[HCARC] W5YI SK

[W4wj at aol.com]

SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX002
ARLX002 Fred Maia, W5YI, (SK)

ZCZC  AX02
QST de W1AW
Special Bulletin 2 ARLX002
>From ARRL  Headquarters
Newington CT March 30, 2012
To all radio amateurs

SB  SPCL ARL ARLX002
ARLX002 Fred Maia, W5YI, (SK)

The holder of one of  the best-known US Amateur Radio call signs,
Frederick (Fred) Maia, W5YI, died  of cancer Wednesday, March 28. He
was 76 and was a resident of Arlington,  Texas.

Fred was a leading Amateur Radio journalist for nearly 35 years  and
a pioneer of the volunteer examining program adopted by the FCC  in
1984.

Maia published "The W5YI Report," dubbed "America's Oldest  Ham Radio
Newsletter," from 1978 to 2003, and has been a CQ  contributing
editor since 1985. His regulatory affairs column, first  titled
"Ticket Talk," then "Washington Readout," offered news  and
perspective on FCC Regulations and ITU actions. His final column
will  appear in the May 2012 issue of CQ.

After the FCC adopted volunteer  examining for all levels of Amateur
Radio licensing in 1984, Fred became the  first Volunteer Examiner
Coordinator (VEC) appointed by the FCC. Fred  subsequently founded
The W5YI Group in 1986 to develop, publish and sell  amateur and
commercial radio license study materials. In the realm of  FCC
commercial radio licensing, Fred formed National Radio Examiners  to
provide examination services.

Maia served as President of the  W5YI-VEC until his retirement in
October of 2000 when he sold The W5YI Group  study material products
to Master Publishing, Inc. The retail operations were  purchased by
General Manager Larry Pollock, NB5X, newly appointed President  of
the W5YI-VEC and National Radio Examiners organizations. Maia
continued  writing "The W5YI Report" newsletter until July 2003.

A graduate of the  US Air Force Radio Operators School, Fred was an
avid CW operator. He was  first licensed as a teenager as W1NTK in
Brockton, Massachusetts, where he  grew up. Maia was later licensed
as W5UTT, and held DXCC CW awards and  EU-PX-A CW. He was a member of
QCWA and Life Member of the ARRL.

For  several decades, Maia also served on the National Conference of
Volunteer  Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) as a member of the Question
Pool Committee that  oversees the development and maintenance of the
Amateur Radio license  examination question pools.

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner,  K1ZZ, commented: "Amateur
Radio is healthier today because of the tireless  efforts of Fred
Maia. While Fred did not always see things quite the same way  as the
ARRL, in my experience he always had the best interests of  Amateur
Radio at heart. He was a major figure who will be sorely  missed."

He is survived by his wife, Doris, and two daughters. A  memorial
service will be held at 3 PM, Saturday, March 31, at Moore  Funeral
Home, 1219 North Davis Dr, Arlington, TX  76012.
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/EX