Wayne Green Passed September 13, 2013

[Pete, WA2CWA]

From Wayne's Blog:

"FINAL
    Wayne Green passed away this morning in a peaceful, painless transition from this life on Earth. An eternal optimist, and one who loved to share his neverending 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.

73,
W2NSD  (Sept 3, 1922 - Sept 13, 2013)"

http://www.waynegreen.com/wayne/news.html

[Carl WA1KPD]

I just received this:


''Wayne Green passed away this morning 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. ''

[W1RC]

I sure hope I make it to 91 with my marbles more or less intact.  

Wayne was a NEAR-Fest lifetime pass recipient.  I spoke with him a few weeks ago and he was looking forward to attending NEAR-Fest XIV on October 11th/12th.

One thing he did a couple years ago is place the entire  73 MAGAZINE archives in the public domain and they are all available online at no charge to anyone who wants them.

http://archive.org/details/73-magazine

There's lots of good stuff on the site.

Wayne was quite the character.  Another iconic figure is gone.

73,

MrMike

[W3RSW]

Really loved "73."  Tons of circuits, ideas and nascent FM happenings over the years.
Always enjoyed his editorials and never disappointed even as some descended into rants.
First time I ever saw real ham news and gossip in a publication. I was pretty isolated as a kid.

Certainly was his own man and quite priescent.

I remember several times when it was the magazine or the meal when in college. As often as not it was the mag. -As soon as it hit the news stands.

RIP Wayne.

[W3RSW]

Ditto remarks made in Pete's similar post.
RIP Wayne.

Uh, why both posts?
Ok, why did I answer both.

[AJ1G]

From the times of the postings, both Carl and Pete posted around the same time, Carl probably didn't see Pete's post, as it came up while he was composing his!

RIP Wayne...you added a lot to the ham radio hobby and also kick started a lot of the interest in home computing.

[N0WEK]

Wayne was also a member of Subvets of WWII and served on the USS Drum (SS-228) as a Radioman during the war.

http://www.ussalabama.com/uss_drum.php

[W3NE]

Wayne Green's 73 Magazine was many things (similar to West Coast RADIO of the 'thirties and Ham Radio) that QST was not. His iconoclast editorials might have upset Hartford, but he had several excellent ideas that would have shaken the cobwebs out of Aunty ARRL, including amateur representation in Washington, D.C. and opposition to relaxation by the FCC of requirements for a ticket.

Many 73 authors, especially W6SAI, had a sense for practical mechanical design that QST projects often lacked. The magazine's mobile AM transmitters and receiver/converters, for instance, incorporated mechanical design principles that lent them to actual installation in a car -- not just a default chassis in a cover photo. Wayne was a prominent  RTTY advocate, and the regular series by Byron Kretzman in 73 was a constant source of latest RTTY technology. VHF equipment designs were generally more in line with current industry developments and practical construction than the pedestrian equipment described in QST. Some of his editorials ran off the rails, but that added interest and variety from the competition's religious-like pronouncements. RIP, Wayne!

[Burt]

At NearFest
Interview at 5:23
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeffLx7uRPM

 See him at 7:24 in the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAD-cn0_P48

[wd8das]

I still miss 73 Magazine.  For a short time Wayne and I discussed ways to keep it going, but he seemed inclined to let it die and rest in peace. 

At this point the only ham magazines I receive are QST and Electric Radio.  I see CQ once in a while but it doesn't grab me.  QST goes through cycles or phases of interest for me.  Right now it is in a down phase, with little to offer the experienced ham.  The emphasis right now seems to be on newcomers and "hams" who seem to know or care little about radio technology. 

For example, I'm sure you've been following the monthly series in QST about a camping and kayaking trip on the Arkansas river.  Isn't wonderful how the author managed to make one computerized PSK31 contact from his base camp in the first phase of his trip, and no CW or SSB contacts at all in the second phase along the river.  What a stirring story of amateur radio adventure!

I was touched by his fear of lightning which kept him from putting up his small, portable antenna in several locations.  Safety first!  What an adventurous soul.

And I enjoyed reading how the loss of the tiny spring from his gold-plated keyer paddles shut down his entire operation.  Ye godz man! - Use one side of the paddles as a straight key.  Or strip a wire with your teeth and send CW by touching a ground screw on the rig.  Do something!  Are you a ham, or a mouse?

Seems strange for the premier magazine of ham radio to publish articles about such lackluster attempts at radio operations.

Steve WD8DAS

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

We had Wayne as a presenter at NEAR-Fest a couple years back. The former HUZman and I got to chat with him while hanging out at the apple crisp line. Was very entertaining. He was definitely a character, certainly no dummy, and an icon of our amateur radio past. Sure, some of his stuff was 'out there', but I can't think of anyone I agree with 100% of the time. He did far more for amateur radio than 99.9% of us. And as mentioned, he served his country as a submariner in WWII, something a lot of folks don't know.

I hope his old Mercedes goes to someone who will appreciate it. That sucker had some miles on it - a lot like Wayne!

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I first met Wayne when I was a teenager and the editor of the VHF Magazine and I went to New York to visit him at his CQ office to learn more about the magazine publication business. I ran into him at Dayton back in the 90's and we chatted a bit on past ups and downs. I never really cared that much for 73 Mag as it always seemed, even early on, that proofreading and technical accuracy and completeness of articles were not always high priorities on their list of things to do each month.

As far as our membership journal, QST, I can understand the dilemma each month of trying to provide content that would interest all the members (from newly minted hams to hard-core crustacean type hams and to all those in-between). Of course, total hard-core technical content can be found in their QEX magazine. CQ and CQ-VHF are also trying to appeal to the all the amateur masses but with more of an emphases DX'ing, contesting, and the VHF/UHF interests. The best hard-core technically accurate and fulfilling magazine has always been Ham Radio Magazine.  I always found articles in there that were interesting, generally easy to build and with good printed dialogue, and generally worked the first time the power was applied.

[ka4koe]

CQ will eventually die. Their Publisher/Owner has a bad habit of failing to pay his authors. Ever wonder why Riley stopped his column? If interested, email me.

Philip

[w1vtp]

Wayne had a pioneering spirit.  He and others were largely responsible for the change from make / break to mark / space FM for RTTY on the HF bands.

He was a fearless advocate for the new and challenging aspect of amateur radio.  He may have had a very loud and large drum to which he marched but we are all the better for it

RIP Wayne

[Steve - K4HX]

Don't forget that Wayne was also involved with getting Byte magazine started in about 74/75 at the dawn of personal computing. He was often as the leading edge of new trends and technologies - at least within the hobbiest world.

[W3GMS]

73 magazine did a great job for me when I started a former company of mine many years ago.  I advertised with them well over 10 years and sold a lot of product due to the ad's in 73. I met Wayne at our booth at the Dayton Hamvention .  We had a cup of coffee and a good conversation in the exhibitors lounge.   

73 also had some great articles dealing with building various things within the Amateur Radio hobby. 

Yes, his editorials were not my cup of tea, but what the heck, he had his ways and passions!

Joe, W3GMS 

[Pete, WA2CWA]

CQ will eventually die. Their Publisher/Owner has a bad habit of failing to pay his authors. Ever wonder why Riley stopped his column? If interested, email me.

Philip

Everything and everyone will eventually die and disappear. I wouldn't hold my breath anytime soon for CQ. If you can keep your core group of writers motivated and happy and keep a sustained flow of ad revenue, the magazine will continue on.  73 Magazine also had a habit of not paying their authors, or not paying within a reasonable amount of time, and when they shut down, many authors were left high and dry with no back payments. If you're looking for both fame and fortune in the amateur radio literary world, your best bet would be to create your own publication(s) (i.e. 101 Ways to Bug Fix Your Johnson Valiant, etc.) and market them under your own terms.

[W9GT]

I had the pleasure of meeting Wayne a couple of times in person, at least once at the Dayton Hamvention.  I also talked to him once on 2M FM when he was air-mobile.  He was quite a guy!  I can certainly say that I now miss 73 Magazine and I always enjoyed Wayne's "go get-um" approach to just about everything.  I recall that he even wrote some editorials encouraging would-be entrepreneurs to develop projects to sell so they could make money to buy more ham gear.  He also listed many ways that hams could stir up the funds and make money in all sorts of ways, not even directly related to the hobby.  I don't know if he ever ran any of those seminars, but he reminded me of one of those financially well-positioned guys who, at least on the surface, wanted everyone to be successful.  (While themselves collecting a bit of green in the process.)  Regardless of what you might have thought about his amateur radio politics, he really contributed a lot to our hobby, at the very least, by offering another viewpoint and a refreshing change of pace.  Wayne was a true icon and he will be missed!

Rest in Peace Wayne.  You had a great run!

73,  Jack, W9GT

[K9PNP]

Whether you agreed with Wayne's editorials or not, he was one of the few writers out there in the day that said things that needed to be said.  From what I read in his writings, he was not really concerned with what we now call "political correctness".  He had the guts to say what he thought and the assets to publish it.

RIP Wayne.

[W3RSW]

One of Wayne's greatest treatises is how "Byte" mag. was stolen from him in the dead of night. Just as entertaining as the Colts move to Indianapolis.

He certainly was a forward thinker, but in his own estimation could do no wrong.
Made life tough. He thrived on it.