I remember Vince K5VT
Work
It was a brutal, hot day on the roof of the Novatel in Accra, Ghana in 1994.
Antenna raising time just before the CQWW SSB test. After traveling
half way around the world, Vince shows up and with no rest, even to
change clothes, immediately joins us building, raising and testing
the antennas. He works a full 12 hour day, then did some operating.
At home his medical practice schedule is simple. Dr. Vince works
6 1/2 days a week, having only Sunday afternoons off.
The man never tires.
Knowledge
CQWW CW 1996 - Lome, Togo 5V7A. VooDo Contest Group.
CQWW CW 1997 - Lome, Togo 5V7A. VooDo Contest Group.
Using split headphones, Vince is showing me how to "run the pileups".
One technique was to copy 4-5 callsigns, then work them one after
the other, then copy another 5 callsigns, etc.
All the time explaining how to tune the pileup, listening to the signals
at 400hz, and the extreme importance of "passing the mults" to the other ops.
Five stations crammed into one hotel room made is easy to write down
the new mult info and literally hand a yellow Post-It note to the 15m
station who passes it on to the next station.
Life
Dr. Vince has worked for several years in the African continent, giving
many new ones to "the deserving". He patiently explained to me some
life lessons:
Smile a lot! Everyone understands your smile, even if you don't speak
their language.
Don't get mad! You are in their country, act like a polite guest. Things
move at a different speed in other countries.
Have patience! Eventually it will all work out. The running joke for the
VooDudes is: West Africa always wins.
Always carry a roll of TP with you.
Philosophy
Dr. Vinson C. Thompson, K5VT
Husband, Father, Doctor, Soldier, Author, Philospher, DXer and Contester
Extraordinaire, Citizen of the World
>From his signature file:
"Dance like nobody's watching;
love like you've never been hurt.
Sing like nobody's listening;
live like it's heaven on earth."
Godspeed, dear friend
Michael Bill N7MB
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