OLD RADIO

35 Years Ago, “One Small Step…”

During the last 100 years, so many of small step for man, one giant leap for man- cal School taking electronics engineering.
our world’s greatest accomplishments kind.” And a cheer went up in Camden, He received his associate’s degree in 1953,
have been made by, or with the assistance and around the world. just before he was drafted for duty with
of, men and women who also were ham Those words, “One small step,” were the US Army in the Korean War.
radio operators. Here is the story of one. sent via VHF radio using Amplitude His degree and background helped
On July 20, 1969 while we were glued Modulation with a radio designed by a him get into a technical field, and to re-
to our TV sets, Jack Yanosov and his co- ham. ceive additional electronics training at
workers at RCA in Camden, New Jersey, Fort Monmouth. Later he was assigned
were monitoring the NASA circuits to see Going Back a Few Years to the White Sands Proving Ground, in
if all of their radios and electronics were At the age of 18, Jack Yanosov started New Mexico. It was here he would finally
working properly. The excitement rose at his career on the RCA assembly line sol- get time for ham radio.
02:51:16 UTC, when the hatch was opened dering television sets. His job was to sol- He had many mentors along the way
and the “actual” first words transmitted der 11 connections as the set moved past who had encouraged him to get licensed,
from Neil Armstrong’s backpack radio his position on a conveyor belt. but work, school and military training
were, “OK Houston, I’m on the porch.” “I wanted to do more than that. I didn’t came first. Finally, here, he found the
And a few seconds later at 02:56:15 UTC, want to solder TVs the rest of my life,” he time to be tested and he received his
as his feet reached the surface, Armstrong said. So he enrolled at the Temple Techni- Novice ticket, KN2KEF.
said those memorable words, “That’s one
NASA

Jack Yanosov shown testing the extra-

vehicular communications system radio Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr on the surface of the Moon. The photo was taken by Neil
in 1969. Armstrong. Note the antenna just behind Aldrin’s head.

Jack Yanosov’s transmitter, side 1. Jack Yanosov’s transmitter, side 2.

John Dilks, K2TQN  125 Wharf Rd, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234-8501  k2tqn@arrl.org
February 2005 95

oldradio.pmd 95 12/20/2004, 9:13 AM

 COURTESY ZIFF-DAVIS

Jack Yanosov has had the honor to have his accomplishments read into
the Congressional Record on July 20, 2004, by US Rep Frank A. LoBiondo
of New Jersey. It reads in part:
Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker I rise today to commend Jack Yanosov who
helped design the transmitters that were used 35 years ago today in the Apollo
mission that landed on the moon.
It was a humble rise for Jack Yanosov, who began his career on the RCA
assembly line, and would eventually become the lead engineer on the Apollo
communications project. It was on a transmitter built by Jack Yanosov that the
first words were ever spoken on a planetary body other than earth. It was 35
years ago today, on July 20, 1969 that Neil Armstrong uttered his famous
words that would inspire a generation, “One small step for man, one giant leap
for mankind.”
The good news for Neil Armstrong and the rest of the world, Jack Yanosov’s
transmitter worked just like it was designed to do.
Today is a special day for our nation. Thirty-five years ago, our country was
locked in an arms race during a cold war that threatened to turn hot at any
moment. The race for the moon was more than just a prize in the darkest
reaches of space, it symbolized our nation’s commitment to American inge-
nuity. We met our goal and made it to the moon, and we did it first. I am proud
that a resident of New Jersey played such an important role in this
groundbreaking human achievement. I would like to congratulate Jack
The August 1969 issue of Electronics
Yanosov, and thank him on behalf of the people of New Jersey’s Second
World featured an article describing the
communications system used for the Congressional District and America for a job well done.
first moon landing.
K2TQN
ule (LM) for uplink via UHF S-band
microwave back to earth. The astronauts
could talk to each other directly or
through the LM for redundancy.
Electronics World magazine, August
1969, had an extensive article on the en-
tire system. I will try to place a copy of
this article on my Web site, www.eht.com/
oldradio/arrl/index.html.
As impressive as all of this is, Jack said
he feels his crowning glory in the Apollo
flights was his VHF ground penetrating
radar project, called the Lunar Sounder
Jack Yanosov today with his original Experiment, used on the Apollo 17 flight.
After being discharged, he enrolled in prototype AM transmitter. NASA wanted to find out what was below
Drexel University using the GI Bill. His the moon’s surface. Jack’s radar transmit-
ham radio activities would have to take a ter could penetrate up to 1 kilometer.
back seat while he studied to become an had to be lightweight, use solid-state com- Jack would never find the time to re-
engineer. ponents and consume minimal power, and turn to ham radio, although he kept up
He joined RCA at their Defense Com- they had to be small. See the two photos with all of ham radio’s latest develop-
munications Systems Division at about the of his radio. One is top view, and the other ments and news at work, from the many
same time as Sputnik was launched and is bottom view. They worked flawlessly. RCA employees who were hams.
the space race began. President Kennedy His transmitters would become part of After the Apollo program his RCA
made it a priority that we would go to the the 6.5 pound extravehicular communica- career would take him on a 12 year stint
moon. Yanosov began working on space tions system (EVCS), shown in the photo. working on Trident submarine commu-
projects during the Gemini missions. His radios are the two small matching units nications systems. He finally retired from
RCA was contracted by NASA to near his left hand. This unit was mounted GE, after they took over RCA.
develop and incorporate new technology in the top of the backpack, located just be-
and to do the engineering work for space hind the astronaut’s head. You can see the Where Are They Now?
applications. “It was an exciting time to antenna sticking up in the photo. Jack’s AM radios were jettisoned
be an engineer,” he said. Each EVCS consists of a VHF trans- along with the EVCS to lessen the weight
RCA was loaded with engineers and ceiver in each astronaut’s backpack. Each for take-off from the moon after each
technicians who were hams, so it was only one measures 14 by 6 by 11/4 inches and mission. They are lying there waiting for
natural that RCA would get the contract weighs only 6.5 pounds. It contains two some space explorer to rediscover them.
to design the radios that would be used by AM receivers, two AM transmitters, Jack thinks that if the batteries are re-
the astronauts while walking on the moon. either an FM transmitter or an FM re- placed, they should start working again,
Jack Yanosov’s project was to design, ceiver, plus telemetry instrumentation to just as good as new.
develop and produce working models of transmit astronaut biomedical data and Now in his 70s, Jack Yanosov is hap-
two AM VHF transmitters for the Apollo spacesuit system status. All of this was pily retired and is out fishing every
11 flight. (259.7 and 296.8 MHz.) They fed over the VHF link to the Lunar Mod- chance he gets.—K2TQN
96 February 2005

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