This weekend came and went without much incident. I hosted a Jamboree On The Air event station for my Boy Scout troop where they could talk with other scouts world wide over the radio. It was successful as our scouts got to talk with other scouts in various parts of the US and Canada.

 

The most distant scout troop we talked with was in Toronto, and the longest conversation we had was for over an hour with a troop in Santa Barbara, CA. Everyone got a chance to talk to other scouts over the radio, and since we did make international contacts, they will be getting the International JOTA patch, as well as the BSA JOTA patch. 2 patches for one event is a winner!

I did JOTA with my scouts for years in Fairhope before I moved, and this was my first time talking on HF up here. Signals propagate a bit different up here than they did in Alabama, so reaching Europe and South America was a bit of a no-go. But we all had fun and I got to spend quality time breaking in my new radio. It is absolutely amazing !!Looking forward to doing this again next year!

While I find ham radio fascinating to some extent, the kids... well they have always had the entire world at their fingertips. They can talk to anyone in the world instantly. Using HF radio, is a bit of an art form and I often compare it to an Easter Egg hunt... you just never know WHAT you'll find on the other end. 

When the boy's obligation to speak on the radio was over, I took the time to enjoy some conversation with other hams on the radio. We actually do talk about more than just radios, antennas, and nerd stuff. I spoke with a ham that had the exact same radio I did and I told him the radio was new to me, and I told him about the story of my departed friend James... and how I hoped to one day get to talk cross-country to him over this very radio with is own ICOM HF radio. Sadly, that day will never come, but James' story was spread over the airwaves to other hams listening and I hope that they too will cherish every day God has given us with our friends. I know his wife is hurting deeply for just one more day with him. I wish I would have just visited him when I had the chance this past summer.

Keep your fiends close, your enemies closer, and the people that "get you" even closer. They say you die twice. Once when your body dies, and the 2nd time when the last person speaks your name. I hope James' spirit lives on for many, many years.

We often joked about "greasy hams" because they were a bad thing and did a lot of shady stuff.... but looking back on it now, I'm proud to have been one along side my secret agent man sharing the greasiest of the greasiest ham radio ideas. 

Done with the computer for the night. Signing out.

W4IRQ, clear.

Bittersweet salutations

        Usually when a ham (amateur radio operator) gets a new radio, it's a time of jubilation and optimism...  a time of reflection of where we have been in the hobby, where we are now, and where we want to go.  My new radio arrived today and while I'm over the moon about ordering in and having it, ir's a reminder of a QSO (ham slang for radio conversation) that will never be.... because my world was upended a week ago today.

 

My new HF radio. An ICOM IC-7300

        Last week I lost a good friend to COVID. I had the privilege ow working with him 5 years as a radio technician in Baldwin County, Alabama. When he started, I learned he was a ham operator as well, and we had good chemistry. He was hired to work on computers and such, while I was the lone radio guy. I tried to "cross train" him as much as I could, just so we could hang out ON the clock and give him a break from the computer mayhem.

 

         Through the times we worked together, we would get bored with the status quo of government radio comms and amateur radio comms. We concocted all kinds of shenanigans to really spice things up in the radio world. Some were just innocent fun and some would have gotten us in hot water with the FCC and I'm sure DHS. Nothing malicious.... we just liked the idea of pushing boundaries and breaking the moldy stereotype of ham radio operator. We wanted to make ham radio fun again... not just people sitting around talking about doctor visits, health problems, and some clapped out 30 year old radio held together with duct tape.

        James and myself both worked in the hemisphere of Emergency Management. I was a COML, COMT, & COMT trainer. In the Emergency Management world, I was THE comms "ace in the hole" that could get phones, networks, wifi, and radio comms up and running in the field after a disaster or planned event where comms were needed. I was a McGyver of sorts. I trained people to fill my shoes.... James was one of them. He took my week long class in 2015 I believe and passed everything with flying colors. He even had special work after the class he had to complete. I gladly worked with him to help him be successful. He was a very smart guy, and he liked Arby's as much as I did. He was a brother from another mother. He got me... and that's rare.

            I left the county in 2017 and spent the last 4 in Washington state. We chatted all the time. I even tried to get him on board with my company, working in radio comms but he didn't like the idea of traveling. I get it. My work is a lifestyle, not a job. Being in such tight quarters where i live, it's been impossible at best to put up a big enough antenna for us to talk over the radio to each other. Sure, we could just talk on the phone, but where is the fun in that? Us hams setup comms and talk globally where there were no comms or infrastructure before. It's a fun challenge with an Easter egg of an award. I one day wanted to chat with James over the radio from 2700 miles away. It's doable if we played our cards right.

        Fast forward to 6 weeks ago. I was planning a Boy Scout campout where I was going to teach some radio stuff for Radio Merit Badge, as well as setting up an HF radio station for us to try to talk to other scouts worldwide over the radio that weekend. I had the perfect plan, enough room at the scout camp to setup an antenna. Now, I'd finally get to talk to my "secret agent man" (he was British by the way and we often talked about 007 and spy films) over the radio. Maybe do some clandestine com ops or something fun for the kids.... who knows. We always had fun with radio.

        From his wife's post on Facebook, I learned both him and his lovely wife Danon had COVID. I lost 2 friends to COVID already and Danon seemed to bounce back but James was admitted to the hospital. I chatted with James at the hospital. I kept it short because I wasn't aware of where he was in his prognosis.. I wished him a very speedy recovery and I needed him to get well so he could help me with my upcoming radio campout. The last thing he told me was "thanks".

        Days later, my man wasn't doing so great and the doctors put him in an induced coma to allow his body to heal from the virus. My friend that passed in June, spent 3 months on one... but he never made it out also... but James was a fighter. I mean, this would give him a break from his low pay, low morale job for a bit till he got stronger. His condition worsened over the next few days. He was on a ventilator and we all prayed for his healing. His wife kept us all up today on James. We couldn't be there but she made us feel like we were right beside her in the waiting room cheering him on. We all needed our James back. 

        As weeks went by, things seemed to be looking up. James was brought out of the coma and was able to facetime with his wife. Although he couldn't speak, he was able to listen and respond by squeezing the nurse's hand. Danon even said she cried when she saw him open his eyes.... I'll admit I got a little misty-eyed too as I read her words. I felt our boy was on the right track. James' condition kinda rollercoastered over the next week it seemed. Danon still faithfully kept us filled in on James, over Facebook. I feel it was an outlet for her too. She didn't owe us anything, but those of us who enjoy writing can attest to it's therapy. I feel writing optimism was cathartic for her. 

        With the clouds above James seeming to part, I started thinking about getting to once again talk with him on the radio. Hell, I would have even settled for another IM from him... just to know he was better. As I started going through my radio gear for the upcoming campout, I realized how old and outdated some of it was. I discovered my main HF radio I owned, was worth MORE on the used market than a current generation one. With the idea I could upgrade to the latest technology gear for most likely no cost, and get a fresh radio to talk with James about, I pushed the button and made my order... last Monday morning 10/4/2021 before work.

        I bought a really nice ICOM radio. I've had several of them over the years and I've always enjoyed their intuitiveness and cutting edge technology. Plus, James had some ICOM gear too so that gave us even more to share notes about. I couldn't WAIT for James to get out and I could talk about my new radio with him. We shared pics and stories all the time of new radios we'd pick up from somewhere. We enjoyed tinkering. This radio opened up a lot of worlds and I couldn't wait to hear him on it once he got out of the hospital.

        I went to run some quick errands and before I got out of the Jeep, I decided to check on Danon's page to see how our 'old boy" was feeling today. At 10:30 am, I read Danon's post that James had passed away. I sat there in complete silence as I read her post...  At first, I thought I misunderstood the way she said he was in the arms of the Lord. Yeah, he has been and he's been taking care of James. But as my mind ground to a halt, I realized that she was not just asking for prayers...  James was gone> What the bloody hell?!?! As I sat there reading her words over and over, tears ran down my face... and I cried for a long while... still sitting in the car unable to move. My secret agent man was gone. 

        Fast forward a week to today. My long awaited order came in with my new radio gear. as I said in my opening, a day like this is met with celebration. Today it was met with mourning. I fully intended to hear James' voice come out of that radio speaker one day. But God had bigger plans for him. I slowly unboxed my gear, thinking about my departed friend. I set it all up tonight to test it and before I powered that radio on, I thought about James and the journey we took from strangers, to coworkers, to friends and how he influenced me to be a better person. 

       
        As I pressed that power button, the screen lit up and I thanked James for the good times we had in our radio adventures. He'd love this radio but I would have loved hearing his voice over it one last time.
I dedicated my radio in the honor of my friend James tonight. I'll always think of him when I use it to talk with others around the world. James had some nice gear himself and I hope that perhaps his wife Danon would  one day be able to use it and perhaps I can one day at least speak to her over the invisible airwaves and maybe hear his spirit over the speaker. That will have to do. but I'll take it.

        This page is dedicated to the memory of my departed friend, and brother in Christ. I'll miss him dearly, but his spirit and pursuit of radio hyjinks will live on . Lots to talk about but this intro is enough for now. :-)

Rest in peace mi amigo.

73's.

Jason