[Elecraft] Elecraft CW Net Announcement

[Kevin Rock]

Good Evening,
    On July 27, 2003 I worked the twelfth operator to check in to my little  
net.  I was very green at the job, this being only the sixth time I had  
run them and was basically playing it by ear.  Then Tom Hammond arrived.   
He helped me organize the nets a little differently and then called them  
for me as a relay station and then as an alternate net control.  He  
worried in his emails to me that he was taking over.  I told him not to  
pay attention to that thought and keep helping me get better.  For many  
years he did so; assisting me in my skills at NCS and in CW.

    I had heard about the OzarkCon QRP get together and thought I could  
travel there.  I told Tom and he was happy to find a way to get there.  I  
flew to Oklahoma City to meet my mentor KL7V, Sam Binkley (now N4SAM).  He  
had been helping me with CW since I could barely spell 'cat'.  He had  
taken me from a very shaky 5 wpm to over 20 wpm in daily hour long skeds  
which made my hands shake and my brain weary.  He graciously welcomed me  
into his home for the night and then we (Sam, his wife Marijo, and I)  
drove to Joplin, Missouri the next day.

    I had just taken my gear to the room after checking in and saw a  
strangely familiar silhouette which gave me a clue that Tom was there.  I  
walked up to him and started a conversation like we had known each other  
for years; well, because we had.  Then Jeri gave me a hug in greeting and  
we were off.  She was about to tell me something when Tom shushed her.  He  
wrote a quick email to Wayne who gave his permission.  That is when Tom  
told me about the K3.  The first person to know about it at OzarkCon.  He  
gave me many of the design details on a flash drive.  I still have those  
somewhere and most of the details came true.

    For the next couple days I tagged along behind him and watched and  
listened.  I sat down for a few presentations and was accosted by folks  
happy to meet me.  ECN does open doors for me.  I also got to
listen to a group of banjo pickers, fiddlers, and story tellers which made  
it hard to leave.  Sam found me almost asleep sitting in a chair leaned  
against the wall as the folks played on to tell me he was off to bed.  He  
knew right where to find me.

    I had a great weekend there at OzarkCon with the two most important  
mentors I have had in amateur radio.  I got to know Tom face to face as  
well as I had known him on the air and via email or phone conversations.   
He was just as great in person as he was via the other mediums.  Listening  
to him teach was also enlightening and I have used those lessons while  
doing my own teaching for the local ECOM group.

    Thank you Tom Hammond for all the good times, for all the lessons, and  
for all the fine memories.  Thank you for helping me with ECN for so many  
years.  Telling you that you will be missed does not plumb the depth to  
which you have touched my life.  Thank you old friend.  May you rest  
without pain or worry.

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    If anyone is interested in acting as a relay station on either net
please email me.  I will turn the net over to you for a few minutes so you
can call areas in my skip zone.  It sure would prove helpful to those I
cannot reach directly.

Please join us tomorrow afternoon and evening.

1) Hail signs  (first letter or two of the suffix of your call)
2) NCS help  (as well as QSP/QNP <relay> help)

Sunday 2200z (Sunday 3 PM PDT) 14050 kHz
Monday 0000z (Sunday 5 PM PDT)  7045 kHz

     Stay well,
        Kevin.  KD5ONS

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