The Philip B. Peterson Collection

Biography

Philip B. Petersen held a First Class Radio Amateur operator’s license. He first licensed in 1931, and was an active radio operator for most of his life. He passed away on April 14, 2000 at the age of 84.

Phil was an ardent supporter of the QCWA and one of the founders of the Central New Jersey Chapter 138 of QCWA. He was instrumental in changing the name of the chapter to the "Marconi Chapter" in honor of the work Marconi accomplished in New Jersey, especially at Twin Lights where radio first started in America. Phil lived near Twin Lights and always marveled at the happenings from this historic site. He also worked for the US Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratory (SCEL) at Camp Evans, NJ, as an engineer in the development of Army aviation communications equipment. His career at Ft. Monmouth started in the Marconi buildings at Camp Evans where he worked with many of the early radio HF and FM pioneers. He was the first to put HF-SSB on Army helicopters, which was no easy feat. The communications adventurous blood of Marconi was in him as he pursued his career.

After 32 years of dedicated service, he retired in 1973. Even during retirement Phil was active in radio. He kept busy in the field of radio by creating an extensive series of radio vignettes known as "The World of Amateur Radio". They were broadcast on the local commercial radio station (WADB-FM) twice a week for several years in the early 90s. The stories varied from the HAM activities over the world, to Morse code, Titanic and sea rescues, amateurs in space, aviation pioneers, explorations, and many other subjects dedicated to his love for amateur radio. In 1997 he was on the "American Experience", public broadcast TV show, called "Rescue at Sea". Phil was a consultant to the program, which highlighted the first use of radio to save lives at sea. This was prior to the Titanic.

The QCWA featured one of his vignettes as part of a Tuesday night "Home Brew News Net" that was broadcast to local amateurs in the shore area. His vignettes and nostalgia about the early days of radio were enjoyed by all. This attracted many amateurs to listen to the net.

Phil was a member of the Radio Club of America and in November 1997 the Board of Directors elected him to the grade of "Fellow" in the club. He was also a member of the ARRL for his entire amateur career and an ardent defender of their policies. This collection of short historical vignettes is featured on this web page as a tribute to Phil and his wife Alene.

** Broadcasts recordings preserved and presented here by Mr. Robert Buss and Mr. Bernie Ricciardi, Phil's friends and fellow Marconi Chapter 138 QCWA members **

To read Mr. Petersen's oral history, chick here.

Page updated January 2, 2004  Page created June 11, 2001