At 12:18 PM 6/10/99 -0500, Thos. Wade Patton wrote:
>
>Check you records. It is my understanding that the Astatic Company was
>incorporated in 1933 by two Ohio hams who wanted a better microphone. It
>probably is for real radios, like my Omni V and the others mentioned here.
>
One of the locals asked me to help him get a new 1x2 callsign. His old call
ended in TZ so he asked me to help him with W4TZ. We got the callsign and
the obituary said the following about W4TZ.
CREED M. CHORPENING
Avid ham radio operator, business man
"Clarion (PA) - Creed McKinley Chorpening, 96, formerly of Vero Beach, Fla,
died Wednesday October 13, 1993, in Clarion Care Center.
"Born September 14, 1897, in a long cabin at Brandonville, W.Va., he was a
son of Millard Fillmore Chorpening and Nancy Jane Waddell Chorpening.
"He was married for 63 years to the former Millie Louise Cray of Richmond,
Va. She preceded him in death in 1989.
"Mr. Chorpening attended the Brandonville schools and the Marconi Institute
in New York City, C.C.
"His lifelong interest was in radio and related fields. In the early days
of wireless, or radio, he and a friend often built crystal sets and
provided radio programming for their neighbors. As an enthusiastic amateur
radio operator, he was broadcasting before radio licenses were issued.
"As a young man, he received a special commendation for his development of
the radio telephone while working for West Penn Power in Connellsville.
"Moving to Youngstown, Ohio, in the early 1920s, Mr. Chorpening and Warren
Williamson III co-founded WKBN radio. He later started the Astatic
Corporation, where he was vice president in charge of research and
development. he continued with Astatic when it moved to Conneaut, Ohio, in
1944.
"During World War II, Mr. Chorpening's D104 microphone was used extensively
by the military.
"Mr. Chorpening also was the leader of a ham radio operator' organization
in Youngstown, Ohio, area and during World War II he developed it into a
defense unit. He later organized amateur radio clubs in Conneaut, Ohio and
Vero Beach, Fla.
"His ham radio service was recognized in 1984 when Mr. Chorpening was
awarded the United Nations Peace Medal for his assistance in the Mexican
earthquake disaster. Throughout much of his ham radio years, his
identification was W4TZ.
"Mr. Chorpening was the developer of a B-cartridge and a crystal recording
head, both used by the Wilcox Gay Corp.
"In 1952, Mr and Mrs. Chorpening moved to Vero Beach, Fla., where the
couple owned and operated Creed's HiFi Inc.
"Mr. Chorpening was a 45-year member of the Elks Club and Rotary
International. He also belonged to the American Relay League Inc., Radio's
Old Timers, the Quarter Century Wireless Association and the IRE. He was
part of the Treasure Coast Network."
The remainder of the obituary contains surviving kin and service
arrangements. It appears that Creed had a very productive life and the D104
was just one of his accomplishments.
I thought some of you guys might be interested in knowing who was behind
the D104.
73..de John/K4WJ
**********************************************
John/K4WJ in Pembroke Pines, FL
QTH is 26 00 51 N
80 16 16 W
K8PXG from 18 Jun 59 to 11 Feb 97
K8WJ from 12 Feb 97 to 07 Apr 97
ZF2HZ from 17 May 84 to 31 Dec 84
**********************************************
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