Jack has always been one of my heroes on Topband.
I recall when K1VR visited him and wrote (in a QST article) about how Jack used
old plastic soda bottles to weatherize open coax splices in the field. A great
idea I've copied hundreds of times here on coax and hardline junctions.
I usually gave Jack birthday greetings each Dec. 24, after he mentioned he was
79 on that date in 2011. My log shows I missed him in 2015 but gave him belated
greetings on the following Jan. 1, and our last QSO was Jan. 24, 2016. He was
85 at his passing.
I often listened as Jack worked exotic DX I couldn't hear. On March 8, 2004, I
lingered on 160 after finishing the ARRL DX contest and heard Jack working some
weak DX station. It was an extremely quiet night on the band, and I was amazed
that I could copy the station Jack was working. It was Kumar, VU2BGS, and I was
fortunate he came back to me when I tail-ended Jack, and it was a new one for
me on Top.
Jack often stopped by to say hello if I was calling CQ, often with a tip on
some rare DX that had been active.
Jack, we'll miss you.
73/Jon AA1K
-----Original Message-----
From: Topband <topband-bounces@contesting.com> On Behalf Of terry burge
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2018 8:33 PM
To: topband@contesting.com; terry burge <ki7m@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Topband: VE1ZZ has passed on - Very Very Sad news! (Long)
Sad to see he will no longer be there to give out Nova Scotia. I see I've
worked him three times 2014, 2011 and 2009 for a multiplier during CQWW160.
Never really got to know him but I have enjoyed the great stories. That is
something about ham radio I love. You never know who you might be hearing at
the other end of the either. Just hope a few will say one or two nice things
about me when I join him.
What do you suppose ham radio guys do for fun up there?
Terry
KI7M
> On October 19, 2018 at 1:35 PM Wolfgang Wessely <wessely@asamnet.de> wrote:
>
>
> very sad to hear this...
>
> Jack was my first DX on 80m in the 80th, using an antenna myself,
> which could not really work - only he made the contact possible!
> Later, I had many topband-contacts with him and no wonder: Jack was my
> first VE on Six in 1992...
>
> RIP
> Wolfgang - DJ3TF
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Am 19.10.2018 um 19:10 schrieb k1zm--- via Topband:
> > Hello Gang
> >
> >
> > I am truly saddened to have to pass along the contents of an email I just
> > received from Carl Leahy who was one of Jack Leahy, VE1ZZ's sons.
> >
> >
> > It is short and sweet - but I will add some personal comments after sharing
> > his note to me.
> >
> >
> > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Carl Leahy carl.leahy1@gmail.comHide
> >
> > To
> > k1zm k1zm@aol.com
> >
> >
> >
> > Jeff, our family wanted you to know that dad passed away last evening. If
> > you could let the people in the ham world know we would really appreciate
> > it. It was a very big part of his life . He had just been talking about you
> > and the book you gave him a few years ago..
> >
> >
> > Carl Leahy
> > Signing off for VE1ZZ 😞
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> >
> >
> > A few comments from my memory now follow - as best I recall them:
> >
> >
> > VE1ZZ was not only a personal friend to many of us - he was probably one of
> > the finest Topband Dx'ers ever to have lived. He goes back to not long
> > after W1BB came back on the band at the end of WW!! - and was one of the
> > strongest signals I have ever witnessed on Topband. His signal was almost
> > LEGENDARY all over the world. EU stations used to say - "He is almost as
> > loud when he calls in Asian pileups as the EU callers are over here"...and
> > that says it all!
> >
> >
> > Jack Leahy was personally responsible for my migrating to VY2ZM and was
> > here at my home twice - once is 2002 and once in 2012. I last visited him
> > and Opal (his XYL) in August of 2014 with Mike OE6MBG who wanted to meet
> > Jack and see his QTH .
> >
> >
> > When I finally had the time after building my house here on PEI to visit
> > Jack which was probably in July of 2003 or 2004, at first blush his place
> > did not make a huge impression on me because it had only a short triangular
> > portion of land at the road in the Head of Jeddore NE of Halifax - and the
> > land rose rapidly behind his home. One initially wondered "How does he get
> > out so well from here down at the road?"
> >
> >
> > The answer came shortly thereafter - Jack took me out behind the house -
> > and we climbed that hill - up and up and up for something like a MILE - it
> > was a pizza slice in shape and very wide at the top of the hill in the
> > woods - with only about 100 feet (if that) at the road front side of the
> > parcel.
> >
> >
> > Some distance up the hill was Jack's 160m 4sq array - which was made of
> > ROHN 6 tower - that was sitting on 18 wheeler truck tires as base
> > insulators. The towers were not tall - perhaps 55 feet or so and the rest
> > of each radiator was wire - so it was really a WIRE inverted L 4sq. Jack
> > was the "ultimate scavenger" and his radials were all 1-2" diameter pieces
> > of HARDLINE!!! Hundreds of them all over the hillside I think he had a
> > friend in CATV or at his local dump - but he got most of it for next to
> > nothing he said.
> >
> >
> > From that point of his land, he could reach around the HILLTOP on 160m to
> > acquire a clear shot to EU and the South was wide open and to the SW was
> > also clear looking over the water. Looking straight up the hill was
> > probably blocked to some degree - but often this does not matter all that
> > much on Topband.
> >
> >
> > The day I was there was shortly after Jack had managed to communicate
> > across the pond on what I think was 600m - I may be wrong about the
> > frequency - but the antenna he used to make the SLOW SLOW SPEED CW contact
> > was something out of this world!
> >
> >
> > It started about 1/3 of the way up the hill - and ran all the way to the
> > rear of the property to near the furthest reaches of his land - and this
> > was a LONG LONG LONG walk to get there - through some land that I recall
> > was swampy. It had to have been at least 3000 feet long.
> >
> >
> > Part way up the hill, Jack had built a small shelter in which he placed the
> > BIGGEST homebrew loading coil I have ever seen. It was about 4 feet tall
> > and about 8 feet in diameter and wrapped around some kind of coil form he
> > had created.
> >
> >
> > Jack explained that it took him awhile to resonate the system to his
> > desired operating QRG - and this was done by taking a pair of alligator
> > clips and through trial and error he tapped the coil he made - trying to
> > use a DC ammeter to find the point of peak current into the system - which
> > he explained seemed to indicate the system was reasonably matched.
> >
> >
> > His was among the first to work across the pond with that antenna - just
> > one of his many achievements.
> >
> >
> > When I was in the US Navy stationed at Bremerhaven, Germany I used to
> > listen to Jack and W1BB on 160m. W1BB would sit around 1801, KV4FZ often
> > was around 1803 and Jack was down at the low end as well - calling CQ
> > listening QSX up at around 1825-1830 in what was then known as the "DX
> > Window".
> >
> >
> > Jack had a huge signal even then - using equipment that was popular in that
> > era. I recall a Hammarlund HQ 160 Rx or something close to that model -
> > there is a photo of that station from the late 1950's in my book "Dx'ing on
> > the Edge."
> >
> >
> > Jack's More Recent Station - Inside
> >
> >
> > When I first visited Jack in 2003/2004, it was in his old house - not the
> > newer one he built further up the hill some years later. The station was
> > vintage (much like my own on Cape Cod) - and Jack used a TS830 driving a HB
> > amp to something around a KW DC input. Jack's operating table gave me a
> > chuckle because there was only about 4 inches of space between the front
> > panel of the radio and the edge of the table. Jack was a "leftie" and
> > placed his paddle parallel to the front of the TS830 and did his best to
> > keep his forearm on the table while he sent.
> >
> >
> > Jack's keying system triggered a bunch of interconnected relays as he
> > operated and he had quite a number of vintage antenna switches which
> > selected his many Rx antennas.
> >
> >
> > After visiting his shack, Jack later showed me around other parts of
> > the rest of the house - and I recall several rooms CHOCK FULL of
> > stuff most of us would die for. One room was full of EIMAC xmitting
> > tubes - 4-400's, some 304TL's, some 4-1000A's etc
> >
> >
> > Another room had shelves loaded with vacuum relays and vacuum variables he
> > had collected over the years. Not one or two - but something like a 100 of
> > them. There were also rotary inductors for HB design and many other things
> > that made me drool.
> >
> > I think I remember a third room full of vintage ham radio gear as well.
> > Older stuff he had used previously over the years I guess.
> >
> >
> > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> >
> >
> > I will relate one story about Jack when I was operating at 7O6T over in
> > Yemen in 2012 I think it was. I was calling CQ arond 1823kHz waiting for
> > SS to occur in NA - and this bone crushing signal came at me that almost
> > blew me out of my chair. You can listen to this clip on my VY2ZM website -
> > and you will see what I mean.
> >
> >
> > I told Jack that I was operating in the snippet - and later asked him to
> > please tell me when OTHER NA stations were calling. I said, please do NOT
> > tell me the calls - just tell me that USA stations are now hearing me and
> > calling me. Jack did as I asked and about 15 mins later a very weak in the
> > noise caller was Dave Patten, NN1N who was probably 3-4 S units down from
> > Jack's signal. Dave's station is first rate - but there is something truly
> > magical about operating from the Maritimes along oceanfront property. It
> > is just how things work - Jack had what I call the "front door" to the NE
> > path and it often shows up as it did that evening at 7O6T.
> >
> >
> > Here's how to listen to what I heard:
> >
> >
> > 1) Go to http://www,vy2zm.com
> > 2) Select the sound bites tab
> > 3) Click on Sound Bite #4 and play VE1ZZ - Booming.
> > 4) If you also wish to hear NN1N's piece look further down the list to hear
> > the difference in signal levels.
> >
> >
> > JACK's last years
> >
> >
> > I last spoke with Jack in the summer of 2016. He told me he then had COPD
> > and that his amp needed repairs and that his antennas were largely broken.
> > I had heard him sparingly in 2015 and probably not at all in 2016 - and
> > that explained why.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > JACK's 160m DXCC Achievements:
> >
> >
> > For many years JACK held the #2 position WORLD in the Topband DXCC
> > rankings. He finished his legendary Topband career at 334 countries
> > confirmed at position #6 in the current rankings. This is only a HANDFUL
> > of entities below that necessary to have qualified for DXCC HONOR ROLL -
> > single band 160M. His mild, unassuming manner was also the measure of the
> > man. He would stop DX'ing and work ANYONE who called him - which says alot
> > as well. His was a special person and I have always admired him and what
> > he managed to do in HAM RADIO.
> >
> >
> > Not only did he make DXCC on 160m - in the summers he got me hooked on 6M
> > and he had a 6M DXCC as well - just to keep himself occupied during the
> > summer doldrums on 160M.
> >
> >
> > I will close now and stop reminiscing about Jack - but I think it is
> > altogether fitting that we stop and pause a moment to remember this fine
> > 160M operator and gentleman and what he achieved on the band we all love to
> > operate. He will always occupy a special place in our memories of Topband!
> >
> >
> > 73 and thanks for the bandwidth.
> >
> >
> > JEFF K1ZM/VY2ZM
> >
> >
> > Email: K1ZM@aol.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Jeff Briggs
> > DXing on the Edge: The Thrill of 160 Meters Available worldwide
> > through BookBaby, Array Solutions, DX Engineering, Royal Society of
> > Great Britain, & Amazon
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _________________
> > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
>
>
>
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