Erwin was a guy that you might refer to as a "good ol' boy," and you'd be right! A good ol' boy in the best sense of the term. He always had time to tell a good story, or listen to one.
Erwin was involved in powerboat racing and was the chief mechanic for a successful team in Arizona in the 60's and 70's. To hear him tell it, those were some wild times!
Born in 1927, Erwin told me quite a bit about amateur radio in the "good ol' days." He explained the principles of the dynamotor in mobile use, which really shows how far mobile hamming has come.
Erwin would talk to anyone, whether Novice or Extra; he was always happy to carry on a QSO with beginners and veteran hams alike.
I remember him showing me one of his favorite radios. It was called the Black Widow, a 6 meter AM only rig, possibly made by the Gonset Company.
Erwin was around for the beginning of mobile operations, and did a lot of hamming around the Phoenix area in the early 60's.
Erwin left behind quite a bit of amateur gear. His son, who has no interest in ham radio, generously decided to give Erwin's gear to the local ham club, (The Tonto Amateur Radio Association, in Payson, AZ) where it will be used in certain classrooms of our local schools, which obviously is a great source of potential future hams.
Let's hope that at least one of them will grow up to become as good of a person as Erwin ("Sparky") was.
I can't really be too sad about his passing...he's now in a much better place!
Erwin was one of my first contacts. We became good friends. I miss chatting with him whenever I pass thru Payson.