Originally published in the January 1984 C&E.
Considerable consternation swept the western United States on the night of November 30 when W5LFL first came up on two meters from the space shuttle. Astronaut Owen Garriott naturally called “QRZ?” as the footprint of his antenna touched the U.S. during a pass over California, and naturally he got the answer one would expect, knowing the history of radio science and DX in the western world. The QSO between the spaceman, W5LFL, and the holder of the world’s only lxl callsign, Oklahoma’s own Q. R. Zedd, A5A, lasted very nearly the entire duration of the west-to-southwest pass. Here, for the ages, in a transcript of the QSO: “YOU GOT HIM, SON, THIS IS ZEDD, A5A, COME ON BACK TO ME! ‘All stations, please stand by This is W5LFL0 We will deviate from prestated plans in order to allow completion of this historic radio history first. Mr. Zedd, thank you for coming back to my call. This is a very great honor and I want to sincerely thank you for taking time from your busy DX schedule to honor me with a QS0. Thank you, Mr. Zedd, thank you so much. I am in tears. Over.’ “THAT’S OKAY, SON. I UNDERSTAND. AN HONOR LIKE THIS DOES NOT COME TO EVERY MORTAL ALTHOUGH I DO TRY TO WORK ALL STATIONS. YOU ARE FIVE AND NINE AT HONOR ROLL RANCH, JUST A HOOT AND A HOLLER SOUTH OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA. I SPELL NOVEMBER OSCAR ROMEO MIKE ALPHA NOVEMBER. AND YOU ARE FIVE AND NINE, FIVE AND NINE. HOW COPY? W5LFL THIS IS A5A, OVER.” ‘Oh, Mr, Zedd, this is such a high moment in my lifej am overwhelmed. Please, Mr. Zedd, do you QSL? Are you okay in the Callbook? Do you require an SASE or a green stamp or both? If I get a longwire flung out of the cargo bay in time on the next pass, could you work me on one-sixty? A5A, this is W5LFL.” “OKAY, SON, YOU ARE IN THE LOG AND A SASE TO THE CALLBOOK ADDRESS IS FINE. WHAT IS MY REPORT? WHAT IS MY REPORT? OVER!” ‘I am so sorry, sir, oh, please try to forgive me. You are five and nine, five and nine in space from W5LFL. The rig here is a handi with a window antenna. What are you running, sir?’ “OH, WE ARE RUNNING A SIMPLE TEN WATTS TO A TURNSTILE ANTENNA JUST LIKE THEY SAID TO DO IN QST. (Sound of laughter.) LIKE ALL GOOD DXERS I WOULD NEVER RUN MORE POWER THAN NECESSARY TO MAKE THE CONTACT. (More laughter.) HOW AM I MAKING IT INTO THAT THERE HAND-HELD OF YOURS, BOY?” “Actually, Mr. Zedd, you blew my loudspeaker and heated up the rivets so badly that lam now holding the talkie in asbestos-lined gloves. There were some other stations calling, I think, but when you hit me with your signal, they were blotted out. Actually, I heard you at the same time we seem to have had loss of some heat tiles on the nose cone. the crew is investigating that; some sort of heating blast hit simultaneously with your signal. A5A, W5LFL,’ “OKAY, SON, FINE BUSINESS. WELL, THE WEATHER HERE IS COOL AND OVERCAST, ABOUT FOUR DEGREES CENTIGRADE, AND THE RIG IS A KENWOOD INTO A LITTLE HOMEBREW LINEAR BUT OF COURSE IT IS IN THE STANDBY MODE. ANTENNA IS A TURNSTILE AIMED STRAIGHT UP. TONDELAYO, WATCH THAT COMPUTER TRACKING PROGRAM, HON! YOU WANT TO LOSE TRACK OF HIM? OKAY, BOY, I .KNOW THERE ARE MANY OTHER. STATIONS TRYING TO
CALL SO I WILL GET OUT OF HERE SHORTLY BUT I DID JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT YOUR SIGNAL IS STRONGER NOW THAN WHEN I WORKED YOU EARLIER THROUGH MY SOUTH AFRICAN ANTENNA FARM AND THE BURIED ATLANTIC CABLE FEED, I GUESS THAT CABLE IS A LITTLE LOSSY, HI HI. HOW IS IT IN SPACE THERE, SON? W5LFL, A5A.” Zedd, thank you for the report® I will QSL direct to your callbook address. Well, the space outside the ship is black and the temperature is about minus ninety with reflected sunlight on one side of the ship. Sir, the other members of the crew are witnessing this QSO and they want to know if there is any way they could get your autograph as a me ento of the occasion.’ “SURE, SON, NOTHING IS TOO GOOD FOR YOU SPACE BOYS, JUST HAVE THEM SEND ME A GREEN STAMP EACH ALONG WITH AN SASE AND I WILL SEND BACK AN AUTOGRAPHED PIC OF ME AND TONDELAYO STANDING IN FRONT OF MY 20-METER YAG I. OKAY?” “Thank you, thank you — “DON’T CRY LIKE THAT, SON, IT CHOKES ME ALL UP, I’M GLAD TO DO IT FOR YOU. OVER.” “It’s just that you have always been my hero. Wait till I tell President Reagan and Roy Neal, And I thought blasting off into space was a thrill! I an so proud!” “SON, YOU ARE STARTING TO BREAK UP, YOU ARE STARTING TO BREAK UP. HERE, LET ME GIVE THE MIKE TO OLE TONDELAYO FOR JUST A YOU SHOULD PARDON THE EXPRESSION QUICKIE. SO LONG, BOY. SEVENTY-THREE, I WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER THRILL AND CALL YOU ON SOME LATER PASS. W5LFL, THIS IS A5A, AND HERE IS TONDELAYO, GO AHEAD, HONEY, TALK. I’LL RUN THE COMPUTER TRACKING MECHANISM….” This concluded the first-pass business, except for a few words between W5LFL and Tondelayo Schwartz, Zedd’s nubile, blonde, 20-year-old QSL secretary and nearly constant companion. It was noted, just before the shuttle went over the horizon, that W5LFL made one other contact at Zedd’s request, that to Zedd’s momma, Constance Wilhemina Zedd, in Mena, Ark. She worked the spacecraft on 2-meter CW from her Kawasaki 1000, which was probably also a first in radio history. A few sourpuss hams complained that Ztdd should not have used the entire pass for his contact and that of two friends, but cooler heads noted that even men such as W5LFL should be allowed some fringe benefits from their hazardous occupation. And as leaders at NASA and the ARRL noted in a joint news release about the event, “Even spacemen have their heroes.” Tondelayo, in a *brief interview after the event, was more succinct: “I swan, honey, it was only fair. He is• the greatest!”