[WIham] Ham Radio Publications Pioneer, Visionary, Iconoclast Wayne Green, W2NSD, SK

[Mark Thompson]

http://www.arrl.org/news/ham-radio-publications-pioneer-visionary-iconoclast-wayne-green-w2nsd-sk

Ham Radio Publications Pioneer, Visionary, Iconoclast Wayne Green, W2NSD, SK

09/15/2013 
Wayne S. Green II, W2NSD (“Never Say Die”), of Hancock, New Hampshire, died 
September 13. He was 91. A well-known and often outspoken figure during what 
some consider Amateur Radio’s golden years in the 1950s and 1960s, Green helmed CQ Magazine for 5 years before becoming the self-proclaimed “El Supremo 
and Founder” in 1960 of 73 magazine, which he published until 2003.
“The purpose of [73] at that time was to get more hams building 
equipment,” Green recounted in a radio 
interview several years ago. A hallmark of 73 was Green’s 
iconic, rambling, and wide-ranging “Never Say Die” editorials, in which he 
rarely missed an opportunity to tweak the ARRL and his magazine competitors for 
their perceived shortcomings. In 2012 Green contributed back issues of 73 to Internet Archive.
“Wayne will be remembered in many different ways by many different people, 
but he will be long remembered,” said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. “He 
maintained his membership in the ARRL despite being a persistent critic. In the 
early days of packet radio he gave me some good advice as to how the ARRL should 
promote the new technology: ‘Talk about it as if everybody’s doing it, and 
eventually they will be.’”
Indeed, Green often was ahead of the curve in promoting such technologies as 
single-sideband phone, solid-state, FM, and the marriage of computers and ham 
radio, and he went on to found and publish Byte and other 
computer-oriented publications. “I live mostly in the future,” Green was quoted 
as saying.
Former ARRL Contributing Editor Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, once wrote in his 
“Surfin’” web column, “We take computers and the Internet for granted today. I 
first became interested in computers when Wayne Green, W2NSD, started writing 
about them in 73 magazine in the 1970s. Back then, you had to build your 
own from scratch or from kits.”
Green maintained a larger-than-life presence, even in the years after he 
faded from the Amateur Radio spotlight, and he never did really retire. “Hey old 
buddy, I will miss you,” radio talk show host Art Bell, W6OBB, posted to Wayne 
Green’s blog. 
“NEVER SAY DIE is a phrase that will be with me till it’s my time.” Green was an 
occasional guest on Bell’s “Coast to Coast AM” overnight talk program. There 
hardly was an issue that Green would not confront, and he expounded a variety of 
unconventional science, health, and medical theories — from cold fusion and the 
moon landing to AIDS and cancer cures. He continued to write and speak 
frequently on these topics and others, as well as on public policy, even at 
hamfests where he was a guest.
The “Final” in his blog sums up Green’s overarching philosophy. “Wayne Green 
passed away September 13, 2013 in a peaceful, painless transition from this life 
on Earth. An eternal optimist, and one who loved to share his never-ending zest 
for life, he was a friend to many and will be missed greatly. Wayne was not 
afraid of dying and was very much ready to embark on his next great adventure to 
the afterlife.”