.: History
The callsign of
W7VO is held in honor of those
that have held it before me
Charles Newcombe, 6OU, (later W7VO, third from
right in back row) at the AARS Hamfest at Yosemite in 1934.
His son is 6GYX, 7th from the left.
(Click on the picture to see the full size version)
Mike is most likely the fifth
"caretaker" of the
W7VO callsign
(Seventh if you include the very early 7VO callsign used before the W prefix was
mandated in 1928). I really want to thank Steve, W3HF, Ron, W7VU (now a
SK), and Charles Newcombe III for
providing some of this early history..
History of
Callsign W7VO:
1922 (7VO)
M K Baughman (1904-1995*), Medford, OR
*This is a guess as to the dates. The only M K Baughman
found listed in the SSI Death records died in Akron, OH. He would have been 18 in
1922.
1929 (7VO)*
August H. Vogeler, (1906-1995), Jerome, ID
*As listed in Sept 1929 callbook. He should have been listed as W7VO, as the
FCC started using the W prefix in 1928. It is interesting that he was listed as
"portable", so he may have moved shortly afterwards. The SSI Death records show
him as living in Elko, NV, which would have been in the 6th call district in
1929.
1932-1935*
Fred L. Brown, Pasco, WA
*
dates are approximate. He was listed in a Fall 1932 callbook and was still
active as of Summer 1935. There are too many Fred Browns listed to
pinpoint the correct one for the dates of birth and death. The only Fred
L Brown in WA I could find in the SSI Death Records was born in 1920 and would
have only been 12 years old in 1932.
1947-1954
Charles B. Newcombe (1879-1954), Yerington, NV
Was originally 6UO,(issued in 1921), and an early pioneer in Nevada
amateur radio. He was assigned W7VO when he renewed his license
sometime shortly after Nevada was moved from the 6th into the 7th call district
in 1947. His son, also named Charles B. Newcombe (1916-1998), lived in Carson
City, NV and was 6GYX, then W7JOS.
(Click
on the QSL card to see full size version)
From W7VO's grandson, Charles Newcombe III; "Granddad began his
electrical career as a telegrapher and station agent on the Southern Pacific
Railroad. He was working in Carlin, NV when he met and married my grandmother in
1904. He worked for a shortline railroad near Yerington, NV (Nevada Copper Belt
RR) from about 1910 till 1916 and then opened a battery shop in Yerington in
1917 that became a combined gasoline service station and radio shop which he
operated until his death in 1954. He and my dad were active in the Mars network
during WW II.
They were 6UO and 6GYX at the time of an AARS Hamfest in Yosemite
Valley in 1934, as you will see in the attached picture. Granddad was 54 at the
time, while my dad was 17. I note that all the notation on this picture are
absent the W prefix, which, from all I can gather, was added in 1928".
1954-1971
Call was not assigned.
1971-2006
Howard "Andy" Andreasen (1923-2006), of Cave Creek, AZ
(Click on the QSL card for a full
size version)
Andy's previous call was W0LRY when he
lived in Des Moines, IA prior to "retiring" to AZ in 1971. Andy had a storied electronics career both professionally and
within amateur radio, and was a mentor to many. An avid DXer, (especially on
160M), he had an
impressive station in AZ.
He is credited by many as the inventor of the
famous transformer-less "5 tube radio", (which revolutionized low cost radio for
the masses), when he worked for Motorola in the 1940's. Late in his life he was
still inventing, and received
patent number
5990791 for an anti-shoplifting tag device for clothing. Dave,
W0LHA is quoted as saying "Whatever Andy did, he did BIG. During WW II he
was in charge of a radar site, and modified the equipment so it put out 4-5
times the power it was rated for". That, it seems, is how Andy lived his life.
From Mike, K7NRA; "I first met him through powerboat racing. He used in
inboard jet boat as a patrol/safety boat for our races at Firebird Lake, and was
quick to volunteer his technical expertise to come up with neat electronic
goodies.... He created a 'radar' speedometer for boats that was very accurate.
His company, Delevan Electronics produced microwave and ultrasonic transducers.
His late wife Marilyn was a SCCA licensed racer, and drove a vintage MG (or
Healy, I'm not sure which). Andy was into obscure muscle cars, such as the GM
Syclone, a supercharged 4WD pickup truck. His favorite toy was a Toyota Supra
Turbo that had automatic ride height adjustment and a wing that set itself for
the speed driven (over 170 MPH). He had his favorite test road, an abandoned,
but maintained stretch of highway that was cut off by the interstate near the
nuclear power plant west of Phoenix. Quite a ride!
You would envy his antenna farm, which consisted to two 120 foot commercial
towers on his 5 acre property, one with a 40M beam on top."
Andy himself raced a Jaguar XK-120 with the SCCA
while living in Des Moines in the 1950's. (This is somewhat eerie for me, as
I also was active with the SCCA for many years racing my Plymouth
Barracuda). Click on the program below to see the full size copy of a race
entry list
Andy sums it up well in a letter he wrote
to Wayne, W0YDI of his retirement life in 1984; "At last I have time for
all my hobbies. Boats (19 ft Hallett flatbottom with a 500hp 454 engine,
Motorcycles (FJ100 Yamaha -- XS 1100 Yahama -- YZ 490 Yamaha Motocrosser), a PU
and three cars. Ham radio (W7VO) with a 2 acre antenna farm. Doesn't that make
you ill? What the hell does a 61 year old coot need with these play-toys? Well
I'll tell you -- The rest of the world may change -- I'm not going to change
until forced to do so!" That was the way Andy lived his life.
More from Terry, W7KW; Andy was my Elmer
for many years and we were good friend until his death. As a matter of fact
I helped the family dispose of his radio equipment after he passed away.
Andy was a great guy and very sharp. There are several patents registered
in his name. Andy's favorite band was 160 meters and this is where we met.
His QTH was at the end of road from my current QTH. He had 2 verticals for
160. For many years they were phased but near the end of his time on the
air I rewired the system to use only 1 of the towers. The system stayed that
way until he went SK. After Andy's death his family gave the 160 Meter
towers to me and I currently have them in storage at my QTH. Someday I
would like to put them back in service.
Many thanks to W7VU (SK), K7NRA,
W0YDI, W0LHA, and W7KW for providing history on Andy.
2008- ??
Michael Ritz
(History still to be made!)
ntennas.
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