Topband: Earl K6SE - how it all began by PY1RO -

[Carlos Dasilva (cadasilv)]

Bill

Rolf      PY1RO asked my help to post his e-mail 
on the topband reflector. I think it is bouncing back.

Regards
Carlos
N4IS

----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:py1ro at terra.com.br>Rolf_PY1RO
To: <mailto:topband at contesting.com>topband at contesting.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 5:06 PM
Subject: Earl K6SE - how it all began

It was certainly a sad to hear about Earl´s 
passing. Earl and I go back all the way to 1964. 
I´m sure many of you have heard the story of how 
Earl got interested in Top Band, but let me tell the story from my end:

Early january 64 I knew I was going to spend some 
3 months in Detroit (I worked for Burroughs 
then), and not yet licensed, I got on 20 CW from 
a friends station and called "CQ Detroit". It 
didn´t take long and W8DGP (then Earls call) came 
back and he sure wanted to meet me and gave me his phone number.

Once in Detroit I made contact and was promptly 
taken to his QTH where I also met his wonderful 
wife and kids and where this long friendship started.

Being an avid 160m SWL, obviously the subject of 
160m came up, but appearantly Earl didn´t seem 
very impressed nor interested, or at least that 
was my impression at the time! In any case it was 
a very enjoyable evening and in passing I 
mentioned that in only a couple weeks time the 
"big" topband event of the year, the CQ 160 
contest was gonna happen. Earl was a Heathkit 
SB-line user in those days which didn´t have 160m and had never been on 160.

But I was in for a big surprise when, just a few 
days before the contest weekend, Earl called me 
and invited me to spend the contest at his place! 
He had managed to loan a Viking Valiant TX and an 
National RX for the weekend and had bonded all 
his wire fences together and loaded up his 
multiband vertical on 160 (in Detroit´s january 
climat)! Another hamfriend of his was also part 
of the "team", but I cannot remember his 
call/name. I had an E-mail only some months ago 
from Earl in which he happily recounted his 
"beginnings" but unfortunatelly I lost it in a recent computer crash.

Well, we din´t break any records during the 
contest, but it was more then anough to get Earl 
hooked for life on Top Band! The rest is history!

After Detroit I only met Earl personally once 
more during a short stopover at the Houston/TX airport, when he was W5RTQ.

He surely will be missed! RIP my friend!

73 to all - Rolf PY1RO