Remembering a Silent Key. Name someone you miss.

Consider making a memorial for your father on the NATIONAL SILENT KEY ARCHIVE.
Go here - www.silentkeyhq.com Over 41,000 memorials including photos, tributes and
biographies are arranged there. Look up by a known call sign, last name or Qth City/State.

 

Thanks.

 

Someone that I met long before I ever knew he was a ham, Fred Maia - W5YI.

 

Jon, my best friend in high school, K1NNA died at age 46, spoiled by his parents thus his adult life was one of excess:

 

Thanks for posting that I will add my Dad to it. Has this site been promoted via ARRL and other organizations? Seems there needs to be more publicity and even among genealogy magazines, sites.

 

Most of the SKs are folks I never met:

- George Grammer, By Goodman, Don Mix, Lew McCoy, Doug DeMaw, and the others who wrote and published the classic ARRL books

- Rod Newkirk, W9BRD, who introduced me to limericks, trick names, anchovy pizzas, and truly innovative writing, all via his DX column. (If you have not read "Christmas, 1944" - look it up).

- W2LYH, Bob McGraw, a first class CW operator and homebrewer. Check out his QST articles.

- K3RXN, Jules, who I worked many times on 80 CW as a Novice.

And some I knew:

- K3NYT, who gave me the Novice tests

- W3RV, the Big Barracuda.....

- WA3NAZ, Bill Davis, who I knew on the air and then met at the U. Gone too soon.

Many many more.

73 de Jim, N2EY

 

What was your dad's name? I worked for WDSU briefly in the early 70's..

I miss JD Bloom, Max Mipro, Al Moore,. My friend KE4FSC the "Foxy Senior Citizen" ol Don Sams SK in 2005.

 

Frank Mollise. He actually worked for WALA in Mobile in the 60s, but would occasionally do some work for WDSU as in this picture. The two stations weren't owned by the same people, but cooperated on occasion I remember.

 

From my teenage years (1974 - 1977):

Colonel Franklin (W4---), my first electronics teacher, at Choctawhatchee High School, in Fort Walton Beach Florida. This is where my formal electronics education began.

Colonel John Lakin (W4MMW), my next door neighbor, in Fort Walton Beach: who gave me all the free copper wire I wanted, to build antennas. He also drove me to all the local ham club meetings and hamfests. I remember him tuning in some of the very first Oscar 7 satellite transmissions, for me, on his KWM-2A. His oyster-shucking parties, for all the ham club members, were not to be missed!

John Hall (W5ETK), my electronics teacher at Plano Senior High School, in Plano Texas. Both a friend and a father figure, John was an excellent CW operator. He taught 1st and 2nd year electronics courses at the school. When my family relocated to Plano, my electronics knowledge was beyond his 2nd year course. Instead of turning me away, he created a 3rd year course, in which I was the only student. For two hours a day, I got to investigate what interested me in electronics, while he read and graded my formal written reports. Especially as an adult, I can appreciate the extra work John put in on my behalf.

 

The original N0AKF - Ed Harris. Mr. Harris was my high school art teacher and sparked my interest in amateur radio. I graduated high school in 1988. I became licensed in 2000, and shortly after I was licensed, I met up with Mr. Harris while he was in town. We had a nice 12 year catch up. He passed away a couple of months after that.

 

Joe--W8DYF and Gene--WA8APY

 

W5AOO, James Luhn. Pivotal in my starting out in 2012.

One thing that surprised and endeared me to this hobby is our notion of the silent key. I’ve had many hobbies over the years and none have venerated respect for those that have passed on as amateur radio does.

 

N2OWV, Keith. Back in 1994 while on a BBS (remember those?!) when I was looking for ham radio info he replied to me. He gave me info on a local club he belonged to. Shortly after I took the tech test at a hamfest and passed it. Then I found out he made contacts with Space Shuttles and the sats which peaked my interest as I'm a long time "space cadet". Not long after I made my own first voice contact with MIR in 1997 with John Blaha, KC5TZQ. Another guy who left us way too soon....

 

Great. I didn't know him. I did commercials for an ad agency usually recorded at WALA. I moved from New Orleans to Pensacola and worked in Mobile.

 

I'm stuck inside of Mobile, with the Memphis Blues again...


Spent more time in P'cola than I could stand...but Joe Patty's seafood place made it almost worth it...what a deal.