Topband: Bob K4UEE silent key

[wb6rse1 at mac.com]

I met Bob many times at the Visalia DX Convention. He was always a delight to talk with.

In early 2015 he led the K1N Navassa team that logged over 138K Qs. I invited him to be the featured presenter at that next April's Visalia Top Band Dinner, which of course he was happy to do. Bob was an accomplished and engaging presenter so I knew we were in for a treat.

As teenagers in 1957 Joe, W1JR (then W2HQL), and Fred, K6SSS (SK, then W2IWC), had operated from Navassa literally on a shoestring (see Dec. 1957 QST, fascinating story). Joe and Fred had already signed up for the dinner. So I asked them, having been to Navassa, if they'd surprise Bob and introduce him. They jumped at the opportunity. I had no idea what they planned. I was as surprised as everyone else when they used a game show format of questions and judging to determine if Bob and the team had actually been on the island. "How many steps are there to the top of the lighthouse?" "What color is the sky above Navassa?" "When you look at the horizon what island do you see?"

Bob answered each question in stride with feigned (or was it?) puzzlement. After each question, Joe and Fred would confer hushed in a corner and then announce their decision. The final verdict was that yes indeed the team had been on Navassa and that the contacts were all legit. The roomed erupted in laughter and applause.

Bob graciously accepted the judgment with his usual brand of humor and sarcasm. I asked the guys how much that 1957 adventure cost them. When they said just a few bucks that  the US Navy had charged them for food, Bob's genuinely astonished expression was priceless. (K1N cost several $100K.)

Then on to Bob's the Navassa presentation.

Great memories.

73 - Steve WB6RSE