[TNham] LB Cebik, W4RNL SK

[Greg Williams]

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/04/22/10059/?nc=1

L. B. Cebik, W4RNL, ARRL Technical Adviser and antenna authority, passed 
away last week. He was 68. An ARRL Life Member, Cebik was known to many 
hams for the numerous articles he wrote on antennas and antenna 
modeling. He had articles published in most of the US ham journals, 
including QST, QEX, NCJ, CQ, Communications Quarterly, Ham Radio, 73, 
QRP Quarterly, Radio-Electronics and QRPp. Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, QEX 
Editor, called Cebik "probably the most widely published and often read 
author of Amateur Radio antenna articles ever to write on the subject."

Cebik lived in Knoxville, Tennessee and wrote more than a dozen books on 
antennas for both the beginner and the advanced student. Among his books 
are a basic tutorial in the use of NEC antenna modeling software and 
compilations of his many shorter pieces. A teacher for more than 30 
years, Cebik was retired, but served as Professor Emeritus of philosophy 
at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

One of Cebik's last articles for QST, "A New Spin on the Big Wheel," 
appeared in the March 2008 issue. The article, co-written with Bob 
Cerreto, WA1FXT, looked at a three dipole array for 2 meters. This was a 
follow-up to their article in the January/February issue of QEX that 
featured omnidirectional horizontally polarized antennas. Cebik authored 
the "Antenna Options" for QEX; his last column appears in the May/June 
2008 issue.

Former ARRL Senior Assistant Technical Editor Dean Straw, N6BV, and 
editor of The ARRL Antenna Book, said, "LB will be greatly missed by the 
thousands of hams he's helped through his incredibly prolific -- and 
invariably proficient -- writing about antennas. LB helped me personally 
in numerous ways while I worked on antenna matters at the League, always 
communicating with a gentle, scholarly attitude and a real eye for 
detail. I'm in shock at the news of LB's passing. May his soul rest in 
peace."

Licensed since 1954, Cebik served as Technical Editor for antenneX 
Magazine. According to Jack L. Stone, publisher of antenneX, he had not 
heard from Cebik for a few days and became worried: "I called the 
Sheriff in Knoxville to go check on him since I hadn't heard from him in 
over 5 days, either e-mail or phone, which is highly unusual. The 
Sheriff [went to Cebik's house to check on him and] called back to tell 
me the sad, devastating news. As his publisher of books, monthly 
columns, feature articles and software/models for more than 10 years, we 
communicated almost daily during that span of time. Not hearing from him 
for that long was unusual, causing my concern. He was like family to me 
and was loved and respected by so many."

In a Web posting, Cebik fondly remembered his first QSO and how his 
father came to his rescue during his first contact: "I was licensed in 
1954 as both a Novice and a Tech, since then you could take both exams 
in one session and privileges were separate. My calls were W1APS and 
WN1APS. I got on the air for the first time with a ham a couple of 
blocks away, an fine old timer. However, I got key fright half way 
through. My dad, James S. (Jim) Cebik, came to my rescue and finished 
the contact, although he had not touched key in over 20 years. Jim Cebik 
had been 1ATG and later W1BUK in the late 1920s and early 1930s (and 
wrote a few articles on his experiments). He gave up Amateur Radio when 
he married in the depression years; the cost of parts were high and 
family came first. In fact, he rarely mentioned Amateur Radio, and my 
entry was independent via some high school comrades and a cousin. But he 
had not forgotten his CW or key skills and saved me from embarrassment 
on that first day. I returned the favor by renewing his interest in 
Amateur Radio and about 1964, he was relicensed and obtained his old 
W1BUK call which he used for very many years. He died in 2002 in his 
high 90s."

Cebik maintained a Web site, www.cebik.com, a virtual treasure trove to 
anyone interested in antennas. Besides a few notes on the history of 
radio work and other bits that Cebik called "semi-technical oddities," 
the collection contains information of interest to radio amateurs and 
professionals interested in antennas, antenna modeling and related 
subjects, such as antenna tuners and impedance matching. Cebik said that 
his notes were "geared to helping other radio amateurs and antenna 
enthusiasts discover what I have managed to uncover over the years -- 
and then to go well beyond."

His Web site also contains information on antenna modeling. His book, 
Basic Antenna Modeling: A Hands-On Tutorial for Nittany-Scientific's 
NEC-Win Plus NEC-2 antenna modeling software, contains models in .NEC 
format for over 150 exercises. "Since the principles in the book apply 
to any modeling software," Cebik said, "I have also created the same 
exercise models in the EZNEC format. For more advanced modelers using 
either NEC-2 or NEC-4, I have prepared an additional volume, 
Intermediate Antenna Modeling: A Hands-On Tutorial, based on 
Nittany-Scientific's NEC-Win Pro and GNEC. The volume includes hundreds 
of antenna models used in the text to demonstrate virtually the complete 
command set (along with similarities and differences) used by both cores."

ARRL Contributing Editor H. Ward Silver, N0AX, said, "LB typified 
generosity. He was always developing material that was published widely. 
Furthermore, the quality of the articles and concepts was always high, 
but the writing was such that an audience with a wide range of technical 
backgrounds could understand it. His Web site is a Solomon's Treasure of 
solid antenna information -- available to all."

Wolfgang remembered Cebik, saying, "L. B. was an ARRL Technical Advisor, 
with expertise in antenna modeling and design. I learned that I could 
count on L. B. to offer clear, concise comments on any submitted article 
dealing with antennas. He was always a friendly voice on the other end 
of my phone line when I needed to talk to an expert, and I came to 
expect a quick e-mailed response to any antenna questions that I sent 
him. L. B. was so much more than an antenna author, though. He was one 
of the first ARRL Educational Advisors I ever had the pleasure of 
working with when I became editor of the ARRL study materials. He played 
a key role in helping develop the concept of online courses when ARRL 
began to study the idea of the Continuing Education program; his Antenna 
Modeling course has been one of the most popular offerings in the 
program. L. B. leaves a legacy of friendly advice and Amateur Radio 
wisdom. I will miss him as a friend and as an advisor."

In his Web reminiscences, Cebik summed up his own life in Amateur Radio: 
"My Dad was a part of my Novice beginning in Amateur Radio, and I strove 
to send CW with a straight key so that one could not tell it from a 
keyer. He remains a strong part of my effort. He noted that the ham 
spirit is to give, if needed, the shirt off one's back to a fellow ham 
and to expect -- not its return -- but rather that it be passed on to 
the next ham who needs it."

-- 

Gregory S. Williams
gregwilliams(at)knology.net
k4hsm(at)knology.net

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