This week, we download a free ham radio widget (what's a widget?) and revisit past installments of Surfin'.

Now you can download a free Mac OS X Amateur Radio widget from Apple's Dashboard Widgets Web page courtesy of Chris Cieslak, KC9L.

Ham Radio Widget

If you are a ham using Mac OS X version 10.4 or later (like me), there is now a dashboard widget that is a must-have: the ARRL Callsign Search widget. The widget is freeware from Chris Cieslak, KC9L, and it allows you to look up a call sign in the ARRL database and display the name and address of the licensee when it is found. You can download the widget from Apple's Dashboard Widgets Web page.

FYI, Mac OS X version 10.4 has a new feature, the Dashboard, which "hosts nifty mini-applications called widgets that appear instantly and keep you up to date with timely information from the Internet." For more information, go to Apple's Mac OS X Web page.

More Scam, Scam, Scam, Scam, Scam, Scam

In response to last week's Surfin' about Internet scams, Jim Sheldon, W0EB, e-mailed me with a good tip on how to make a dent in the scams. Jim wrote with regards to the fake e-mails from eBay and PayPal, "If you get one of those emails, before you hit your delete key, you should forward them to mspoof@ebay.com or spoof@paypal.com depending on which one they supposedly came from in the first place. The people that own eBay and PayPal are aggressively tracking these people down and where possible, prosecuting them. I routinely forward all of these I get to the appropriate spoof address, and usually get a thank you note in return. It's probably automated, but at least I know I've done my part to maybe catch and eliminate some of these idiots."

A.C. Gilbert, Franklin Doolittle and WDRC

In a June installment of Surfin', among other things, we wrote about A.C. Gilbert, Franklin Doolittle, and WDRC, the first US FM radio station. In response, Christopher Rumbaugh, K6FIB, wrote, "Although A.C. Gilbert may have lived in Connecticut, he was really from Salem, Oregon. We have a museum here near his boyhood home. Just trying to get Salem her due for being the birthplace of a great toy maker, inventor and athlete!" Bill pointed me to two Web sites related to Mr. Gilbert, his museum, A. C. Gilbert's Discovery Village and an inventor-of-the-week article from the Lemelson-MIT Web site.

I also received an e-mail from Lydia Johnson.

"Bless your heart for your loyalty to WDRC-FM. My name is Lydia Johnson and I am Franklin M. Doolittle's daughter. I read your article on the history of FM radio and it was most interesting.

"I lived through that era of my father's innovative life and used to drive up the old dirt road up the side of Meriden Mountain (CT) with him as the station came to life under his direction. FM was a labor of love for him. WDRC-OBG is a remarkable Web site that details the history of my Dad's stations. I am so glad you found it.

"My father was a wonderful, humble man, who was truly a pioneer in the development of radio. He was never one to blow his own horn, a gentle, quiet man who had the first patent on binaural sound, and helped to start FM radio on the long and sometimes rocky road to popularity,"

Thank you so much for holding those memories of the past, and bringing back some memories for me."

Until next week, keep on Surfin'.

Editor' note: Now that there is a ham radio widget, Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, yearns for a widget that cuts his lawn. E-mail Stan to discuss widgets, gadgets, and doodads.

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