Topband: VK6HD SK

[John Harden, D.M.D.]

Sitting here in the terminal at LAX having breakfast. Very sorry to hear abt Mike.

73,

John, W4NU

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID

Jon Zaimes AA1K <jz73 at verizon.net> wrote:

>Very sad to hear of Mike's passing.
>
>Flipping back through my old logs, handwritten on something called 
>paper, it appears our first QSO with Mike was on 40 meter CW in January 
>of 1980. But it is the second QSO I recall most, on 80 CW on the last 
>day of that month. We had had several exchanges when Mike reported my 
>signal had suddenly dropped several S units but he still had solid copy. 
>Looking up, I realized my manual antenna switch had been left with my 
>new "Beverage" receiving antenna connected to the transmitter, and Mike 
>was still hearing me with my 25 watts going into a wire only a few feet 
>off the ground. We both had a laugh when I told him what happened and, 
>back on my real transmit antenna, we carried on at full strength for a 
>few minutes more.
>
>It was those golden ears of Mike's that gave us so many hundreds of 
>contacts on Topband -- the first in January of 1981 and the last 32 
>years later. He was there keeping the vigil, frequently the only DX 
>coming through. He'd drop in for a quick hello, just to let us know the 
>band was open -- halfway around the world -- when there was no other 
>sign it was open to anywhere. We'd swap notes on the weather, band 
>conditions and pass along tips on DX the other might need. Often he'd 
>stop back a half hour later with a new signal report. In the years 
>before packet and the Internet, and even after, he'd drop in quickly to 
>let me know one I needed in his part of the world was just a few kHz up 
>or down the band, and I'd do likewise.
>
>We will miss our dear friend. Mike helped keep this band alive for so many.
>
>73 and GL DX,
>
>Jon AA1K
>All good topband ops know fine whiskey is a daylight beverage.
>_________________
>Topband Reflector