Very sad news. The passing of a legend. I remember hearing "zulu zulu" from A73A back in 2012. My only NA on 160 in the CQ WW SSB.
Tree N6TR On Fri, Oct 19, 2018 at 10:10 AM k1zm--- via Topband <topband@contesting.com> wrote: > Hello Gang > > > I am truly saddened to have to pass along the contents of an email I just > received from Carl Leahy who was one of Jack Leahy, VE1ZZ's sons. > > > It is short and sweet - but I will add some personal comments after > sharing his note to me. > > > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++= > > > > > > Carl Leahy carl.leahy1@gmail.comHide > > To > k1zm k...@aol.com > > > > Jeff, our family wanted you to know that dad passed away last evening. If > you could let the people in the ham world know we would really appreciate > it. It was a very big part of his life . He had just been talking about you > and the book you gave him a few years ago.. > > > Carl Leahy > Signing off for VE1ZZ 😞 > > > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > > A few comments from my memory now follow - as best I recall them: > > > VE1ZZ was not only a personal friend to many of us - he was probably one > of the finest Topband Dx'ers ever to have lived. He goes back to not long > after W1BB came back on the band at the end of WW!! - and was one of the > strongest signals I have ever witnessed on Topband. His signal was almost > LEGENDARY all over the world. EU stations used to say - "He is almost as > loud when he calls in Asian pileups as the EU callers are over here"...and > that says it all! > > > Jack Leahy was personally responsible for my migrating to VY2ZM and was > here at my home twice - once is 2002 and once in 2012. I last visited him > and Opal (his XYL) in August of 2014 with Mike OE6MBG who wanted to meet > Jack and see his QTH . > > > When I finally had the time after building my house here on PEI to visit > Jack which was probably in July of 2003 or 2004, at first blush his place > did not make a huge impression on me because it had only a short triangular > portion of land at the road in the Head of Jeddore NE of Halifax - and the > land rose rapidly behind his home. One initially wondered "How does he get > out so well from here down at the road?" > > > The answer came shortly thereafter - Jack took me out behind the house - > and we climbed that hill - up and up and up for something like a MILE - it > was a pizza slice in shape and very wide at the top of the hill in the > woods - with only about 100 feet (if that) at the road front side of the > parcel. > > > Some distance up the hill was Jack's 160m 4sq array - which was made of > ROHN 6 tower - that was sitting on 18 wheeler truck tires as base > insulators. The towers were not tall - perhaps 55 feet or so and the rest > of each radiator was wire - so it was really a WIRE inverted L 4sq. Jack > was the "ultimate scavenger" and his radials were all 1-2" diameter pieces > of HARDLINE!!! Hundreds of them all over the hillside I think he had a > friend in CATV or at his local dump - but he got most of it for next to > nothing he said. > > > From that point of his land, he could reach around the HILLTOP on 160m to > acquire a clear shot to EU and the South was wide open and to the SW was > also clear looking over the water. Looking straight up the hill was > probably blocked to some degree - but often this does not matter all that > much on Topband. > > > The day I was there was shortly after Jack had managed to communicate > across the pond on what I think was 600m - I may be wrong about the > frequency - but the antenna he used to make the SLOW SLOW SPEED CW contact > was something out of this world! > > > It started about 1/3 of the way up the hill - and ran all the way to the > rear of the property to near the furthest reaches of his land - and this > was a LONG LONG LONG walk to get there - through some land that I recall > was swampy. It had to have been at least 3000 feet long. > > > Part way up the hill, Jack had built a small shelter in which he placed > the BIGGEST homebrew loading coil I have ever seen. It was about 4 feet > tall and about 8 feet in diameter and wrapped around some kind of coil form > he had created. > > > Jack explained that it took him awhile to resonate the system to his > desired operating QRG - and this was done by taking a pair of alligator > clips and through trial and error he tapped the coil he made - trying to > use a DC ammeter to find the point of peak current into the system - which > he explained seemed to indicate the system was reasonably matched. > > > His was among the first to work across the pond with that antenna - just > one of his many achievements. > > > When I was in the US Navy stationed at Bremerhaven, Germany I used to > listen to Jack and W1BB on 160m. W1BB would sit around 1801, KV4FZ often > was around 1803 and Jack was down at the low end as well - calling CQ > listening QSX up at around 1825-1830 in what was then known as the "DX > Window". > > > Jack had a huge signal even then - using equipment that was popular in > that era. I recall a Hammarlund HQ 160 Rx or something close to that model > - there is a photo of that station from the late 1950's in my book "Dx'ing > on the Edge." > > > Jack's More Recent Station - Inside > > > When I first visited Jack in 2003/2004, it was in his old house - not the > newer one he built further up the hill some years later. The station was > vintage (much like my own on Cape Cod) - and Jack used a TS830 driving a HB > amp to something around a KW DC input. Jack's operating table gave me a > chuckle because there was only about 4 inches of space between the front > panel of the radio and the edge of the table. Jack was a "leftie" and > placed his paddle parallel to the front of the TS830 and did his best to > keep his forearm on the table while he sent. > > > Jack's keying system triggered a bunch of interconnected relays as he > operated and he had quite a number of vintage antenna switches which > selected his many Rx antennas. > > > After visiting his shack, Jack later showed me around other parts of the > rest of the house - and I recall several rooms CHOCK FULL of stuff most of > us would die for. One room was full of EIMAC xmitting tubes - 4-400's, > some 304TL's, some 4-1000A's etc > > > Another room had shelves loaded with vacuum relays and vacuum variables he > had collected over the years. Not one or two - but something like a 100 of > them. There were also rotary inductors for HB design and many other things > that made me drool. > > I think I remember a third room full of vintage ham radio gear as well. > Older stuff he had used previously over the years I guess. > > > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > > I will relate one story about Jack when I was operating at 7O6T over in > Yemen in 2012 I think it was. I was calling CQ arond 1823kHz waiting for > SS to occur in NA - and this bone crushing signal came at me that almost > blew me out of my chair. You can listen to this clip on my VY2ZM website - > and you will see what I mean. > > > I told Jack that I was operating in the snippet - and later asked him to > please tell me when OTHER NA stations were calling. I said, please do NOT > tell me the calls - just tell me that USA stations are now hearing me and > calling me. Jack did as I asked and about 15 mins later a very weak in the > noise caller was Dave Patten, NN1N who was probably 3-4 S units down from > Jack's signal. Dave's station is first rate - but there is something truly > magical about operating from the Maritimes along oceanfront property. It > is just how things work - Jack had what I call the "front door" to the NE > path and it often shows up as it did that evening at 7O6T. > > > Here's how to listen to what I heard: > > > 1) Go to http://www,vy2zm.com > 2) Select the sound bites tab > 3) Click on Sound Bite #4 and play VE1ZZ - Booming. > 4) If you also wish to hear NN1N's piece look further down the list to > hear the difference in signal levels. > > > JACK's last years > > > I last spoke with Jack in the summer of 2016. He told me he then had COPD > and that his amp needed repairs and that his antennas were largely broken. > I had heard him sparingly in 2015 and probably not at all in 2016 - and > that explained why. > > > > > JACK's 160m DXCC Achievements: > > > For many years JACK held the #2 position WORLD in the Topband DXCC > rankings. He finished his legendary Topband career at 334 countries > confirmed at position #6 in the current rankings. This is only a HANDFUL > of entities below that necessary to have qualified for DXCC HONOR ROLL - > single band 160M. His mild, unassuming manner was also the measure of the > man. He would stop DX'ing and work ANYONE who called him - which says alot > as well. His was a special person and I have always admired him and what > he managed to do in HAM RADIO. > > > Not only did he make DXCC on 160m - in the summers he got me hooked on 6M > and he had a 6M DXCC as well - just to keep himself occupied during the > summer doldrums on 160M. > > > I will close now and stop reminiscing about Jack - but I think it is > altogether fitting that we stop and pause a moment to remember this fine > 160M operator and gentleman and what he achieved on the band we all love to > operate. He will always occupy a special place in our memories of Topband! > > > 73 and thanks for the bandwidth. > > > JEFF K1ZM/VY2ZM > > > Email: k...@aol.com > > > > > > > Jeff Briggs > DXing on the Edge: The Thrill of 160 Meters > Available worldwide through BookBaby, Array Solutions, DX Engineering, > Royal Society of Great Britain, & Amazon > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________ > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband > _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband