[CQ-Contest] CQ-Contest Digest, Vol 27, Issue 26

Sun Mar 13 12:48:40 EST 2005

We in Colorado may have been higher in altitude but W7RM and his station was 
always in another atmosphere. He will be sincerely missed. Our condolences 
from Grand Mesa Contesters of Colorado and Bill Brown K0UK
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <cq-contest-request at contesting.com>
To: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2005 10:00 AM
Subject: CQ-Contest Digest, Vol 27, Issue 26


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> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Re: W7RM SK (David Pruett)
>   2. Re: W7RM SK (Peter Grillo)
>   3. W7RM SK (Jim Cain)
>   4. W7RM SK (Valeri Stefanov)
>   5. Re: W7RM SK (Richard DiDonna NN3W)
>   6. W7RM SK (Harri M. Mantila OH6YF)
>   7. Re: April CW Sprint (N4AF)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 10:47:14 -0500
> From: David Pruett <k8cc at comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] W7RM SK
> To: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> Message-ID: <6.2.0.14.0.20050312082738.02849b38 at mail.comcast.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
> At 10:17 PM 3/11/2005, Charles  Margelli wrote:
>>I am very saddened to report that Contest Hall of Fame member Rush Drake,
>>W7RM, passed away peacefully this afternoon at 3 PM, with his son Bruce at
>>his side.
>
> I sometimes feel as if I was born 10-20 years too late.  Perhaps if I was
> born earlier I would have gone to work on the US Space Program rather than
> designing cars.  Perhaps if I was born earlier into a family in the 
> Pacific
> northwest I could have been a part of the W7RM experience on Foul Weather
> Bluff.
>
> As a young ham in the early 70s, I marveled at the big W7RM signal in many
> a contest.  However, it was pictures of the W7RM station in the ham
> magazines which really stirred my imagination.  The 1971 SS results in the
> May 1972 QST (which I just *had* to pull out now to reminiscence) was 
> chock
> full of W7RM images - the 3L 40M sharing it's boom with an 8L 10M, 6/6 on
> 20M, 6/3/3/3 on 15M, plus a rotatable aluminum and wire 80M yagi - not to
> mention a photo of a (much younger) K7JA (then K7VPF) grinning in front of
> an S-line.  For someone 2000 miles away, these images portrayed a station
> where amateur radio was an adventure.
>
> Over the years, I followed the W7RM story from a distance, but in those
> pre-Internet, pre-e-mail days it was all word-of-mouth or what got printed
> in the magazines.  Of course, the storm of 1979 which blew the towers over
> the bluff was the big news.  The fact that W7RM *had* towers/antennas big
> enough to blow over, in a location where these could be blown over a 
> cliff,
> only added to the legend.  Then came word that we was going to re-build at
> another location, the news of which was greeted with the same enthusiasm 
> as
> your favorite baseball player coming out of retirement.
>
> Over the years, I met Rush occasionally during the Dayton Hamvention.  He
> was always very cordial to me but with all the hustle and bustle I never
> really got the chance to talk to him about his station and experiences. 
> In
> September 1998, the word went out (thank goodness for Internet and e-mail)
> that there was going to be an open house at W7RM to celebrate Rush's 82nd
> birthday.  I figured that this was my chance, so I grabbed an airline
> ticket and flew out to Portland.
>
> I'll never forget driving along this two-lane county road that was 
> climbing
> higher and higher as the GPS said we were approaching W7RM.  On the way, I
> remember passing a house with a tribander on a tower not far from Rush's,
> thinking "Boy, that guy must get a lot of QRM on a contest
> weekend!"  Shortly thereafter, we crested a rise in the road and hound
> radio nirvana for the hardware addict - five acres stuffed full of towers
> and antennas like only an "old school" station builder like Rush could do.
>
> As the open house, there were probably 20-30 people milling around the
> station and antenna farm, all there to wish Rush happy birthday.  As I
> sought out Rush to give my greetings, I wasn't sure if he'd remember me as
> it had been several years since I'd seen him.  No problem - when I
> approached him he recognized me, beamed and seemed genuinely touched that 
> I
> would come all the way from Michigan for his birthday.  As I asked him
> questions about the station layout, he took me into the living room and
> showed me that master blueprint that clearly showed the logic of the tower
> arrangement.  Then he pulled out his pictures of the damage from the 1979
> storm and relived the details we me.  It all became clear.
>
> In honor of Rush, I put together a collection of pictures from his 1998
> birthday party.  Check these out at http://home.comcast.net/~k8cc under
> "Stories", then "1998 W7RM Trip".
>
> Rush Drake contributed a tremendous amount to amateur radio, and 
> contesting
> as we know it today.  RIP OM.
>
> 73,
>
> Dave/K8CC
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 09:01:43 -0700
> From: "Peter Grillo" <ah3c at frii.com>
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] W7RM SK
> To: "'Charles Margelli'" <cmandjm at earthlink.net>,
> <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> Message-ID: <20050312160146.7A3591DEEA8 at mail.frii.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Although I never visited Foul Weather Bluff, I will always remember the
> twinkle in Rush's eyes when he described it at one of the DX convention
> meetings...
>
> RIP Rush,
> Pete
> W0RTT, Ex-W6RTT, etc.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
> [mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Charles Margelli
> Sent: Friday, March 11, 2005 8:18 PM
> To: cq-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] W7RM SK
>
> I am very saddened to report that Contest Hall of Fame member Rush Drake,
> W7RM, passed away peacefully this afternoon at 3 PM, with his son Bruce at
> his side.
>
> I am sure many tributes will follow, but as one who knew Rush very well
> during his glory years at Foul Weather Bluff, I must say that it was an
> honor to have grown up in contesting at the helm of his station, and at 
> his
> side on many a tower. He put together a potent antenna farm at one of the
> premier locations in North America, and re-shaped contesting in the USA 
> for
> many years. Big Yagis up high and four-vertical arrays on Puget Sound. .
> .what an effort! The first-place finishes his station made in DX contests
> were among the last ever recorded from the West Coast, and may turn out to
> be the last ever.
>
> Thanks, Rush, for many a good time. . .lots of cheers and tears, and above
> all plenty of Dozos on 15 meters!
>
> 73 W7RM de Chip Margelli, K7JA, ex K7VPF
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 11:47:50 -0600
> From: "Jim Cain" <cainjim at mindspring.com>
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] W7RM SK
> To: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> Cc: cmandjm at earthlink.com
> Message-ID: <009701c5272b$9cea3980$c5e1e004 at mindspring.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> The report on the 1976 ARRL CW DX Competition, in October 1976 QST, said:
>
> "... Noon in Maryland is 9 A.M. in Washington State. It's raining, 
> naturally. One graduate student's mind is not on his first class of the 
> day, but rather on the last, and how he can avoid it. Only three weeks 
> into the winter term and at probably the most propitious time for 
> mysteriously missing a session, our college person returns to his 
> apartment, packs headphones and a fresh supply of contest log sheets, 
> makes a cardboard sign reading "College Student to Tacoma" and heads for 
> the highway.
>
> "He hasn't seen the station he will operate in the DX 'Test since last 
> November, hasn't operated on the ham bands since Christmas, but he knows 
> the station as if he had built it himself. Four straight weekends on top 
> of three towers (not all at once!) will do that.
>
> "The only questions in his mind are how much antenna repair work will be 
> necessary between noon and contest time and how much will that antenna 
> work subtract from the margin of endurance he has spent the past month 
> building up."
>
> The college student was, of course, Chip Margelli, K7VPF (K7JA) and the 
> station was W7RM, that of Rush Drake.
>
> R.I.P., Rush.
>
> Jim Cain, ex-WA1STN
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 19:37:18 +0200
> From: "Valeri Stefanov" <wally at el-soft.com>
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] W7RM SK
> To: <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> Message-ID: <000e01c5272a$35457020$63e6f0d5 at my>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="koi8-r"
>
> These are very sad news to hear.
>
> Rush's W7RM station was a BEACON from 7th land here in South Eastern 
> Europe
> for  years.
> Another BIG contester is gone.
>
> RIP Rush. Condolences to Family members.
>
> Wally LZ2CJ - on behalf of LZ9W M/M Contest Team
> www.qsl.net/lz9w
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 15:00:04 -0500
> From: "Richard DiDonna NN3W" <NN3W at prodigy.net>
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] W7RM SK
> To: "Peter Grillo" <ah3c at frii.com>, "'Charles Margelli'"
> <cmandjm at earthlink.net>, <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> Message-ID:
> <AA-7DE2EF0A76323A26A1D7443D7645329C-ZZ at enroll02.prodigy.net>
>
> I completely agree with Pete.
>
> When I was living in California and was a active
> member with the San Diego DX Club in the late 80s and
> early 90s, the chit-chat before our club meetings that
> were held around the time of the big contest season
> would invariably turn to discussions of the west
> coast "heavy weights".  Invariably, that discussion
> would almost always lead to a discussion of Rush W7RM,
> his incredible station, and the records that he posted
> and set.
>
> During the annual trips to Visalia, K6NA, W6YA, some
> of the other club members and I would carpool up
> together and we'd always talk about who'd be there and
> who wouldn't be there.  We'd always talk about Rush,
> the mastery of his operation, the twinkle in his eyes,
> and the friendship that beamed from his presence.  It
> was a terrific inspiration for a 17-year old contester
> and DXer back then.
>
> I'm certain that Visalia and the other big to-dos will
> be very much different from this point forward...
>
> 73 OM
>
> Rich NN3W (ex KI6ZH)
> --- Original Message ---
> From: "Peter Grillo" <ah3c at frii.com>
> To: "'Charles Margelli'" <cmandjm at earthlink.net>, <cq-
> contest at contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] W7RM SK
>
>>Although I never visited Foul Weather Bluff, I will
> always remember the
>>twinkle in Rush's eyes when he described it at one of
> the DX convention
>>meetings...
>>
>>RIP Rush,
>>Pete
>>W0RTT, Ex-W6RTT, etc.
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com
>>[mailto:cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf
> Of Charles Margelli
>>Sent: Friday, March 11, 2005 8:18 PM
>>To: cq-contest at contesting.com
>>Subject: [CQ-Contest] W7RM SK
>>
>>I am very saddened to report that Contest Hall of
> Fame member Rush Drake,
>>W7RM, passed away peacefully this afternoon at 3 PM,
> with his son Bruce at
>>his side.
>>
>>I am sure many tributes will follow, but as one who
> knew Rush very well
>>during his glory years at Foul Weather Bluff, I must
> say that it was an
>>honor to have grown up in contesting at the helm of
> his station, and at his
>>side on many a tower. He put together a potent
> antenna farm at one of the
>>premier locations in North America, and re-shaped
> contesting in the USA for
>>many years. Big Yagis up high and four-vertical
> arrays on Puget Sound. .
>>.what an effort! The first-place finishes his station
> made in DX contests
>>were among the last ever recorded from the West
> Coast, and may turn out to
>>be the last ever.
>>
>>Thanks, Rush, for many a good time. . .lots of cheers
> and tears, and above
>>all plenty of Dozos on 15 meters!
>>
>>73 W7RM de Chip Margelli, K7JA, ex K7VPF
>>_______________________________________________
>>CQ-Contest mailing list
>>CQ-Contest at contesting.com
>>http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-
> contest
>>
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>CQ-Contest mailing list
>>CQ-Contest at contesting.com
>>http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-
> contest
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 00:25:23 +0200
> From: "Harri M. Mantila OH6YF" <harry at oh6yf.com>
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] W7RM SK
> Cc: cq-contest at contesting.com
> Message-ID: <42336C53.6010303 at oh6yf.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Hi all!
>
> Sad news!
>
> Rush was always so loud also here in Northern latitudes! I remember when
> he came on the empty band as a local station!
>
> Rest In Peace Rush! We all miss you!
>
> Condolences to the Family!
>
> Regards,
> Harry & Jessica Mantila
> ____________________________________________
> Harri M. Mantila OH6YF-OH0MYF
> Operator of OH6Y & OH0Y
> GSM: +358-50-5472478
> harry at oh6yf.com / harri at mantila.net
> www.oh6yf.com   /   www.mantila.net
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 23:18:55 -0500
> From: N4AF <howardhoyt at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] April CW Sprint
> To: cq-contest at contesting.com
> Message-ID: <c42f949605031220182e1c8ee2 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>
> That sounds great Ron.
>
> Lets' go ahead and set a CW Sprint for April 30th. Normal Sprint rules
> apply EXCEPT we will try low power.
>
> 73, Howie N4AF
>
>
> On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 16:40:30 -0600, Ron Feutz <feutz at wctc.net> wrote:
>> Howie,
>>
>> I don't think the number of votes any where nealy indicates how many
>> sprinters you will have.  I bet its over 200.  If you set the date and we
>> start talking it up, there will be plenty of activity.  I know the SMC 
>> will
>> turn out plenty of guys.  We'll make a point of getting guys on.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Ron KK9K
>>
>> At 07:40 AM 3/12/2005, you wrote:
>> >Well a week has transpired - a fairly good consensus of the poll at
>> >http://pvrc.org/sprint_vote.htm calls for the Sprint to be April 30
>> >using 100W and keeping the multipliers as they are.
>> >
>> >However the responses were slightly over fifty. Of these 35% opted for
>> >April 2 and I do not know how many of this subset can be active April
>> >30.
>> >I figure we need a minimum of 100 to pull off a Sprint.
>> >
>> >Do you think club involvement could pull it up enough ?
>> >
>> >Comments/suggestions ?
>> >
>> >73, Howie N4AF
>> >_______________________________________________
>> >CQ-Contest mailing list
>> >CQ-Contest at contesting.com
>> >http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>>
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
> End of CQ-Contest Digest, Vol 27, Issue 26
> ******************************************
>