73 saying 73

From: stevew <stevew_at_ka6s.com>
Date: Fri Oct 24 09:22:04 2003

Just wanted through my two cents worth concerning Mr. Green.

I've been licensed since 1974 (17 at the time) and have seen him twice in
person. The first is actually some what related to this list considering it
was the very first personal computer convention held in Albuquerque, NM in
1975. Now I had only been licensed for a year but already had a low opinion
of Mr. Green. Seeing him walk around with his entourage didn't change that
opinion much.

The thing I remember most about the convention was the Home-brew section.
There was one guy out of maybe 6 displays that had done the following (and
appropriately blew me away.) He took a HW101 (heathkit SSB transceiver) and
built an RTTY modem. He also built a digital control for the transceiver
that allowed computer control of the frequency. He used his Altair to work
an RTTY radio contest automatically! It was sitting there working contacts
as he described it. He was perhaps 24. That was one hell of an engineering
demonstration to my teenage eyes.

I recall Mr. Green walking by and putting down that particular display. That
didn't impress me either!

Now fast forward to perhaps 1995. I sat behind him at an ARRL convention, and
was rather frail looking. At that point I actually felt sorry for him -
imagine THAT!

Through the years I've also known a couple guys that knew him because they
were local to his home area. Both friends didn't speak very well of him from
that angle either.

I've never subscribed to 73 mostly because of his hair-brained ideas. I have
looked at it upon occasion. All things considered, I'm still sorry to see the
mag pull the plug.

Steve Wilson, KA6S
Received on Fri Oct 24 2003 - 09:22:04 BST