[Elecraft] TOM HAMMOND, N0SS, SILENT KEY

[Nick-WA5BDU]

Tom was the first ham I met when I moved from AR to MO in 1981.  I ID'd 
on the repeater and there he was.  I bought a house across the river 
from Jeff City and so was in a different ham club, but did see him from 
time to time and will always remember a few things.

He was a big contester and had one of those cool new AEA CK1 memory 
keyers.  He removed the key pad from it and mounted it to the back of 
his paddle at right angles so the memory buttons would be just that much 
closer to his sending hand.

I was timidly working on putting a small A3 tribander on a 40 foot 
tower.  Tom suggested a big TH5DX but I said that's too big and might 
scare the neighbors.  So he proposed I put it at 75 feet and then it 
would look a lot smaller.

Years later he'd gotten into QRP and I saw him at OzarkCon.  Tom told me 
that Elecraft was working on something really big and he couldn't tell 
me more but I'd be impressed when it was announced.  Sure enough, the K3 
became my first Elecraft purchase.

A great guy and a great ham.

73-

Nick, WA5BDU