[GreenKeys] W6OWP SK

[Larry W7JYJ]

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Forrest A. Bartlett, 
W6OWP.  Bart was 92 when he passed away Monday, July 3rd, 2006 in Paradise, CA, 
with his family by his side.  He was a long-time RTTY and CW operator who
was actively maintaining HF radio schedules with his many friends up until
a few weeks ago.  

Bart's interest in HF radio-telegraphy began back in the 1930's, leading to 
employment as a Morse intercept operator copying shortwave dispatches for 
the news department of Hollywood radio station KNX.  He later joined  Press
Wireless during WW-II, working at PreWi radio-telegraph stations in the 
Philippines.  He was a high-speed CW operator and was still able to copy
50-wpm Morse code a few months ago.   

After the war, Bart moved to the SF Bay Area where he worked at PreWi's powerful
HF transmitter station, then on the salt flats east of Belmont.  While working
for PreWi, Bart developed a radio multiplex system and was subsequently awarded
U.S. Patent #2,459,485 in 1949 for his invention.  

He subsequently acquired a Model 15 Teletype and began testing it in 1952 on
HF radio with a MAB (Make And Break keying) terminal unit of his own design.
In 1953 the FCC authorized amateur radio HF use of FSK.  Bart and PreWi
colleague Richie Hoeck, W6RZL, were ready when they made their first FSK RTTY
QSO shortly after midnight, Feb 20th, 1953 when HF FSK became legal. 

Bart was an early and very active member of NCARTS, the Northern California 
Amateur Radio Teletype Society.  He was also active in USAF MARS CW and 
RTTY nets during the 50's and 60's using an ARC-5 Command Set transmitter as
an exciter driving a surplus TCS rig as the primary transmitter and a TBW rig
as the backup transmitter.  He also used a B&W 5100B transmitter on the
higher frequencies.  The receiver was a Collins 75A-3 with mechanical filters.  

Bart also regularly operated 40-mtr AM mobile from his '32 Ford with ARC-5
Command Sets during his commute runs to and from the Belmont PreWi transmitter
station.

For several decades W6OWP sent the ARRL's West Coast Morse Code qualifying 
transmissions, originally with a Boehme keyer concurrently keying his TCS and
B&W 5100B transmitters on 80 and 40-meters.  A Kleinschmidt tape perforator 
was used to punch the tapes that fed the Boehme keyer.  After many years the
paper tape equipment was replaced by Commodore-64 computers.  Several years
ago these duties were passed to K6YR, with W6OWP acting as the backup station. 

In the late 60's PreWi was acquired by ITT and Bart moved on to work at ARINC,
where he did both shop and field work.  Field trips were generally monthly 
and involved servicing ARINC's remote radio sites as far away as Tonopah, NV. 
These field trips were in his 1969 Suburban company vehicle, equipped with 
ARC-5 Command Sets for mobile CW operation.  Bart kept the Suburban when he 
retired from ARINC to Paradise, CA in 1974.  He continued to operate mobile
CW with the Suburban and from his Dodge RV for many years. 

Bart and his wife Peggy enjoyed annual trips to Death Valley, along the
California and Oregon coasts and to son Cliff's family at South Lake Tahoe,
where they shared mutual interests in antique cars at Reno's Hot August Nights
car shows.  Another favorite trip was the annual SeaPac ARRL convention in 
Seaside, Oregon where Bart often met many friends and fellow ARINC retirees.    

Bart was a long-time RTTY and CW operator who will be missed by all who knew
and maintained schedules with him on HF RTTY and CW over many years.  His life
spanned a period of time covering tremendous changes in world-wide printing
radio-telegraphy communications.  There are not many of Bart's colleagues 
left.  Those that come to mind include W6RZL, W6MTJ, W2PAT, and W2NSD.  

--W7JYJ, Eugene, Oregon


Note:  Thanks to George, W7TTY, for posting Bart's letter on the early days of
       MAB and FSK radio-telegraphy at http://www.rtty.com/history/w6owp.htm.