It
was the year 1940 when the ham bug bit Henry and he began to seek the lure
of the radio arts. His first Amateur Radio license was issued as W2OLZ
(New York). He was a seventeen-year-old teenager at the time. In 1956 his
call's number changed from 2 to 6 to reflect his move to the state of
California (W6OLZ). Back in those days there was no such thing as a vanity
call sign. Henry's highest code speed obtained was 25 wpm.He spent 20 years in industry as an electronic laboratory technician. In one "think tank," called at first RW (Ramo Wooldridge, later became STL - Space Technology Labs), he worked next to the building where Ken Stanfill, KF6YGC worked - but neither knew about the other at that time!
In 1941, after Henry received his first Amateur Radio license he experimented with a crystal set to receive signals from 3 other stations. He built one and two tube transmitters and receivers on "breadboards." Operation was on 80 and 40 meters. At that time, 40 meters was strictly a CW (Morse code) band from 7.0 to 7.3 MHz. Of course in those days we called it megacycles. So if you told someone that you were a 40-meter operator, it meant that you were a code operator. In 1992 Henry began volunteering his time as one of the Wireless Room Radio operators and became the Indoctrination Officer in 1998.
He spent 24 years as a mathematics teacher for LACUSD, an author of 50 articles on recreational mathematics, and serves as a VE and CE. The Commercial Examiner is allowed to charge a fee for his services while the Volunteer Examiner is not. The Commercial Examiner charges a minimum of $100, and may charge up to $600. Examinees who pay to take this exam can use their CE license aboard cruise ships and they can earn $100,000 a year. The employee works only six months out of the year on a voyage and is off for six months enjoying his life to the fullest. To earn this prestigious radio license one must pass a 25-wpm challenging Morse code exam, which is made up of mixed five - character groups composed of Latin letters, Hindu-Arabic numerals, punctuation, and procedural signs! Henry has been a CE for about six years. As a VE, he wears three hats: ARRL, W5YI, and GLAARG. The latter always charges $4.00 for a test, whereas the other two raise the fee annually.
The Huntington Beach Amateur Radio Club was the second club that Henry started. The first - and still operational - is in Orange at the Senior Center. It meets weekly. HBARC meets monthly at the Rogers Senior Center. "Why did I do this? Because there were no clubs in town."
He attends the 78 Club, which meets at Marie Calendars in Orange. The 78 Club as well as both of his clubs all charge the lowest dues in town $0.00 + tax!
As a math teacher he teaches at the Senior University (part of Cal-State University Long Beach) and presents projects for magic squares, math puzzles, brain teasers, paper folding exercises, number system, logic, trigonometry, subtraction palindromes, paper helicopters, base 2 numeration (computer language), problems solved and proposed, and mostly on paper folding techniques similar to the ancient Japanese art of origami. These include all five Platonic polyhedra, some Archimedean polyhedra and sundry solids. Some are made from a single sheet of square paper. None use glue, clips, staples, Scotch tape, etc. They can be made without the aid of scissors. Some of his articles can be found on the Internet listed under: Educational Index, CIJE (Current Index to Journals of Education) and William Schaaf's "Bibliography of Recreational Mathematics."
Imagine going aboard an old battle ship such as the Lane Victory - W6LV, in San Pedro or the Queen Mary in Long Beach, working on Morse code inside the radio room while tourists are admiring your skills. Then enjoying a free meal and also have access to all the tourist attractions aboard these ships. If you think I'm just making all this up just to entertain your imagination - your wrong. There are many benefits waiting for you as a volunteer aboard the Queen Mary and Lane Victory. As a W6RO volunteer (aboard the Queen Mary) you can also get your picture taken with the Queen Mary in the background and receive two 8 X 6 color prints and two wallet-size prints FREE! You can also enjoy the Treasurers of the Last Russian Emperor exhibit FREE of charge! Interested? There are approximately 30 Wireless Room volunteer operator openings. W6RO provides an excellent study environment for those hams needing to get some exposure to radio and provides the ham shack as a study lab. Both seasoned and unseasoned hams come to W6RO and work on the radios. W6RO is equipped with a computer system set up known as packet radio. The station is known as an International DX station with many write-ups in QST, CQ, 73, World Radio Magazines. It operates on 2 meters but with nodes (repeaters) we have worldwide contact. We have 10 stations at W6RO operating from 80 meters up to 440 MHz. There are three modes of operation: telegraphy, telephony, and packet. We have satellite operation. In an emergency, we are equipped to handle traffic. Two diesel generators providing enough power to light up half of Long Beach.
In addition to the regular ham-shack rigs costing around $5,000 new, there is a display of old radios from the original radio room which the Queen Mary operated in its day of sailing the seas. W6RO has 2 iambic keys and 2 straight keys for those who want to practice or work CW. Volunteers are welcome to bring their own keys if they prefer.
W6RO is open 7 days a week from Sunday to Saturday. Morning Shift (9 AM to 1 PM), Afternoon shift (1 PM to 5 PM), and the Evening Shift (5 PM to 9 PM). Call Henry Lulli, Indoctrination officer of the W6RO Wireless Room (radio room), and he'll get you started as a Wireless Room operator aboard the Queen Mary.
Henry Lulli, W6OLZ E-mail: w6olz@socal.rr.com (714) 963-2986
He attends five VE sites (there were eight but other activities forced a downsizing!): Braille Institute of Anaheim - an eye opener-no pun intended. "We test blind, legally blind and sighted candidates through GLAARG. One of the many hams I gave the extra test to is Julio Ortiz, who originally came from Puerto Rico. He currently is a Queen Mary operator on Sunday. Why? Because that's the day his chauffeur takes him to the ship. His call is AD6DK. He is a very dedicated and conscientious operator."
CSULB VE session meets in the same room he teaches Recreational Mathematics at the Senior University.
Electronic Times in Fountain Valley - a store that has weekend classes for a fee.
WCARC holds VE sessions just before the regular club meeting.
Cypress - at a think tank called EDS Unigraphics. The place just reeks with computers! Some rooms are full of terminals - each with a high-speed T1 line! This is a private enterprise - not financed by any governmental agency. It must be nice to be wealthy!
The seven journals of published articles appeared in The Arithmetic Teacher (now called Teaching Children Mathematics), School Science and Mathematics, The Mathematics Teacher (for high schools), Journal of Recreational mathematics, LACTMA Newsletter (in house district publication), Ideas and Materials Workshop (for elementary students), and Mathematics in School (published in England.)