A Tribute to Karl

A very touching tribute to someone who has accomplished much just by reaching the age of 97 years.

Re: one posters comment that the "magic" and thrill is gone, curiously I've had relatively young people show no small amount of amazement when I tell them that the signal I'm sending with a small transceiver to a station 2000 miles away using those "strange beeps" is about one half the power used by one of their night lights.  Additionally they are thrilled by the idea of a "giant mirror" in the sky.  I guess its all in the presentation.

Richard.  VE3MFN

 

A great, well-written article.

I have a couple of observations to make. I think we all ought to take some time to get to know some of the older gentlemen in the hobby before they pass on like Karl did. I've read some history on the pioneering days of radio and it's very exciting and facsinating. I would love to have some rag chews about the spark gap days of the 1910's and 20's, before the folks who lived those times are no longer with us.

I wouldn't say that the magic of radio is now dead though. Times are different but the basic magic of wireless communication is still there. I got my first license at age 13 in 1985, about the time when PCs were really starting to catch on. There was still a lot of magic for me in receiving signals from the ether with nothing more than a crystal set and a long wire. Or as someone mentioned, that first dipole and tweaking it for a 1:1 SWR, running in and out of the house. As I got older and went to college, there was magic revealed to me in the physics and engineering behind how radio worked.

I'm still learning and still enjoying the magic of RF circuits and antennas, and I hope to always be. I think as technology evoloves, the magic is still there with it, taking on new forms and new duties to enhance our lives. In fact, the magic of radio is what keeps me interested in the hobby and my career!

I would also say that it is far more interesting when you are involved with the inner workings of the equipment you are using than if you simply buy something off the shelf. The pioneers had no choice, either they made their own or they didn't play. Nowadays, we do have many more choices and options.

73,
Bert

 

AC7RG may have composed the definitive article on the peculiar magnetism that is ham radio. I just got back into hamdom a month ago after 38 years away from it, and I still do a double take when I see a photo of a hamshack full of homebrew gear in floor-to-ceiling racks. Call it irreversible nostalgia, but I am convinced this hobby is tough enough to counter any challenge from the Internet with thoughtful, articulate hams like AC7RG. Thanks, Damian.

73, George W1EBI

 

Back in May I posted to a small thread about feeling strangely sad when viewing the Friends Remembered section on eHam. This article about Karl explains exactly why I feel that way. Thanks for the touching story.

73, Mike
kc5nyo

 

I was just looking back on some the articles that I have read, and by far this is one for the record books. You have written a fantastic article, that all Ham Radio Operators should be proud of. This is what all "HAMS" should strive for. To be the best! Karl has shown us how to be that. I never met the man, I wished I did. I hope that I could be half of what he was, then I accomplished something wonderful. 73's to all

 

Very nice

 

Excellent post and article.  Gives me pause to recall my neighbor farmer in Montana who got me 'hooked' on ham radio when I was just 7-8 years old.  He is now a SK, but his sharing of a great hobby started me down a path of complete fascination about radio.  I was able to work in commercial radio for many years and obtain my 1st Class Radiotelephone (now GROL) license and progress through the steps to finally obtain my Extra class amateur license.

45 years later I still consider amateur radio a "class" group and do all that I can to help promote such a great opportunity for everyone.

73s,

KI5IO
Nolan E. Kienitz, PMP

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (AC7RG @ July 25 2002,21:59)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">K9AQJ  died in June of this year.   I never knew him.  I never talked to him on the air.  I never once met him at a ham convention.  I still don't know what he looked like.   In July,  I had a chance to meet him posthumously.  

A couple of weeks ago,  I purchased a flat black Dentron antenna tuner off of Ebay.  The listing had  indicated it hhad come from the estate of a gentleman who took very good care of his equipment, and was a ham for many years.   I didn't think much of  the statement,  as most sellers on Ebay say this about radio equipment bought from  estates.  

The old tuner arrived.  It had been boxed well by the seller.  Styrofoam peanuts and padding had protected it from its journey from K9AQJ's home state of Illinois to my barren, soon-to-be-overdeveloped state of Arizona.  I pulled it from the static-charged peanuts which clung to the metal casing, and set it on the floor.  It was as clean as the day the last hex screw was set at the factory.  Not a ding could be found.  On the front, a bolt had replaced the lightening protection switch, which K9AQJ must have found he no longer needed at some time.  Above the bolt, the Dynamo stamped  eords, "COLLINS NETWORK" stood out.  Black on white lettering.  K9AQJ was proud of his Collins Network - I could tell.  In the upper left corner, his call letters were also stamped from a Dynamo.  These were smaller, and white on blue.  

An odd type of sadness came over me at that moment.  I can't describe it.  I realized that I had in my possession an antenna tuner that once belonged to a gentleman ham.  I stared at it for a few minutes,  feeling the dials and the casing, as if I could get some picture of K9AQJ: who he was and what he had accomplished in his life.  I could tell I wished I had known him.  

That evening, I went to QRZ.com to research his  callsign.  Nothing there. I decided to try their 1993 callsign database.  There he was:  K9AQJ.   Karl A. Kopetzky.  Chicago, Illinois.  Now a name was associated with the Dentron antenna tuner.  I went to Google.com and searched for anything that might give me an idea of who Karl Kopetzky was.  I found an article written in November of 2000 by Karl that described his long history in ham radio.  A history that begins in 1912 - when he was only 7 years old.  My mother hadn't even been conceived in that year.   I now realized that "a ham for many years" meant a good many years!  I learned he built his first kit in 1912.  That a physics professor helped him get his license, and how nervous he was the first time someone answered his CQ, and how elated he was when QST posted his callsign in the column "Signals Heard."    Karl was 95 years old when
he wrote the article.  88  years of radio.  He was 97 when he died.  Almost a century old, and most of the time he was on the radio, either listening or transmitting.  When I was in my mother's womb, Karl's signal could have passed right by me.  When I was in 5th grade,  Karl's signal probably floated right through my history classroom.  As I graduated from college, Karl's QSO must have been overhead.  Think about it.  

I finally met Karl through his article.  Written two years before his death, I met the old man through his own words.  A superb, well-written article indeed.  I will leave the link below for those who wish to read Karl's article.  I think all hams should read it.  It will make you feel young.   The wonder and imagination that we have lost in the 21st century can be relived through his words.  They are not arrogant, nor bragging, nor self-endulging.  They are simple and pure.    

Karl's last transmission isn't heard on Earth anymore.  It has most likely surpassed Pluto's orbit and is nearing open space.  That makes Karl immortal.  I guess all of us Hams will be immortalized if our signals manage to break through the ionosphere and fly free.   Somewhere at the edge of the universe, we will all gather. SSB, PSK, CW, RTTY, or even  HELL,  whatever mode we used at that time will merge at that spot.  Karl will be there too.  I never knew him, but I met him through his antenna
tuner.   I just thought someone would like to know Karl.  I take care of his tuner.  It sits right next to a mint Swan 500c.  I feel priviledged to own it.  Thanks, Karl.  Thanks for taking pride in your life, old man.  This 40 year old ham wishes he could have talked to you.  May you rest in infinite peace and have a 1 to 1 match on all your antennas, Mr. Kopetzky.  You are missed by those who never even knew you.    

K9AQJ de AC7RG  73 OM CUL SK DIT DIT

This is to all the hams who have left us    

* Karl's article is titled "The Glory that was Spark."  It is a PDF file from the link below. Thanks to the Metro Amateur Radio Club for preserving Karl's immortal words on their web site.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
This is a wonderful story.  It demonstrates how powerful an object can be: it can transmit a great deal of emotion over generations and miles.

Thank you for posting it.

I sent a copy to the Alumni rep for the 1920's classes at Phillips Academy Andover the school where Karl mentioned in the article that he learned physics and Morse. Perhaps he'll share with Karl's classmates.

73 to all.  Many thanks, AC7RG

Tom Gallagher
N4GRF
Charlotte NC

 

What a great article about Karl and your experience. I did have the honor of meeting with Karl several times and indeed, as the article states, he was a gentleman.

Karl had a variety of interests along with amateur radio including camping/recreational vehicles and writing. In the early 70's just as the CB boom was beginning Karl was researching using cb radios for use in RV's for an article he was writing. At the time I was working at a two way radio shop in Chicago and Karl came in and talked to us about a variety of issues in regards to this.

What struck me most about him was that at no time to he "look down" at cb but saw it as a viable communication tool (b4 cell phones and emails) that a group of people, the rv'ers, needed for emergency communication and recreational chat. Even listening to him on the ham bands discussing this article he remained above the "snipers" and presented his views in a professional manner. It is something that has stayed with me all these years.

Again thanks Damian for the article and jogging my memory of a "gentleman and gentle ham".
73's to you and to Karl..... King 9 Aces Queens & Jacks!

 

I'd be very courious as to what Karl's family thinks about all this. It reminds me of the "thoughts" that people gave my Dad after he passes on.

I would think that this would warm anyones heart to have such a contribute to a person that most don't even know.

It is a great testimony to a man since gone to have this many people remember him. We all can only hope that we too contribute something that will live on like this.

As for the mint condition of the equiptment (living up to what was said), I still remember the old timers that gave great respect in the fact that a mans word was his bond. That if he didn't live up to his word he wasn't... (well you get the picture).

73 and thanks for an article that helped me remember what brought me to ham radio. WD8OQX  

 

A nice, well-written story. Brought a tear to my eye.
However, when I croak....I hope that no one designates me as a Radio Saint. Please....just put me in a box,
find an estategrabber to sell off my gear and give the
money to my waiting widow. She'll need the cash to
play Blackjack at the local casino.

Pat WB9GKZ

 

Once again, as so many times before, I have to count myself lucky. I was what I consider to be a late start in ham radio. I didn’t get my technician license until 1997. I was 25 years old at the time. It’s something I had ‘though about doing’ for a long time, but ‘never had the time’. I finally found the time and the motivation. What motivated me more than anything was sitting for hours on end listening to the gang on my local repeater. I only knew one of these gentlemen prior to getting my license, and he was a tremendous source of encouragement when he found out that I was interested in the hobby. That man is Bill Martin W5PBM. I count it an honor to know him. He has been more than a friend to me. I try to find reasons to go spend time with him, though I know I don’t find enough time. His stories fascinate me no matter how many times I hear them. He’s served our country as a radio operator during times of war; he’s been a University professor (his call is ironic in that it was actually assigned to him: Professor Bill Martin, but I think he prefers Professional Big Mouth); he has been an Elmer to me.
My wife asked me one time if I felt strange calling a man so much older than I am by his first name. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to call him Mr. Martin, or Dr. Martin? I told her, quite simply, that he’s always been Bill since the day I met him. I don’t think he’d have it any other way. It would somehow detract from our friendship.
Bill sometimes talks about how time catches up with everyone, but in my heart of hearts, I can only hope that Bill has many more good years in him. I’m just not ready for him to depart. I have too many questions left to ask, and want to hear some of his old stories just one more time. There are still stories that have yet to be told. That ‘wonder and fascination’ have not been lost. As long as there are hams out there willing to give of themselves it is still alive and well. We may have to look a little harder for it, but it is certainly still there. They are alive and well in me. Look around you. I’m sure there are others out there (young and old alike) who just need the proper introduction to this wonderful world that makes us all family.

 

Wonderful article. Some hams have expressed regret that the mystique or magic of radio has been lost. It is true that the general public do not marvel at radio anymore. But it is still alive as long as there are there are two groups of people on the earth - hams and kids. Young people are still wowed by crystal kits and morse code. They realize the difference between passive and interactive. You cannot transmit with a television. With ham radio, you can listen (and see - sstv, digital modes, etc), plus you can send. Makes all the difference in the world. We need to expose as many kids as possible to radio. Some will never lose the feeling of magic and they will replace us when our time is over.

73 de KB1FLR, Rick

 

A very touching story.

Hopefully someone will remember me like this when it is my turn to pass on.

Amen.

VA7KBH

 

What a moving tribute to Karl, by AC7RG.
73 to all sk.and thanks for the knowledge you left us
for this great hobby.