Tom Rausch mentioned Claude Bass, W4EX (formerly W4DQH), in his comments
regarding early topband pioneers. Claude was truly an outstanding gentleman, a
very knowledgeable RF engineer and a top notch 160 operator.
I first met Claude in 1956 when I was a new general class ticket holder at
age 12. Never will I forget visiting Claude's QTH and seeing that 120 foot
tower with a 5 element 20 meter monobander and its 56 foot boom. Inside the
shack
Claude had a six foot rack mounted pair of 450THs running on AM/CW being
driven by a Collins 32V-3 with a 75A-4 receiver. Most impressive craftsmanship
by
Claude on the 450TH amplifier and the home brewed big yagi.
By the early 70s Claude had relocated to what was then a country QTH about 20
miles east of Memphis, TN. He immediately began working on setting up his
radio room and was it ever impressive. Claude was one of the best metal
craftsman I have ever seen and with his RF engineering abilities he could
produce
beautiful 4-1000A amplifiers. His shack was the top floor of his house and I
will never forget my first visit to the new QTH. Claude has five Bud gray
crackle 6 foot cabinets bolted together and each contained a separate 4-1000A
monoband amp for CW and SSB on each band, The 160 meter amp had a pair of
4-1000A's
in the final.
Claude liked to do his antenna work in the summer months when the weather was
warm and he did most of the tower/antenna work at night. Up until he was 65
or 70 years old he would climb the 120 foot tower at around 11 PM if any of
the beams required attention. He would do the tower climbing and I would serve
as the ground crew.
As an operator, W4EX was at the top of the honor roll when the honor roll
required less than a fourth of a page in QST to print everyone's call that was
on
the honor roll. He loved topband and routinely discussed the band with W1BB.
What made Claude Bass such an exceptional person is that he was totally
blind. As a sightless person he preferred to do the antenna work in darkness
while
the WX was cooler. His first love was electronics and that is what caused
his blindness. He was injured by a HV arc while working on a 50 KW TV station
transmitted in Nashville in 1948 if my memory is correct. I continue to be
absolutely amazed at his construction abilities in building amps and antennas.
My
favorite Claude Bass story occurred one evening when he said he had to go to
the kitchen. I walked with him and he opened his dishwasher and removed a
Drake TR4-CW. It belonged to a friend of his that had a house fire and the
Drake
was covered in ashes and smoke stains. He let it dry our a few weeks and the
TR4 worked great after a little tweaking and control lubrication.
Excuse me for rambling but when W8JI referenced Claude's exceptional 160
abilities, it brought back fond memories of my mentor and friend. W4EX passed
away in the early 80s, the result of a severe stroke. I miss him dearly.
Tom K4XG
_______________________________________________
Topband mailing list
Topband@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/topband
|