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Author Topic: ON4UN Sadly SK  (Read 2636 times)
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KD6VXI
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« on: November 10, 2020, 02:49:43 PM »

Seems John has gone SK.


https://www.dx-world.net/on4un-s-k/


--Shane
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W1ITT
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« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2020, 10:48:32 PM »

If you don't have a copy of the latest edition of Low Band DXing, run to the ARRL site and buy one.  It is the best compilation of information on transmitting antennas for 160 and 80 meters that you'll find.  John also has lots of good stuff on receive antennas, from simple loops and beverages to serious arrays.  Many of the ARRL books are rehashes of old QST articles but this is all new fodder to chew on.
I think John's first edition was back in the 1980s, a book of a few pages, set in typewriter font.  AT the time it was quite earth shaking, but he took it way beyond that to his final volume which is hard to read in bed because it's so heavy.  I have them all and they got thicker and better with each edition. 
My two element 80m wire beam is a modification of an array that he described with coax feed.  I had corresponded with him about it and he was always eager to progress and learn. 
I suspect that John made some money from his books, but I am of the impression that he plowed it back into the ham community.  If you worked ON4UN you always got a nice QSL.
73 de Norm W1ITT
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Steve - K4HX
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« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2020, 12:23:55 AM »

Sad to hear of his passing. He was a giant among DXers, especially on the low bands. I concur with Norm. His book is a gold mine on antennas. I've poured over an older edition and used what I found there to build two antenna systems - one for transmitting and one for receive. I was lucky to work him on 10 and 40 meters. He gave me an excellent signal report on the 40 meter QSO and we were able to chat some about antennas, including mine. That was a memorable QSO for sure.

73 to you John. ON4UN, SK
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K1JJ
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« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2020, 11:44:42 AM »

Yep, John was a regular back in the late 80s and 90s in the 75M DX window.  His Low Band DXing 1987 edition still sits on my bookshelf.   He wrote a lot about phased verticals and beverages.  He was one on the early pioneers using computer optimization and phase calculations, etc.

I have worked him many, many times on the bands.  He will be missed.

Rest in peace, John.

T
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« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2020, 09:20:03 AM »

I had the pleasure of working John on three different bands. He always had a great signal and always had time for a short but interesting conversation with every contact. It’s important that everyone of us makes the best use and enjoys every day we have. Many of us are closer to the expiration date and we are to the born on date
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Steve - K4HX
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« Reply #5 on: November 15, 2020, 10:38:43 PM »

From the ARRL Letter:

Low-Band Titan John Devoldere, ON4UN, SK
A giant in the field of low-frequency DXing and contesting, John Devoldere, ON4UN/AA4OI, of Merelbeke, Belgium, died on November 9. An ARRL Life member, he was 79 and had been in failing health. In addition to his enthusiasm for operating, Devoldere may be best known as the author of the popular book ON4UN's Low Band DXing,


published by ARRL, as well as other books, including Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur, which he co-authored with Mark Demeuleneere, ON4WW. The book is hosted on the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU <http://www.iaru.org/>) Region 1 website.

"Ham radio, and especially low-band DXing, were my father's lifelong passions and always had a strong presence in our house," his daughter, Marleen, said in announcing her father's passing. "Though I don't have a call sign, I very much feel a part of the big radio family and always will."

The Royal Union of Belgian Radio Amateurs (UBA) President Claude van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, ON7TK, said Devoldere was "a radio amateur in heart and soul" who will always be remembered. "We are grateful for his contribution to [amateur radio] and for his efforts within the UBA," he said. He was a member of the HF Committee from 1983 to 2016. In 1994, he became Provincial President of East Flanders. Two years later, he joined the national board of the UBA, and from 1998 to 2007 he became chairman and was at the basis of many reforms within the UBA. Devoldere retired in 2016.

According to his QRZ.com profile, he became interested in radio at the age of 11 and built his first single-tube transmitter the following year. His uncle, ON4GV, got him interested in amateur radio. Devoldere was licensed in 1961, at the age of 20. He built much of his station gear and got into contesting, winning the UBA CW Contest in 1962. At about the same time, he got interested in low-band operating. He worked 364 DXCC entities on 80 meters, lacking only North Korea.


Belgium didn't gain access to160 meters until 1987, and a few years later he erected a full-size quarter-wave vertical for top band (160 meters). By 2018, he had 325 DXCC entities on 160 meters. He authored the 80-Meter DX Handbook for Ham Radio magazine. ARRL approached him about writing a book on low-band operating, and the first edition of Low Band DXing came out in 1987, and updated editions followed.

He built a competitive multi-single contest station and operated in some 80 international contests -- including the ARRL International DX, the CQ World Wide DX, Stew Perry Topband Challenge, and others. The walls in his ham shack hold more than 50 first-place contest plaques.

He was elected to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame in 1997 and the CQ DX Hall of Fame in 2007. He received the Yasme Excellence Award in 2013.

Marleen Devoldere said she is planning a digital farewell ceremony on Saturday, November 21. The family invites condolences via email <mailto:ON4UN.SK@gmail.com>.
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