WEBVTT 00:00:10.089 --> 00:00:12.830 Thanks for tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on 00:00:12.830 --> 00:00:30.769 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:30.769 --> 00:00:33.509 tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:33.810 --> 00:01:01.829 Please stand by. Good evening, everyone. This 00:01:01.829 --> 00:01:05.409 is HamTalk Live, episode number 73 and a half, 00:01:05.609 --> 00:01:10.109 a tribute to dad WB9UKG recorded on Thursday, 00:01:10.230 --> 00:01:16.109 July 20th, 2017. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. 00:01:16.109 --> 00:01:20.010 Thanks for tuning in to this episode of HamTalk 00:01:20.010 --> 00:01:24.310 Live. Tonight, we're taking a little different 00:01:24.310 --> 00:01:29.569 turn on things. We're going to suspend our usual 00:01:30.789 --> 00:01:36.750 format for the show I'm pre recording this show 00:01:36.750 --> 00:01:43.930 Because it's it's an emotional show and so I'm 00:01:43.930 --> 00:01:47.950 pre recording this one and Won't be taking calls 00:01:47.950 --> 00:01:52.109 and we will be a lot shorter tonight the reason 00:01:52.109 --> 00:01:58.409 for the change for Just this week is the same 00:01:58.409 --> 00:02:03.989 reason for The other show that was pre -recorded, 00:02:04.090 --> 00:02:08.389 and that's the death of a parent. A year ago, 00:02:08.750 --> 00:02:14.349 in a few months, my mother, WD9HE, passed away 00:02:14.349 --> 00:02:20.409 due to a variety of health issues. One o 'clock 00:02:20.409 --> 00:02:25.849 Monday morning, my father, Delbert Rapp, WD9UKG, 00:02:25.870 --> 00:02:31.340 became a silent key. For the last three months 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:36.460 he's been battling a fight with leukemia and 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:39.900 things happen pretty quick. Leukemia moves pretty 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:45.300 fast and we thought we had more time together 00:02:45.300 --> 00:02:50.479 but we didn't and once he went into hospice it 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:55.939 wasn't even 12 hours later that he passed away 00:02:55.939 --> 00:02:59.729 and so Things have been a little crazy around 00:02:59.729 --> 00:03:04.830 here. I didn't get a guest together and didn't 00:03:04.830 --> 00:03:08.030 feel like a live show was probably the thing 00:03:08.030 --> 00:03:11.469 to do this week. So I hope you'll indulge me 00:03:11.469 --> 00:03:17.270 in just remembering dad tonight. My dad started 00:03:17.270 --> 00:03:24.689 out with Ham Radio in high school. He went to 00:03:24.689 --> 00:03:26.889 Mount Vernon Township High School in Mount Vernon, 00:03:26.889 --> 00:03:30.680 Illinois. and took vocational electronics there. 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:35.060 And the teacher, Max Pemberton, K4HAX, which 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:40.080 I met and talked to several times on the air, 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:43.860 taught him about electronics and taught him about 00:03:43.860 --> 00:03:47.879 ham radio. And dad never did get around to taking 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:52.099 the test to get his license, but he always thought 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:54.099 that was something that he wanted to do at some 00:03:54.099 --> 00:03:58.719 point. So after he graduated and worked at the 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:01.759 dime store for a little bit, he took a job with 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:04.039 Thordison Meisner in Mount Carmel, Illinois, 00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:07.240 and they manufactured radios. They'd made some 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:10.199 electronic parts and transformers and circuit 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:12.979 boards and those kinds of things. So he worked 00:04:12.979 --> 00:04:16.459 in the manufacturing business for a while, and 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:21.439 that's where he met Mom. And they got married 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:24.439 and lived in Allendale, Illinois. for several 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:32.379 years. And then dad saw an opportunity at an 00:04:32.379 --> 00:04:34.879 appliance store in Vincennes, Indiana called 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:39.079 Westerns and they needed a repairman and they 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:43.139 needed somebody who did television repair especially 00:04:43.139 --> 00:04:45.800 so he went to work for them fixed washers and 00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:52.069 dryers and fixed televisions. And they tried 00:04:52.069 --> 00:04:55.990 to have kids, and after a few miscarriages, all 00:04:55.990 --> 00:05:01.230 of a sudden, I came along. And so dad decided 00:05:01.230 --> 00:05:04.689 he probably needed a more stable job to provide 00:05:04.689 --> 00:05:08.610 for his family. So he took a job at Good Samaritan 00:05:08.610 --> 00:05:12.189 Hospital. They needed a biomedical electronic 00:05:12.189 --> 00:05:16.259 technician, so he took a job there. Fixed everything 00:05:16.259 --> 00:05:19.620 from heart monitors to telephones to televisions, 00:05:19.620 --> 00:05:25.399 of course. Cut keys, made signs, fixed paging 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:29.540 systems, nurse calls, and anything electronic, 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:34.139 he fixed it. And that's where he retired from 00:05:34.139 --> 00:05:40.199 29 years later. But as he worked there, he made 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:43.399 some friends, and one of them was... doctor, 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:49.279 his doctor actually, Dr. Jackman. And I gave 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:52.339 him a box of some old electronic stuff that he 00:05:52.339 --> 00:05:54.980 was getting rid of and in that box there was 00:05:54.980 --> 00:06:00.639 a code oscillator. So one day when I was five 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:04.100 years old dad got the box of stuff out of the 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:07.420 closet and started trying to see if any of it 00:06:07.420 --> 00:06:10.839 worked and he started trying out the code oscillator. 00:06:11.290 --> 00:06:16.750 And it made beeps. And so I had to know what 00:06:16.750 --> 00:06:20.149 was going on. In fact, we had kind of started 00:06:20.149 --> 00:06:22.769 getting into the CB craze, which was big back 00:06:22.769 --> 00:06:27.269 in the 70s. And so my CB handle was a little 00:06:27.269 --> 00:06:30.670 shadow because everywhere dad went, I followed. 00:06:31.810 --> 00:06:34.829 Everything that dad did, I had to do. So if dad's 00:06:34.829 --> 00:06:40.149 making beeps with this box thing, then that's 00:06:40.149 --> 00:06:42.149 what I was going to do. So I had to know about 00:06:42.149 --> 00:06:45.449 it. So he showed me how to use a straight key. 00:06:46.230 --> 00:06:49.170 And so I just sent in a bunch of dits and does, 00:06:49.410 --> 00:06:51.930 you know, and had no idea what I was doing. But 00:06:51.930 --> 00:06:55.910 hey, it was fun. I could make noise with it. 00:06:56.410 --> 00:06:58.629 It wasn't much later, Dad read in the paper that 00:06:58.629 --> 00:07:01.610 there was a non -credit course at Vincennes University. 00:07:02.229 --> 00:07:05.069 And if you've listened to the demo, you've probably 00:07:05.069 --> 00:07:08.430 heard this story before on this show. There was 00:07:08.430 --> 00:07:11.689 a 13 -year -old age limit on the course, but 00:07:11.689 --> 00:07:14.490 it was a 13 -week course designed to help you 00:07:14.490 --> 00:07:17.509 get your ham radio license and teach the theory 00:07:17.509 --> 00:07:20.850 and the code to all the people who attended. 00:07:21.009 --> 00:07:24.250 So he signed up for the course. And he went on 00:07:24.250 --> 00:07:26.189 the first night, and there was a girl there that 00:07:26.189 --> 00:07:28.310 was just a little bit under the age limit, and 00:07:28.310 --> 00:07:33.430 it was Carol Smith. And so he said, well, you 00:07:33.430 --> 00:07:36.290 know, my five year old son likes to tag along. 00:07:36.769 --> 00:07:40.089 Can my five year old son come along and he'll 00:07:40.089 --> 00:07:42.970 just sit next to me and he'll be quiet. He won't 00:07:42.970 --> 00:07:45.170 disrupt anything. He won't cause any problems. 00:07:46.069 --> 00:07:48.430 And they said, well, we're not real sure, you 00:07:48.430 --> 00:07:50.790 know, about a five year old, but sure, you know, 00:07:50.889 --> 00:07:53.649 we'll give it a try. Bring him along and we'll. 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:56.199 We'll see how it goes. So he brings me along. 00:07:56.500 --> 00:07:59.060 And so again, you know, I had to do what dad 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:02.819 did. So he had his notebook and his pen to copy 00:08:02.819 --> 00:08:07.100 code. So I had my notebook and my pen and I started 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:10.300 copying code. And a lot of people looked around 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:13.379 and were amazed that a five year old could copy 00:08:13.379 --> 00:08:17.519 Morse code. So dad had the faith in me that I 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:19.699 could do it because I already knew my alphabet, 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:21.980 which was a little early for that. So he said, 00:08:22.100 --> 00:08:27.000 yeah, I think he can do it. And I did. And in 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:30.240 fact, because they were sure no one would believe 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:32.840 it, they passed around my code test afterwards 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:35.980 and had everybody in the room sign it to witness 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:40.620 that I'd actually passed the Morse code exam. 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:45.169 So then I took my written exam and got my license 00:08:45.169 --> 00:08:51.470 and on July 17th 1976 I got my novice license 00:08:51.470 --> 00:08:55.730 in the mail and dad was working overtime at the 00:08:55.730 --> 00:08:59.529 hospital and I decided that I wasn't going to 00:08:59.529 --> 00:09:03.950 wait so I turned on the radio and started looking 00:09:03.950 --> 00:09:06.470 around and mom was having a nervous wreck because 00:09:06.470 --> 00:09:09.870 she didn't know how to use the radio and there 00:09:09.870 --> 00:09:12.539 was her five -year -old just you know, cruising 00:09:12.539 --> 00:09:18.019 the band. So I went ahead and made my first contact, 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:24.019 got a hold of K3DIF in the DC area. And he was 00:09:24.019 --> 00:09:28.440 a writer for the Associated Press. And so word 00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:31.639 got out, come to find out I was the world's youngest 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:35.200 ham radio operator. And I know dad didn't ever 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:41.019 have that in mind. when he took me to the class, 00:09:41.139 --> 00:09:45.019 but that's the way it went. And it was because 00:09:45.019 --> 00:09:48.500 of his encouragement and his dedication to me 00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:53.000 that I accomplished that. And 41 years later, 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:56.779 here I am still doing ham radio and many of my 00:09:56.779 --> 00:10:01.000 friends are ham radio operators and have met 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:04.440 some fabulous people in this hobby and service 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:08.659 that we're in. It's been a big, big part of all 00:10:08.659 --> 00:10:12.500 of our lives. You know, growing up, a lot of 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:15.580 our vacations were just getting ready for a test 00:10:15.580 --> 00:10:19.259 and traveling to Louisville or Indianapolis to 00:10:19.259 --> 00:10:23.840 go take a ham test. Those were our vacations. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:29.059 Dad made the sacrifice to buy me a computer. 00:10:29.179 --> 00:10:32.159 He bought me a TRS -80 Model 3, if you remember 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:35.960 those things. because he knew computers were 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:40.200 going to be a big thing and he learned from my 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:44.039 experience with ham radio that I can do that 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:47.360 and I can do those kinds of things and so he 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:50.299 thought it was good that his son learned about 00:10:50.299 --> 00:10:53.879 computers and so he bought me a computer to use 00:10:53.879 --> 00:10:56.220 and he used it and I used it and I learned how 00:10:56.220 --> 00:10:59.919 to program and do things with it and that was 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:02.980 one of my first jobs was computer programming. 00:11:04.169 --> 00:11:08.409 was one of the only kids in the school who even 00:11:08.409 --> 00:11:13.730 used a computer let alone had one and so I was 00:11:13.730 --> 00:11:19.490 well prepared to use them in college and in my 00:11:19.490 --> 00:11:25.509 job and know what's going on with it and so his 00:11:25.509 --> 00:11:29.370 legacy continues as I'm teaching kids how to 00:11:29.370 --> 00:11:35.799 use ham radio how to use computers, how to do 00:11:35.799 --> 00:11:39.960 chemistry. Those are things that I learned because 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:45.120 of dad's commitment. He didn't know that that's 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:47.000 the kind of ham that I was going to turn out 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:52.799 to be. But he had faith in his son. And he sacrificed 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:57.940 for his son and made sure that I had learning 00:11:57.940 --> 00:12:03.490 opportunities. And yeah, I might fail. But we 00:12:03.490 --> 00:12:06.129 can fix those things we can fix the mistakes 00:12:06.129 --> 00:12:13.789 he gave me a chance to do it and I can't be more 00:12:13.789 --> 00:12:18.169 grateful for that because It helped so much in 00:12:18.169 --> 00:12:23.230 school learning science and leading me into chemistry 00:12:23.230 --> 00:12:28.450 and thinking about medical school and and you 00:12:28.450 --> 00:12:32.059 know, I ended up teaching chemistry, but I've 00:12:32.059 --> 00:12:35.000 also always taught ham radio to young people 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:40.820 and we've talked on this show back on previous 00:12:40.820 --> 00:12:45.799 episodes about how to recruit kids into ham radio 00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:52.500 and set up school clubs back on episode 25 and 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:55.820 so I won't rehash all of that but one of the 00:12:55.820 --> 00:12:59.639 big things that we talk about is getting kids 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:03.590 interested in radio. instead of getting them 00:13:03.590 --> 00:13:08.009 interested in taking a license test. Once they 00:13:08.009 --> 00:13:11.309 get into it, then they want to take the license 00:13:11.309 --> 00:13:15.090 test so that they can do it on their own, like 00:13:15.090 --> 00:13:20.129 I did, and like many of my students have. I don't 00:13:20.129 --> 00:13:24.590 push the test. I push radio. And the ones that 00:13:24.590 --> 00:13:29.409 want to go on, they go on. The ones that don't, 00:13:29.529 --> 00:13:32.070 at least they know about it. They know what it 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:35.629 is. They know how it's useful. But many of them 00:13:35.629 --> 00:13:39.429 have gone on and made it a hobby and a service 00:13:39.429 --> 00:13:44.029 for themselves. And so his legacy continues on 00:13:44.029 --> 00:13:50.049 through me and through my students, and as they 00:13:50.049 --> 00:13:55.110 pass it on to more. So in remembering Dad, I 00:13:55.110 --> 00:13:58.389 want to remember his sacrifice, his commitment. 00:13:59.789 --> 00:14:04.370 encourage you to be more like dad, to give young 00:14:04.370 --> 00:14:08.909 people a chance and let them experience the joys 00:14:08.909 --> 00:14:13.529 of ham radio and electronics. This week has been 00:14:13.529 --> 00:14:19.269 tough. I was telling my girlfriend Julie that 00:14:19.269 --> 00:14:23.169 midnight on Monday that, well, we made it to 00:14:23.169 --> 00:14:27.409 July 17th and he can't die today. We've got 24 00:14:27.409 --> 00:14:31.009 hours to go. He can't. Do it today because this 00:14:31.009 --> 00:14:35.450 is the day that I got my ham license 41 years 00:14:35.450 --> 00:14:42.029 ago. It can't be on this day And an hour later 00:14:42.029 --> 00:14:48.669 we got the phone call He'd been hospitalized 00:14:48.669 --> 00:14:52.429 for about a week we got him into hospice and 00:14:52.429 --> 00:14:55.529 12 hours later or actually a little less than 00:14:55.529 --> 00:15:01.889 that That was it We had to say 73 much earlier 00:15:01.889 --> 00:15:05.590 than we thought, and definitely much, much earlier 00:15:05.590 --> 00:15:08.970 than I wanted. I know many of you have similar 00:15:08.970 --> 00:15:11.909 stories that your parents were the reason that 00:15:11.909 --> 00:15:16.210 you got into ham radio. And we've had some of 00:15:16.210 --> 00:15:19.850 those people on the show. We've talked about 00:15:19.850 --> 00:15:22.250 the Young Ham of the Year Award with Don Wilbanks 00:15:22.250 --> 00:15:26.649 and how that inspires young people to participate 00:15:26.649 --> 00:15:33.019 in ham radio. strive to reach new heights. We've 00:15:33.019 --> 00:15:37.500 talked to Sam Rose, KC2LRC, and Sterling Coffey 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:41.100 in Zero SSC about youngsters on the air and trying 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:46.539 to get a camp together like they have over in 00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:50.419 Europe for young people. We've talked to Michael 00:15:50.419 --> 00:15:54.799 Coulter, WHCI, about the Dave Coulter Memorial 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:58.860 DX trips. in memory of his brother who passed 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:02.779 away. We've talked to young hams like Marty Salloway, 00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:09.340 KC1CWF, like Schuyler Fennel, KD0, WHB, Bryant 00:16:09.340 --> 00:16:15.600 Rascal, KG5HVO, Hannah Veal, W0ANT. We've talked 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:20.480 to people that lead young people like Jim Wilson, 00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:25.519 K5ND, and Carol Perry, one of my mentors, WB2MGP. 00:16:25.690 --> 00:16:30.389 And so a lot of the shows here on Am Talk Live 00:16:30.389 --> 00:16:33.190 have been about young people and that's why. 00:16:34.129 --> 00:16:38.710 Because my dad had the faith and the responsibility 00:16:38.710 --> 00:16:43.629 to make sure I was educated and had a chance 00:16:43.629 --> 00:16:47.950 to make a few mistakes and had a chance to learn 00:16:47.950 --> 00:16:51.970 about all of these things that created lifetime 00:16:51.970 --> 00:16:58.139 friends that gave me the experience to help students 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:02.559 find ways to give back to the community, to learn 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:06.220 about science, to learn about technology. As 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:10.279 I go over the obituary we've been working on 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:13.019 for the funeral on Saturday, there's a lot of 00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:16.380 call signs here. Took the obituary for the story 00:17:16.380 --> 00:17:20.839 over on Newsline. I put all the call signs in, 00:17:20.839 --> 00:17:26.569 so let me just kind of skim. This for you. So 00:17:26.569 --> 00:17:31.970 dad was WB9UKG, mom was WD9HE, survivors include 00:17:31.970 --> 00:17:37.690 WB9VPG, his sister Wilma KA9JJX, who by the way 00:17:37.690 --> 00:17:43.329 was married to Ed AA9EE, and his sister Violet, 00:17:43.930 --> 00:17:51.650 and his stepbrother James Lewis WB9ZBJ. Officiating 00:17:51.650 --> 00:18:18.019 the funeral, Ken Wells. It's been a ham radio 00:18:18.019 --> 00:18:23.099 family from the time I was five years old. I 00:18:23.099 --> 00:18:27.339 can't thank him enough for the insight to let 00:18:27.339 --> 00:18:31.180 me do that. 41 years later, I'm doing a show 00:18:31.180 --> 00:18:34.079 about ham radio. I'm working with a great bunch 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:36.799 of people over at Amateur Radio Newsline, which 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:40.440 they've been very supportive this week, and I 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:43.460 can't thank them enough. And I'm teaching young 00:18:43.460 --> 00:18:48.220 people about ham radio. So tonight's show is 00:18:48.220 --> 00:18:54.319 dedicated to Dad. We say 73 to Delbert rap WB9 00:18:54.319 --> 00:19:03.039 UKG now a silent key So next week we'll be back 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:08.579 on our usual routine Sam Rose KC to LRC will 00:19:08.579 --> 00:19:12.000 be here. They'll be talking about the solar eclipse 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.099 Q. So party and We've got a bunch of great guests 00:19:15.099 --> 00:19:17.720 coming up. You can see that list ham talk live 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:22.819 comm as those are scheduled in. So I hope you 00:19:22.819 --> 00:19:25.920 can join us for those. And that's where we're 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:29.380 going to leave it tonight. So thanks for tuning 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:33.559 in, for listening. Hope I've encouraged you to 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:36.839 help our young people. So this is Neil Rapp, 00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:44.299 WB9VPG, saying 7 -3, 7 -5. And as always, may 00:19:44.299 --> 00:19:46.839 the good DX be yours.