[Fourlanders] Fw: [VHF] Steve K1FO SK

[Jim Worsham]

See the email below with more info about Steve.  Steve is famous for his 
K1FO antenna and amplifier designs.  You need to only look around Bob's 
shack or on the mountain to see numerous examples of his work.  His antennas 
and amplifers are the gold standard for VHF/UHF work today.  A great great 
loss.

73
Jim, W4KXY

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Russ Pillsbury" <russk2t at comcast.net>
To: <vhf at w6yx.stanford.edu>
Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2012 2:18 PM
Subject: RE: [VHF] Steve K1FO SK


> Hi All. Yes Steve was a great ham and a good friend.  I first met Steve 
> when
> we were young men.  I lived out west in Jamestown, NY (now FN02) and he 
> was
> in CT.  We and a lot of other young guys got together around 1971 to 
> operate
> the WA1MUG contest station on Mt. Greylock, MA, for the June contest. 
> That
> was the first year that group, mostly RPI graduates) scored a record high
> score for the June contest.  (Eventually the WA1MUG call was abandoned and
> they begam using the current W2SZ call.)
>
> I clearly remember riding in the car with Steve and about 4 other guys,
> coming back up the mountain in the early morning and driving through
> alternating patches of fog and sun.  We were all high from the successes 
> of
> the previous day and when one of the guys commented that we were driving
> into a cloud, another said maybe we could work the cloud.  Steve, who at
> that time held the call WA1FFO, yelled out "QRZ the Cloud".  That broke
> everyone up and we were repeating it and laughing all the way to the top.
> Steve had a set of unique phonetics for his call sign that I will not 
> repeat
> here, but I'm sure some of the OT's will recall with a chuckle.  It was a
> precursor to his current call, "K1 Far Out".
>
> Over the years since then I have visited Steve at his home to see his
> enterprise, used his advice on antennas and amplifier construction, and of
> course worked him probably hundreds of times on 6 meters and above.  One
> memorable time was when Al, K2UYH and I were checking SWR on the 70 cm 
> feed
> for his 28 foot Kennedy dish.  We had my 10 watt rig out in the back yard 
> on
> a card table and connected to the feed.  The dish was pointed straight up.
> It was the middle of the afternoon and we suddenly started hearing some 
> CW.
> At first we thought it was coming from the basement shack, but we quickly
> discovered it was coming from the 726R.  It was Steve calling CQ.  We gave
> him a call and worked him.  Of course with the dish pointed straight up, 
> we
> were working him with just the dipole feed!
>
> I can remember hearing Steve no matter where I turned my long 432 Yagi
> during a contest.  A lot of it was reflections from various water towers 
> and
> other objects within 20 miles of my QTH in FM29.  What a signal!
>
> As so many have said, Steve will be missed.  He will also be remembered as
> long as we live.
>
> Very 73 Steve, and Rest In Peace.
> Russ K2TXB
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