Amateur Radio S9SS
Charles L. Lewis

Dormant Volcanic Peaks on São Tomé Island
Amateur radio station S9SS is located a few miles south of the town of São Tomé on São Tomé Island. São Tomé Island is the major island of a tiny independent island nation known as São Tomé e Príncipe. The island sits atop the Equator in the Gulf of Guinea, a little less than 200 miles west of the mainland Africa country of Gabon.
The operator of S9SS is Charles Lewis. Charles is an American who grew up in the State of North Carolina. He was born in Lumberton, NC in 1942 and became a radio amateur in 1957 after several years as an avid short wave listener. He was first licensed with the Novice Class call sign KN4OVA. After upgrading to the Conditional Class in 1958, his call sign became K4OVA. Some time in the 70's he ugraded to Advanced Class. A few years later he upgraded to Extra Class and earned the new special call sign KY4P.
Charles began radio engineering work in commercial radio broadcasting at WFGW-WMIT in Western North Carolina when he graduated from Mars Hill College in 1965. He joined the Voice of America as a radio engineer in 1989. He is now the station manager of the Voice of America's IBB São Tomé Transmitting Station (click on the photo album for a tour). Since entering the Foreign Service with VOA, he has enjoyed amateur radio under the call signs A22AA (Botswana in '89 to '92), S92SS (São Tomé in '92 - '97), SV0LM (NE Greece in '97 -'02), A25/KY4P (TDY Botswana in 2001), and now S9SS since May 2002.
The S9SS amateur radio station, that he shares with XYL (wife)S9YL, comprises mainly a Kenwood TS-930S, Alpha 76PA, Heath SA-2060A transmatch and a variety of antennas. The antenna for the 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meters bands is a 2-element Fluid Motion SteppIR at 55 feet. He mostly uses wire antennas for the remaining amateur radio bands. A Cushcraft 7-band vertical antenna is seldom operable because salt spray from the adjacent rocky sea coast detunes its resonant traps.
In this tiny island nation, where there is very little entertainment or recreation available, the amateur radio hobby (sometimes known also as "ham radio") helps to keep Lesley and Charles sane! They especially enjoy radio contacts with friends back home in the USA.
There are currently only four known resident radio amateurs in the country. Charles is by far the most active of all and operates on all the bands 160 meters through 10 meters. He is also the only ham resident at this time who ever operates in the CW (Morse Code) mode. His QSL manager (for current operations as S9SS only!) is N4JR.

Lesley, S9YL, and Charles, S9SS, atop Monte Sameiro, a Hill That Overlooks the IBB (VOA) Radio Transmitting Site Where They Live

QTH of S9YL and S9SS
(house in center)

Two Element Fluid Motion SteppIR Beam at 55 Feet


David (my antenna) and Goliath (VOA antennas)

Lesley at the Base of a Baobab Tree That Supports One End of the S9SS 160 Meters "T" Wire Antenna


The S9YL and S9SS Radio Shack
(Vintage Kenwood TS-930S and equally old Alpha 76-PA)

S9SS Sending CW (Morse Code) in the QLF Style for Which He Has Become So Famous in His Old Age
(shows an earlier setup using a TS-440SAT)
(QLF = I am sending with my left foot.)

中国人和外国的思想观念不同