units are small, portable, self contained and attractive-they can be placed in hospital rooms or at bedside. If used in the hospital, the nurse in charge of the patient will wipe the patient’s hands before and after use with a disinfectant to minimize spread of infection.
5. If a patient is too ill to use the KID’S CLUB unit in the hospital, the parent can sign a release of liability form with hospital staff (or Ronald McDonald House staff), leave a monetary deposit with the staff and take the unit home for a specified length of time. If the patient later becomes interested in using this unit at home, the unit can remain at home for several weeks or months, or the parent can purchase the unit by forfeiting his monetary deposit. If the patient is not interested in using the unit, the parent can return this “KID’S CLUB” amateur radio exposure unit to the children’s hospital or Ronald McDonald House, where the parent will receive his deposit back. This returned unit will then be disinfected and reused at the hospital or Ronald McDonald House.
6. Computers, i-Pods and other electronic equipment are so commonplace that they may be boring to the child.  These amateur radio exposure units contain equipment that these children and their families may never have seen before. The equipment looks complicated- with knobs and buttons and strange keys. You know that many children  (especially boys) like to “fiddle” with new pieces of complicated looking equipment. One has to worry about inappropriate access to “adult websites” , the increasing risk of  ” computer virus infection” and also conversations with anonymous online users.  Since all amateur radio operators have their own specific callsign, ham radio operators have to pass an FCC supervised exam prior to licensure, and the amateur radio bands and licensees are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, these dangers are avoided.

     The attractive, self-contained wooden enclosure will be laminated with several coats of VARITHANE plastic so it can be easily disinfected.

      This unit will contain complete laminated instructions of the equipment as well as contact information of the local amateur radio club president or designee. Also included with this unit will be a laminated copy of the morse code alphabet as well as laminated color copies of QSL cards received and a laminated copy of a letter written by a fifth grade class of students, expounding on the fascination of amateur radio, including cw communication.

      This hobby may appear “old fashioned” to some, but after forty five  years of immersion  in this fun amateur radio world, I still have a “thrill” after I hear my callsign coming back to me in CW through the “Aether” after I call “CQ” (seeking someone to converse with). I feel it is almost like fishing- one never knows who will reply to the calls.

     I will soon have a digital video camera, in which I will demonstrate how to use all the equipment, demonstrate how much fun cw communication is, discuss ways to learn cw and then make DVD copies to distribute with the units.

     FOR THE VIDEO OF THE KID’S CLUB DEMONSTRATION UNIT IN OPERATION, CLICK ON THE PAGE  IN THIS BLOG THAT CONTAINS THIS VIDEO LINK.

     The attractive enclosures will contain:

1.  Icom R 75 amateur radio receiver with the DSP module- for listening to SSB (voice) and morse code (CW) conversations. With Digital Signal Processing (DSP), the “white noise” is eliminated, allowing for pleasant listening.
2. Palstar AA 30 Active Antenna:  My Palstar active antenna does not work well. Perhaps the unit I have is defective, or perhaps a different model of active antenna should be used. There are several different models of active antennas. Ideally, an outside wire receive antenna should be used for optimum reception. Outside wire receive antennas are very inexpensive, so easy to make and install and can very easily be made to be a part of each KID’S CLUB unit that is sent home with each young patient. No modifications to the KID’S CLUB cabinet or equipment need be made. The Palstar AA 30 active antenna is designed to also be used with an outside receive antenna.
3. Series of four exciting adventure-amateur radio books written for teens by Cynthia Wall
4. West Mountain Radio’s Clear Speech DSP external speaker
5. Vibroplex or Bencher model morse code key: There are two vertical paddles. One paddle is used to send electronically a series of dashes as long as it is pressed. The other paddle sends electronically a series of dots as long as it is pressed. It is loads of fun and challenging to send the right amount of dots and dashes for the letters and words that are sent electronically. No physical effort is needed, the work is done electronically.
6. Morse Code keyer-trainer- QSO (conversation)  simulator.  The demonstration unit contains a neat “QSO Simulator”, in which the user can set the beginning and ending cw speeds and can talk to the keyer. The machine will remember the user’s name, QTH, the RST report received as well as the user’s “rig” etc. A real off the air simulated cw conversation can be maintained with the machine. The user can call “CQ” and the morse code keyer-trainer will answer the user etc. The user can develop code speed and confidence while making mistakes without embarrassment.
7. Twelve volt battery power supply made by Power Port Store (“bag battery”) and battery charger.
8. Copy of the morse code alphabet
9. Set of six comic books produced by Icom America personnel, which extensively discusses the myriad of activities involved with ham radio. The astronauts on the US Space Station talking to students over their “on-board” amateur radios in space and the “School Club Roundup” -a contest in which the school amateur radio club members contact each other over the air are just two of the several activities for youth.

Duane E. Wyatt WA0MJD

Email: avmavetdw@hotmail.com

Ridiculous “Sex Toys” Study now being conducted at Duke Univ.

Hello everyone:
     I sent this email message to Dr. Brodhead, the President at Duke, regarding the AP news story about the “sex toys” study. I am very discouraged, I cannot move these ideas forward and Duke personnel spends time and resources on this ridiculous study.
Duane Wyatt

Hello Dr. Brodhead:
     It is with great disappointment in the “humanity” (apparent lack thereof)  of Duke University researchers, that I read the AP news story about the “Sex Toy Study” now being conducted at Duke University.
     I hope that you will encourage me by reminding officials about their misplaced priorities. They should be working on these ideas to improve patient care.
     I will forward to you an attachment that contains an example of the technology now available to surround patients when they are in the hospital, nursing home or hospice.
Again, here are the facts of my time spent there at Duke University Medical Center.
Best regards,
Duane Wyatt