[EIDXA] W0GFQ SK

[Tom Vavra]

from the ARRL Contest Update for April 27


Uncle Leo to All
I got into the ham radio game a few years too late for the reign of World 
Radio Labs gear but my Novice QSL collection included many cards from other 
Novices bearing that self-confidence-building "My QTH" arrow pointing right 
to your station's location. (My QSLs were from the Little Print Shop.) It is 
now, much later, that I am learning more about what Leo Meyerson, WØGFQ who 
passed away last week at the age of 100, meant to so many. I pass the 
editorial baton to my friend Rich Strand, KL7RA, for his wistfully wry 
recollections of his relationship with "Uncle Leo".
73, Ward NØAX


Ham radio lost one of its finest members last week when Leo Meyerson, WØGFQ 
went Silent Key. At a recent gathering to help him celebrate his 100th 
birthday he mentioned he really didn't do that much for the hobby but as a 
young teenager with a new Novice license I can tell you that he did.
We called him "Uncle Leo" and he owned the magic ham radio store across the 
mighty Missouri river from Omaha, Nebraska [where Rich lived - Ed.] in 
Council Bluffs, Iowa. Every weekend I and my friends would try to make the 
pilgrimage to the World Radio Laboratories (WRL) just to walk the aisles of 
ham radio "stuff" and it was packed with "stuff". Of course all the famous 
WRL gear like the Globe King, Scouts and Chiefs with the Galaxy line, but 
also "stuff". All kinds of surplus military receivers and just about anything 
you could imagine as a kid but had no chance of buying ever in your life.
You may recall this video of G7VJR working K3LR with 0.1 watts on 40 meters - 
the two finally got to meet in person (G7VJR - left, K3LR - right) at the 
Visalia International DX Convention. (Photo by NØAX)
  On the way out the door there was a large wooden box of crystals. All on 
7173.333 kc and every Novice within three hundred miles had that frequency. 
It was Uncle Leo who told me not to keep the xtal's on top of the hot 
transmitter but to use his xtal holder case. I believe he also made xtals and 
I would skip lunch at school, so to speak, to have the few bucks to buy a new 
freq each visit. Back then a man's worth was measured in the number of rocks 
he had on the chief operating desk.
I bought a pair of headphones, probably WW2 B-29, and at 8 pounds with a head 
clamp pressure of 15 lbs per square inch just a tad uncomfortable. Uncle Leo 
to the rescue. I was able to find in the WRL the solution. What appeared to 
be toilet plunger cups were really headphone cushions that fit the B29 
headset perfect. And they were cheap. No mention of the fact they caused your 
ears to sweat and the cups would heat weld to the side of your head and soon 
dispense an awful smell. They worked great.
WRL had copperweld wire. I was going to be cheap and buy the 18 gauge but 
finally did things right for once and bought the 12. Very heavy roll tightly 
wound in a surprisingly small package. Trying to get the exploded slinky of 
wire out of my bedroom that evening is best described by my mom. I had the 
world's first 80 meter dipole that was only 20 feet long counting the "coils" 
and even after some high Nebraska winds didn't really stretch out that much.
Uncle Leo would give a Novice a free WAS map, in color. If you can find a 
1950-60's copy of Popular Electronics, look for the "Novice of the Month" 
column and often you would see that map on their shack wall. I hope all of 
you who covered Uncle Leo's picture with your QSL card have a few moments of 
guilt. I did.
The hams reading this from the 50-60's who knew Uncle Leo and the WRL, maybe 
got your first rig or built one of his transmitter kits and continued on in 
ham radio to be contesters, will recognize what he did for the hobby and we 
say, "73 Uncle Leo, BEST DX OM SK."
73, Rich KL7RA