Stuart was an enthusiastic and beloved member of the St. Paul Mobile Radio Club in the late 1950s and early 1960s, at the height of what some think of as the golden era of amateur radio.
It was a time when inexpensive WWII military surplus radios, antennas, electron tubes and every kind of component needed to build radio transmitting and receiving equipment almost from scratch flooded the industrial and hobbyist markets. It was a time when the baby boomers from families of any economic means were reaching the age where they could learn enough quickly enough to take advantage of this cornucopia of radio components and electronic gear. And many, including Stuart (his friends called him "Nort"), took full advantage of this opportunity. He studied electronics, radio communications and Federal regulations; even learned the International Morse Code and went downtown to take an operators exam at the Federal Courts Building in St. Paul (Now it's Landmark center - the FCC was on the second floor, room 208).
Weekday afternoons after school when the work of the day was complete, his powerful AM (amplitude modulated) home made transmitter with Federally assigned call letters: KØIYV, could often be heard as Nort held court with friends in a "round-table" discussion on the 75-meter Amateur Radio band - the precursor to today's online chat rooms. Perhaps best of all, there was no ISP to pay each month, no annoying upgrades to software, no need to waste time scanning for viruses, none of the on-going expense and aggravation encountered by today's electronically connected youth.
After a few years, at some point as too often is the case for so many, life became challenging and complex. Faith and family, always first priorities for Nort, were destined to become his preoccupations as new seasons brought new challenges. Radio took a back seat to more pressing matters. A number of years after his first license expired, he returned as KA0CGD(1). But eventually he disappeared completely from the amateur radio scene.
When a radio operator dies, especially one as qualified with the talent and skill to communicate using Morse code as was Nort, they're often referred to by colleagues and friends as a "silent key" - silent, perhaps, but not forgotten.
Rest in peace KØIYV.
-RT
(1) Nort reappeared in the Winter 1981 Amateur Radio Callbook Magazine listing of licensed Amateur Radio operators as KA0CGD.
It was a time when inexpensive WWII military surplus radios, antennas, electron tubes and every kind of component needed to build radio transmitting and receiving equipment almost from scratch flooded the industrial and hobbyist markets. It was a time when the baby boomers from families of any economic means were reaching the age where they could learn enough quickly enough to take advantage of this cornucopia of radio components and electronic gear. And many, including Stuart (his friends called him "Nort"), took full advantage of this opportunity. He studied electronics, radio communications and Federal regulations; even learned the International Morse Code and went downtown to take an operators exam at the Federal Courts Building in St. Paul (Now it's Landmark center - the FCC was on the second floor, room 208).
Weekday afternoons after school when the work of the day was complete, his powerful AM (amplitude modulated) home made transmitter with Federally assigned call letters: KØIYV, could often be heard as Nort held court with friends in a "round-table" discussion on the 75-meter Amateur Radio band - the precursor to today's online chat rooms. Perhaps best of all, there was no ISP to pay each month, no annoying upgrades to software, no need to waste time scanning for viruses, none of the on-going expense and aggravation encountered by today's electronically connected youth.
After a few years, at some point as too often is the case for so many, life became challenging and complex. Faith and family, always first priorities for Nort, were destined to become his preoccupations as new seasons brought new challenges. Radio took a back seat to more pressing matters. A number of years after his first license expired, he returned as KA0CGD(1). But eventually he disappeared completely from the amateur radio scene.
When a radio operator dies, especially one as qualified with the talent and skill to communicate using Morse code as was Nort, they're often referred to by colleagues and friends as a "silent key" - silent, perhaps, but not forgotten.
Rest in peace KØIYV.
-RT
(1) Nort reappeared in the Winter 1981 Amateur Radio Callbook Magazine listing of licensed Amateur Radio operators as KA0CGD.
Stuart was an enthusiastic and beloved member of the St. Paul Mobile Radio Club in the late 1950s and early 1960s, at the height of what some think of as the golden era of amateur radio.
It was a time when inexpensive WWII military surplus radios, antennas, electron tubes and every kind of component needed to build radio transmitting and receiving equipment almost from scratch flooded the industrial and hobbyist markets. It was a time when the baby boomers from families of any economic means were reaching the age where they could learn enough quickly enough to take advantage of this cornucopia of radio components and electronic gear. And many, including Stuart (his friends called him "Nort"), took full advantage of this opportunity. He studied electronics, radio communications and Federal regulations; even learned the International Morse Code and went downtown to take an operators exam at the Federal Courts Building in St. Paul (Now it's Landmark center - the FCC was on the second floor, room 208).
Weekday afternoons after school when the work of the day was complete, his powerful AM (amplitude modulated) home made transmitter with Federally assigned call letters: KØIYV, could often be heard as Nort held court with friends in a "round-table" discussion on the 75-meter Amateur Radio band - the precursor to today's online chat rooms. Perhaps best of all, there was no ISP to pay each month, no annoying upgrades to software, no need to waste time scanning for viruses, none of the on-going expense and aggravation encountered by today's electronically connected youth.
After a few years, at some point as too often is the case for so many, life became challenging and complex. Faith and family, always first priorities for Nort, were destined to become his preoccupations as new seasons brought new challenges. Radio took a back seat to more pressing matters. A number of years after his first license expired, he returned as KA0CGD(1). But eventually he disappeared completely from the amateur radio scene.
When a radio operator dies, especially one as qualified with the talent and skill to communicate using Morse code as was Nort, they're often referred to by colleagues and friends as a "silent key" - silent, perhaps, but not forgotten.
Rest in peace KØIYV.
-RT
(1) Nort reappeared in the Winter 1981 Amateur Radio Callbook Magazine listing of licensed Amateur Radio operators as KA0CGD.
It was a time when inexpensive WWII military surplus radios, antennas, electron tubes and every kind of component needed to build radio transmitting and receiving equipment almost from scratch flooded the industrial and hobbyist markets. It was a time when the baby boomers from families of any economic means were reaching the age where they could learn enough quickly enough to take advantage of this cornucopia of radio components and electronic gear. And many, including Stuart (his friends called him "Nort"), took full advantage of this opportunity. He studied electronics, radio communications and Federal regulations; even learned the International Morse Code and went downtown to take an operators exam at the Federal Courts Building in St. Paul (Now it's Landmark center - the FCC was on the second floor, room 208).
Weekday afternoons after school when the work of the day was complete, his powerful AM (amplitude modulated) home made transmitter with Federally assigned call letters: KØIYV, could often be heard as Nort held court with friends in a "round-table" discussion on the 75-meter Amateur Radio band - the precursor to today's online chat rooms. Perhaps best of all, there was no ISP to pay each month, no annoying upgrades to software, no need to waste time scanning for viruses, none of the on-going expense and aggravation encountered by today's electronically connected youth.
After a few years, at some point as too often is the case for so many, life became challenging and complex. Faith and family, always first priorities for Nort, were destined to become his preoccupations as new seasons brought new challenges. Radio took a back seat to more pressing matters. A number of years after his first license expired, he returned as KA0CGD(1). But eventually he disappeared completely from the amateur radio scene.
When a radio operator dies, especially one as qualified with the talent and skill to communicate using Morse code as was Nort, they're often referred to by colleagues and friends as a "silent key" - silent, perhaps, but not forgotten.
Rest in peace KØIYV.
-RT
(1) Nort reappeared in the Winter 1981 Amateur Radio Callbook Magazine listing of licensed Amateur Radio operators as KA0CGD.
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