Page 29 May June 2014 TCA

Us “Old Geezers”… “An Interesting Visit”

I don’t think that anybody who has been into Amateur Radio for more
than a few years has to be told that friendships are formed, sometimes
halfway around the globe, which last a lifetime. More often though,
they are closer to home.
I was reminded of this truth when running our Fundy Amateur Radio
Club’s weekly Wednesday night net on 2 metres. One of our “regulars”
failed to check in and further down the log somebody else noted that,
and yet another member said that he had heard “Leo, is not feeling
that good these days”.
That’s a scenario a lot of us can relate to…
It’s no secret that XYL’s, sitting close by, and those monitoring the
ham bands, often hear QSOs about “health and welfare”. Some of
course are beyond the pale and in vivid detail as Amateurs share
their aches and pains in boring detail for minutes, long rambling
minutes, at a time! From left: Ron McFadyen, VY1RM, Griebel, EA8BFK/DJ9PC and
David Musselwhite, VY1XY.
But that’s not the real gist of the human dynamic taking place here.
We are sharing our lives with friends, near or far, and we have an Each Saturday, Yukon Amateur Radio Association members
honesty that is refective of the basic nature of Amateur Radio. Why and friends gather for breakfast to discuss ham radio items
else, for instance, do we not acknowledge lofty titles added to our and other stuff.
names, and everybody is on a frst name footing and have been
since the early days of Amateur Radio? Doctor or Prime Minister or Recently, Peter Griebel, DJ9PC/EA8BFK, joined us for
Chicken Farmer, (sorry!) we are all equal when we press the mike food and friendship. Both he and his wife (also an Amateur)
button or pound brass. are world travellers and they were in Whitehorse for the
conclusion of the Yukon Quest, International Sled Dog
We share our beliefs, observations, and opinions, and hobbies, and Race (http://www.yukonquest.com/).
life’s trials, and we care about those who we “see” through the
airwaves of the Amateur Radio bands. Hey! You got Cairn terriers!? Peter has an advanced education in electronics and was
I’ve got Cairn terriers! Love those little nurdy, hole digging dogs with showing us how he operates HF remote.
attitude! And there begins many a conversation that can last for He set
minutes; or more often, on a regular basis for years. How’s your up his
Nessie or Bertie this week?
laptop,
Our club, here in Nova Scotia, at the inspiration of our President and
Mason, VE1MUT, late last year engaged in a mailout of some 62 turned
letters to former club members, asking them to “get active again”. on his
They are known to older members of the club, still have their station
licences, but have not been heard of for months or years. Neither in the
have they checked into our club’s Wednesday net for months or Canary
years. The letter stressed not only their companionship, but by Islands.
“dusting off their microphones” they can again become resources to
their home communities in times of natural disasters. The
super
Leo’s “non-participation”, when I later called him on the “twisted pair”, op,
turned out that he had had a nasty bout of the fu which left him turned
hacking and coughing for two weeks. I can relate to that – I had one on
of those bouts some 10 years ago while living in Hamilton. No Fun! station, rotated beam, set linear output then promptly
I wish he had tried to check in and shared his plight with the rest of worked a station in Scotland, via the Internet.
us. That was his choice obviously. But the rest of us cared! To say the least we were all impressed.
Us “Old Geezers” have our aches and pains, don’t we know it, and He has several video cameras on the property so he can
life being what it is we should not be too proud that we cannot share see rotor and linear settings etc (and the sandy beach).
that with our friends. That’s what friends are for, eh? Who else can Wow! It was quite the eye opener.
we call “Stinky” or remind them of that time they had their heads in
the toilet on high school graduation night so many years ago? I recently worked Peter from my home station on 15 metres;
4x4 direct to Germany, then 5x7 to the Canary Islands
When I run one of our club’s nets, and before I fnally sign off, I try to through the remote base.
encourage the “shy ones” – and I know they are out there – to press
the button again and check into the net. Human nature being what it Peter has great pictures on his site at QRZ.com.
is, some of our ham friends want to keep their life’s pains and ills and
losses to themselves. OK. But I do wish they would rather “share”. Ron McFadyen, VY1RM – Whitehorse, Yukon
(Past and founding President of the Yukon Amateur Radio
Andy Neimers, VA1FJT – Digby, Nova Scotia Association)
(Former “Friendly Jungle Telegraph” TCA columnist)

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