The AM Forum

Where has Wayne W2NSD been?

Since 73 ceased publication back in 2003, its almost like he dropped off the earth.
I used to get a kick out of his stories, comments and far out theories.
Is he alive, or just gone underground?
It does not appear that his website has been updated in a while.
I recall hearing him on Art Bell's show a few years back, but that was about it.

Interesting chap, wonder if he is still around?


73 Bruce W1UJR

(http://www.waynegreen.com/images/wg_sheriff.jpg)

Wayne can be seen weekly on his wacky ranting TV public access show as he discusses aliens and how they are mating with chickens and ordinary folks like you and me.

MCAM Public Access Channel 23 - His show is called Wise Up!!

We are so lucky to have this broadcasting resource of truth and all things weird in beautiful downtown Manchester NH... Mike

Wayne must really be getting up there in years!  I used to enjoy reading his rants in 73.....didn't agree with a lot of it, but his entrepreneurial spirit and his brain-storming about ways to earn money was kinda inspiring at times.  I remember one such article that gave suggestions for earning money for ham gear.  I enjoyed 73 magazine in the earlier days, but it became over-run with ads.  I also have always been an avid home-brewer and 73 was a good source for project ideas. 

I hope Wayne is alive and well!

73,  Jack, W9GT

Just about 3 years ago I took a trip up to see the headwaters of the CT River- Having grown up near the mouth I always wondered what it was like. Went part way after work on Friday and had dinner in  a small NH restaurant.

I picked up a local NH free travel magazine and son of a gun the editorial  (and editor) was good old Wayne himself. As I recall it was light on the aliens and politicians since the concept was to advance tourism by humans , not pod people, to NH

He remains as humble as ever http://www.waynegreen.com/wayne/says.html#beenthere (http://www.waynegreen.com/wayne/says.html#beenthere)

Nice to know Wayne is still out there helping shape the publics image
of ham radio  ;)

Thats what I always liked about wayne, he always wanted    to serve man...

Yeah, in Marietta College days...   I used to decide whether to eat or read. 35 cents for Wayne's rag usually won out.
...uh along with F&SF, Sky & Tele., P'boy or similar.  I'm pretty sure he took credit for single handedly starting up 2m FM. Anyway the circuits published were great and what with the almost unlimited supply of surplus stuff at MC a lot of boot, receiver stuff, 3RP1 scopes and other impressive rack fillers were built up.  How's that for passive voco and hanging participles?  I really impressed the glitteratti with my racks in the ol' apartment. Some studying was almost done... :)  My usual intro to the room was, "mmm an' how do you like my Christmas tree?"  Some fled, some stayed but almost all were shocked. (sorry)

I sent good old Wayne the following message, hope he joins us over here!

73 Bruce W1UJR

===========
Hi Wayne,

Some of your fans, and former readers, with many fond memories of 73 magazine, are wondering how goes life.
I know that you enjoy the chance to expound on things radio and otherwise, perhaps you'd like to stop in at the AM Forum.
You can find us at www.amfone.net, and the discussion is located at http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=11128.0

We would all love to hear from you on what is up since 73, how things are going, and your opinion on the future of ham radio.
Care to chime in?


73 Bruce W1UJR
www.w1ujr.net

I just sent off an email to Wayne reiterating what Bruce sent.  Would love to hear from the OM.

Reply from Wayne posted below:

On May 15, 2007, at 8:46 PM, W2NSD@aol.com wrote:

I'll give it a try. Thanks.
I'm very busy, writing and promoting my books, and doing a weekly TV show. You can watch the show on line at: http://www.mcam23.com/mpeg/movies/13SpecialtyTopics/WiseUP/
And you can keep up with me at www.waynegreen.com.
The Web still hasn't come up with a good way to call CQ, so until that happens, there's a place for ham radio. I loved it when I visited VK6RK in 1966 and he pulled out my 1946 QSL card. I've gotten on the air while visiting hams all around the world - the S-countries e.g, -- Sarawak, Sabah, Swaziland, Singapore, South Korea, Saint Lucia, Samoa (American), Samoa (Western), South Africa, Sweden, Saint Pierre, Syria, and Switzerland come to mind.

Wayne


**************************************
See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

Bruce,
Great that you contacted Wayne.  Just looking at his note and Wpage reminded me of the great Byte Mag. steal.   -How he started it and how others managed to hijack it away from him.

He's such a prolific writer and expounder that a lot of his stuff hits eventually...    statistically possible, of course.
Anyway he's really done a lot of what he says.  Hope he chimes in here occasionally.

Got the exact same thing.

Bruce, it will be very interesting if he takes you up on your invitation to visit here.

If I remember correctly Wayne Green is no friend of AM.

Don, K4KYV may recall more specifically, but I vaguely link him with supporting efforts to curtail and / or eliminate AM below 10 meters, and / or constrain power below historic levels once allowed for the mode.

Somewhat related, the other day I saw a posting (QRZ.com) establishing a memorial for the late Roy Neal, K6DUE, who had produced some ham-radio videos years ago.  It is sponsored or supported somehow by the Quarter Century Wireless Association, headed by onetime FCC staffer Johnny Johnston, K3BNS.

Johnston is quoted with some friendly remarks about preserving ham radio traditions that I found somewhat at odds with his strong anti-AM stance as author of an FCC proceeding that would have banned AM below 10 meters (the 1976 Docket 20777). Public opinion defeated the proposal, but Johnston more recently went on to oppose the establishment of working vintage AM gear at NN3SI, the Smithsonian station in Washington DC.

He is the station license trustee.

So, if Wayne Green and Johnston as detractors of AM can come around to a more progressive view of the mode and activity we enjoy, then so much the better. But my query of the QCWA regarding its stand on AM has not yet been answered.

We shall see.

I used to get 73 Magazine in the 80s & early 90s (remember the goofy price? -$2.49 1/2) .  Wayne's, Never Say Die editorials were interesting if you wanted to listen to some ranting.  I don't think I ever took them seriously.  KT2B, had a good VHF column, and some of the constuction projects were pretty cool.  But, I'd have to agree with Paul. Wayne had a tendency to ridicule anybody who didn't agree with his vision of the future.  I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out he was involved with plans to cut back or eliminate AM below 10 meters.  I'm pretty sure he considered AM dinosaur radio.  I remember in the 80s, when he pushed Packet Radio & Spread Spectrum big time.  Another interesting factoid, he used to joke about how he operated bootleg for over a year in the 30s or 40s, before he got his license.  He also used to occasionally mention how bitter he was about losing control of Byte magazine.

73,
Ellen - AF9J

All that charisma + influence and AM on the ham bands is still going strong. Must be frustrating.

Wayne was almost vehemently anti-AM.  But he was a strong advocate of DSB suppressed carrier for use with the Costas loop synchronous detector system for reception.  He proposed that it would have been a better system than SSB, and in one of his rambling opinion articles, claimed SSB was chosen by the military over DSB because Art Collins had kissed a few more of the appropriate arses at the pentagon than the people at G-E, who were leading advocates of the Costas system.

If I recall correctly, Wayne once petitioned to phase out AM, some time in the early 60's, long before Johnston and his henchmen took control of the Private Radio Bureau at the FCC.  The petition was never taken seriously because at the time the majority of hams were still using AM and it would have probably forced almost as many people off the air as incentive licensing did.

Not too long ago I got an e-mail from a QCWA member who was very upset with some of the stuff Johnston was doing.

I recall his column in WorldRadio where he made a somewhat snide remark about getting rid of AM being easier said than done.

There are a lot of strange things about Wayne Green.

I enjoyed reading his "Never Say Die" editorials. Even when I disagree with the majority of what someone has to say, I'm willing to listen if the point is well-expressed and doesn't come off like a lecture or tirade. His editorials were thought-provoking, no matter how whacko some of the concepts, and that's the point to a good editorial.

He may hate AM, but he hates Glenn Bastard, too. Can't have everything (where would you put it?).

He's convinced the moon landings were faked. I guess we just shot those 1.2GHz beacons up there just to fool the hams into beleiving it really happened.

Remember, Wayne: shiny side in on the tinfoil anti-gubmint-mind-control hat.

I would classify Wayne Green the same way the Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy classified Earth: "mostly harmless". He's got his indellible mark on ham radio history (and revisions thereof), but we'll probably hear one or two more gems from him before his final crapout.

--Thom
Killer Agony One Zipper Got Caught

I clearly remember his anti-AM rants.  In fact, I finally dropped my subscription to 73 Magazine as a result of his negativism toward AM, even though I was a charter subscriber to his magazine. 

vH

Wayne has always had a few cold solder joints....    klc

Hey guys, now is that a polite way to treat our invited guest speaker?

He might be reading this, we did invite him over.

Come on, I know we're more open minded than that here.


-Bruce W1UJR

Sorry. I suppose it would be better if we were all on SSBfone now.

Yes, indeed, Bruce.  I will be delighted to have him be our guest and read my post.  I'll even smile nicely at him. ::)

K2 Very Happy

I met him years ago at the 73 offices when I stopped by to drop off my "Poor Man's Packet" article, enroute back from a trip to NH. He seemed like a very nice grandfatherly gentleman, quite a contrast to the firebreathing image I had of him from reading his editorials. I found them interesting to read and enjoyed his streak of independence. The $2.49 1/2 price always cracked me up too. I was sad to see 73 stop being published. I didn't realize he was against AM, but perhaps having some contact with those who practice the art he'll come to a better appreciation of it.

Could be the heat of Wayne's editorials were exaggerated to keep readers reading, the way "shock jocks" exaggerate their behavior to keep listeners listening. Publishers know controversy sells magazines, and I doubt Wayne was any exception.

Wayne Green seems like he's in contact with the Alien World like Art Bell. Standing a little too close to those high power microwave dishes long time ago.
Fred

I couldn't wait for the newest issue of 73 to arrive. The editorials were definitely of more interest then the advertisements. Wayne the Green was ahead of his time in the Green movement ( HMMMM could it be? ). Hi Hi.

I do believe Wayne had a secret desire to be the MAD magazine of the Ham set.  I wonder how much extra money he made on that 1/2 cent increase in price.

Dennis  :P

It is polite to recount some of his history so that others may come to understand anything the invited guest may contribute.

It is polite to provide the invited guest the opportunity to revise, re-frame, or defend the kind of views we remain puzzled by to this day.

It is an example of open-mindedness to express our concern about your man's early lack of open-mindedness expressed in some of the negative views he has held about our facet of the hobby.

Thanks for asking.

And you have never changed your mind on anything Paul?

Thanks for sharing.

I sure have Bruce, and I welcomed the opportunity to share it with others.

One that I think I talked with you about was my negative view of the D-104.
I used to call it the CB-Lollipop, the D-Ten-Four, and so on, pointing out what I thought was an invariably bad sound the microphone had as well.

Turns out the heritage of the mic goes way before Citizen's Band, and the bad sound I was hearing involved examples with bad cartridges.

You've politely invited a man who has held very strong opinions against something you find enjoyable. I hope he repays your courtesy by responding as to whether he, indeed, has changed his mind.

I would like to see that, where I said "so much the better." I don't know how I can be more open-minded than to welcome an update from someone I wouldn't otherwise have a good impression of.

Keep us posted ?

Play nice, Boys. :D

You know, that's what is so great about our country is that we are able to voice our opinions without being oppressed. Even to the highest level of the government. What upsets me (and probably others) is getting into (no offense Pedro) a Mexican pissing contest everytime there is a disagreement, (besides, I can pee farther than anyone;>). To the point, I don't care for Wayne Green, and this was before I learned he was anti-AM. About the only thing we have in common is our disdain and loathing for the ARRgghhL and K1ZZ. Personally, Wayne has shown a penchant for being at the center of the storm, regardless what the issue is. He loves the spotlight and will say/do anything to get to center stage. That's my opinion, and it isn't subject to 'fencing'. YMMV

Will do Paul.
If nothing else, this little post has generated some good and insightful comments, brought up some fond, and some not so fond, memories for some of the fellows.
Over 700 views last time I checked!

I've heard nothing from Wayne since his email, so the third BA is now in his court, so to speak.

And Mikey, your point is well taken, but isn't that true of society in general?
Are we not less tolerance and impatient with the flaws of others?
Example, 3872 KC on any night.
Who ever heard of "road rage" in the 1910?
Or "diversity" before 1995?
I think we are all a little overwhelmed with the daily barrage of media, and perhaps we are more than a little fed up with the powers of political correctness telling us how to think and act.
That's just my 2 cents, with that and $3.48 you can get a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Bruce said:
I'll take the the $3.48 and get a gallon of gas;) Of course,"Your Milage May Vary!"

The Great Pumpkin and Linus are mentioned in the Helloween song "Halloween." In a sketch from Robot Chicken, Linus performs a ritual that causes the Great Pumpkin to appear, only to get killed by it. Soon, the Great Pumpkin attacks the Peanuts gang and just when it sets its sights on Charlie Brown, The Kite-Eating tree gobbles it up

Still, it might be a good idea in the future to do a bit of research and consider the entire membership and purpose of amfone before presuming to speak for all here with such an invitation. I've enjoyed some of Wayne's work and writings over the decades as others have, but also recall he was/is very anti-AM. As with Paul and others, I too hope he has adopted a more reasonable and sensible view of the mode.

When all else fails, check with some of the old guard to see if that cool sounding idea may have some unpleasant fallout for all involved - including Mr. Green. ;)

Meanwhile, you missed a helluva time at Dayton. Two large trucks full of 1920s and earlier gear including a pair of rotary spark gaps. Hopefully someone got pics of them for you. Think one of the sellers was an AWA member.

rotary spark gap....i want one

Same here Frank.
Check out the link below.
Not vintage, but really very cool.
I did see a vintage spark gap TX at the AWA meet auction a few years back, went for $2,500.  :(

http://www.tb3.com/tesla/sparkgaps/index.html

(http://www.tb3.com/tesla/sparkgaps/arsg_8/P6260044.jpg)

Oh, I'm not too worried about that Todd, I'm sure that Gary and the other moderators are perfectly able to police the board.
And I'm sure that Wayne is more than able to defend himself, should he chose to show up.
If you go back and reread how the thread started, you'll see the purpose of it was not to invite Wayne, just an inquiry about him and 73.
Judging from the number of replies and comments, I would imagine that most of use would like to hear from Old Wayne, hence the later invite.
As far as the "old guard", you don't get much older on the internet than the Huzman's "AM Window", so I'm quite sure I've earned my "old guard" stripes.
Thanks for sharing.  ;D

I'm far less interested in anything Wayne Green has to say than the regular users of this site. Their opinions and insight are far more relevant and up to date. Wayne would be good for entertainment value though, much like Irb was with his daily rants. The words from Macbeth come to mind.

... full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.


That said, he is welcome to frequent this site, just like anyone else who bothers to get an account/membership.

As far as I'm concerned, "fairness" means an open exchange of viewpoints.

I have no personal beef with Wayne Green, and I really don't care what he thinks/thought about AM. He'd only be one of thousands who feel that our mode of operation is so ineffective that it should be proactively wiped from the airwaves, rather than to simply not use a mode you don't care for.

I personally would like to know how he feels about the massive jamming campaigns launched against us by people who share his previously stated (and published) views towards AM; but if I die without hearing the answer, I will not die unfulfilled.

If, on the other hand, we are expected to forget all that, pretend like nothing was ever said, and dispense with dialogue in favor of monologue; neither the AM community nor Wayne Green will be particularly well served.

The erstwhile Mr. Green has no shortage of media by which he can make (and has made) his views known. He is certainly not unwelcome here, and the majority of members are quite capable of keeping the discussion healthy and constructive, but difficult questions will be asked, and a dialog (we hope meaningful) will ensue.

It would be unreasonable and unrealistic to expect these questions to not be asked, and most of us (including Wayne Green) are adult enough to keep it from descending into a shouting match.

It may well be settled in a matter of a few objective exchanges, it may not; but getting the dialog out there on the table is not only a good idea, it's what makes this a great country.

That's as much as I care to say about it. We could easily go down a rathole with this thread, and I don't want to encourage that, but the point bears stating.

--Thom
Kilowatt Amplifier One Zero Grid Current

OK

Let's now wait and see if Wayne shows up.

Bruce if you would like to start a new thread where he can post, please do so.

Sensing a bit of an edge from people taking part in the discussion about Wayne Green, I am considering a lock on the thread as it stands.

This would provide everyone some breathing room for a period of time until Wayne shows up.

(situation has been resolved)

Wayne will not show up.  I placed my bet. 

He may have or had a look at this forum but I don't think we'll see him.

Wow!  Such paranoia…..If Wayne Green was the only AM detractor in the world; I still wouldn’t believe that he was demonstrating any great threat to our cherished mode by expressing his opinion.  If he were processing filings to the FCC or championing some sort of drive, it might be different. 

Wayne produced a genuinely interesting and generally enjoyable magazine with 73.   I’m sure he loves ham radio to this day, and I don’t think that he is actively pursuing an anti-AM campaign.  I for one would enjoy hearing what he is up to…but I don’t think it has anything to do with the AM community.  So it might be misplaced on this board.  Anyway…..lighten-up guys, we’ve got enough to worry about with our known antagonists!

73,  Jack, W9GT :)

Read Don's post back on the first page, reply #15.

--Thom
Killer Agony One Zipper Got Caught

Why?

Wayne Green is the topic of discussion, and we've stayed on that topic. You may perceive "a bit of an edge", but that hardly justifies locking a thread. If we were on edge towards each other, yes, but we're not, and nobody's launching any attacks towards anyone.

If you do, fine: we'll just take it to the airwaves.

--Thom
Killer Album One Zappa's Greatest Compositions

Quote from K4KYV:
If I recall correctly, Wayne once petitioned to phase out AM, some time in the early 60's, long before Johnston and his henchmen took control of the Private Radio Bureau at the FCC.  The petition was never taken seriously because at the time the majority of hams were still using AM and it would have probably forced almost as many people off the air as incentive licensing did.

Well, I was one of that majority using AM back in dem good ol days.

I guess I just believe in the positive aspects of what we are doing now and I don't feel it is necessary to dig up old bones.

73,  Jack, W9GT

I think it referred mainly to my follow up post Thom, which I removed earlier. I took exception to Bruce referring to the issue as a 'we did invite him' thing when his earlier post said 'this is what I sent to Wayne..'. I'm one of those folks who doesn't like to be spoken for by the self-appointed in general and also felt the idea wasn't well thought out and could cause unneeded problems for amfone. My attempt to point out the contradictions and possible ramifications here wasn't going to change anything though, and could instead have lead to a pissing match between pros and cons, so I pulled it.

I do like your 'on the air' idea, though, being a strong believer that folks need to spend more time on the air and less online. :)

Wayne Green and what is going on with him right was the topic of this thread. I should know, I was the one who started it! Then many of the guys chimed in that they liked and missed his magazine, some shared that they did not care for his view of AM, a view which may or may not have changed over the years. Hence the invite to Wayne, to tell us what is up with him. Another poster also invited him.
Said invite was not an invite to a debate, we don't have to argue about everything.

As far as anyone speaking for you, your first post was not until the near bottom of the second page, long after the invite had been extended, long after many of the earlier posters had expressed interest in Wayne, and long after much discourse had been exchanged. Me thinks thou does protest too much!  ;D Perhaps a good rule if ones does not like the nature of a thread, don't bother to comment. The AMFone site is by nature full of divergent views, such is life!

Ah, this is what makes life interesting.
Now back to our regular scheduled programing!

As far as your first post Bruce, that's true. But you somehow took the leap from a few curious others (not sure I'd agree that a few folks 'wondering what he's up to now' equals 'many') as a request by all to invite someone with a clearly known anti-AM past, to amfone. This was my point, sorry for not being more clear on that. It wasn't the individual so much as the process that got us to this point. The thread isn't an issue at all, more the potential impact to everyone on amfone of such actions. Having dealt with other forums and email reflectors, I know how much grief a seemingly small thing like this can end up causing to the admins.


Well, I was away at Dayton and didn't see the entire thread until today. You're right - I worded my response poorly. What I meant to say was that I was surprised that you'd take it upon yourself to speak for all of amfone by inviting someone here without first knowing more about their anti-AM history. What concerned me was the way you went from saying in your earlier post "This is what I said to Wayne" to implying that anyone who disagreed was being disrespectful when you later said "...we invited him". "We" didn't, "many" didn't, and it seemed out of character for someone who pays attention to details to be making such out of sync proclamations.

Glad to see that you and I appear to be the only two left discussing all of this. Hopefully my corrections here will clear this all up and put any misgivings others may be having about the direction of this thread to rest.

I think you did just that.

Hi Todd,
I am a firm believer that at times, many should spend more time "on the bench" building and fixin and less time
"yakking" on the air.
                                                73`s , Rene, MVP

P.S, I know Todd,--you think I should get on(the air) more, but I dont feel a big urge to, after 47 years+,
of getting on,--it kinda "neat" to get on the web for a change of pace.
Besides its giving me a chance to finish up all my old unfinished projects,(both AM and CW)