Reading that one of my elmers passed
away this past year was not a
surprise, but still saddened me. When
I first got my novice ticket back in
the late 60s, I looked up local hams
in the callbook and then called them
on the phone, just to get to know more
local hams and see their setups. I
didn't get very far until I ran into
Stan, and it didn't bother him in the
least to have a 14-year-old come over
and see his setup, and quite a setup
it was! In a small city lot, he had a
75 foot crank up with two vertically
polarized 9-element yagis for 6
meters, as well as an 11-element
horizontally polarized yagi in between
them. Over the years I saw him put
together many antenna systems,
including a couple of beautifully
crafted dishes for 432 EME made from
chicken wire and aluminum poles.
After hearing how he missed working
Europe on 6 meters during the 50s, I
was glad that he worked Ireland in
1979. I wish I could have told him
that I finally got Europe this year as
well after waiting just as long! Stan
worked quite a lot of DX but was not
what I would call a DXer: I don't
think I ever heard him furiously call
DX or exhibit any anxiety over the air
(I guess that's why he had an
amplifier). I am sorry that I lost
touch with Stan after I moved to
Oregon, the last time we talked he had
moved to an apartment but was still
working the satellites with gusto.
Stan was a real gentleman who never
lost his fascination with the mystery
of radio propagation.
I remember Stan kindly. He was always available on 6 Meters and his CW was great. He and Don Roberts W6PUZ/W7FN were good friends and great to hear them talk techy on SSB and CW. They both worked CW at 30 WPM....I could only catch familiar words then. RIP Stan...W7LFD/W6BFJ/K0FSD.