A KYN Legend:
 
 

Thanks to Ray Smith, WB4ZDU, and other helpful KYN members, here is the article on J.B. Wathen, W4BAZ. I am nervous about trying this, because most of my memories are from operating on the radio when he was net manager, etc. Many of you in LVL, of course, knew him far better and I don't want to get it wrong....I apologize for having to edit some submitted material to get everyone's comments in.

For those of you who didn't know J.B., he was a legend in Kentucky and beyond, and was very active on KYN. First licensed in 1920, he served as SCM in 1928-1932 (As Section Manager was then known), Route Manager, which was the equivalent of Section Traffic Manager for CW nets only, as Official Relay Station, and Assistant Director of the Central Division of the ARRL (Yes, Ky. was once in that division.), and was an active member of the Louisville ARTS Club.

J.B was the perfect CW Net Manager or Route Manager. He got more folks involved in KYN, KSN, and then KNTN, that we will ever know. Many of the present "old-timers" on the CW nets were recruited and trained by him in the 50's through 80's. I have collected stories, pictures, and memories of J.B. from many of them to fill this summer issue. Thanks very much to all who contributed for the abundance of good material you sent. I hope everyone will enjoy the stories from net members which follow, whether you knew J.B. or not. (John Farler, K4AVX, QAN Editor, KYN manager)

From W.C. Alcock, W4CDA (deceased), April 7, 1997, long time editor of the (Kentucky) Bluegrass Ether Clippings:

I have had many good times with my old ham friend J.B., W4BAZ. He invited me over to a picnic on board his family's yacht on the Ohio River. After a speedy ride in a speedy motorboat, he took me to my first hamfest (mostly Louisville and Kentucky hams) in the very early '30's. I was about 19 or 20 years old. I won the QLF contest and prize of a 3810 Kc crystal. KYN used 3810 KC back then.... J.B. was quite a leader and organizer for KYN.

John Thernes, W4ZN, former Section Manager and former Vice Director:

I was first introduced to J.B. after being recruited into KYN by Bruce Shearer, WA4DYL. Bruce was the net manager for the Ky. Novice Net back in the mid to late

1960's. Bruce recruited me to 3.600 and KYN when I finally got my general ticket back in the fall of 1965.... I attended the "United Electronics Labs" in Shively, Ky. and was there at the same time with WA4TPB, Steve Ellington....While attending school in Louisville, Steve and I would drop in quite a lot at J.B.'s Mobile Communications electronics store on Poplar Level Rd. He had a two-way mobile business and dabbled in ham gear at the store.

J. B. had a peculiar personality, and if you did not get along with J.B. he could be very difficult to deal with. He owned Cardinal aviation and was an heir to a fortune from the whiskey business, I heard.

J.B. was a past Section Manager and was also in very good with George Hart, W1NJM, who was the ARRL's Communications Manager for years. George Hart was the father of the National traffic System, having been set it up and promoted it after the war years. I was out at J.B.'s house one time, on an invitation for dinner, and was quite surprised to walk into the house and see J.B. and Mr. Hart sitting in the shack having iced tea. At age 17, I thought J.B. had a lot of "pull" in order to get an ARRL person to show up in his house!!

After several months of KYN traffic handling on 3.600, J.B. decided to have a net meeting. His net meetings were famous, and were usually held at a Holiday Inn. I remember one very famous meeting, which was well-attended. Back then, J.B. had a running feud with the "phone boys." WA4AGH of Louisville was someone J.B. had little use for - since this guy was the Kentucky Phone Manager.

I had heard that J.B. was a multi-millionaire (true). Bruce, WA4DYL, told me this at the KYN meeting at the Owensboro Holiday Inn. After about four hours of net meetings, J.B. announced "let's all break and go to lunch". J.B. went with us, and I had incorrectly expected that since J.B. was "loaded" he would pick up the check. Therefore, as a poor, seventeen year old kid, (With barely enough gas money to get home), I ordered a lot of food from the menu at the local Frisch's restaurant. I even ordered an expensive hot-fudge sundae for desert......expecting that since J.B. had told us we would have lunch, we all assumed he would pick up the check.

WRONG!!! When the checks came, J.B. picked up his check only and headed for the door! Bruce said he could not believe the look of surprise on my face when I realized that J.B. was not going to pay for my lunch. I had to scramble for enough money to pay for the lunch, and had to borrow some money from Bruce to buy gas for the trip back home!!!

J.B. had a lot of radios in his shack, but for all the years I knew him as checking into KYN, his favorite radio was a 75 watt ranger and an R4-A receiver (R4-A was new in those days). He had a "desk kilowatt" by E.F. Johnson Company, but I don't think he ever turned it on. At one time, in the 40's Bruce, WA4DYL said J.B. had a KW for each band---all home brewed, or at least paid for out of J.B.'s deep pockets. Bruce got one of these final amplifiers, and it was a KW with a pair of 250-TH tubes in a 19" rack cabinet about 4 feet high. That was a BEAUTIFUL piece of work, and Bruce said I could have it for $ 100.00 if I came and got it. I never picked it up. since I didn't have an extra hundred bucks back then, and also, the thing weighed about 300 lbs. (John Thernes, W4ZN)

K4FDK, DEC. '96:

" Sometime about '67 I ran into "JB" W4BAZ at his ham store in Louisville and being the net promoter, he talked me into checking into KSN. I began NCS duties for KSN starting March of 69, and by September on KYN. Lot of good calls in those logs, some silent keys, but some you can find on 3600 today - K4AVX, W4CDA, W4OGP, WA4HLW, AND K4UNW/N4GD." (John Lackey, K4FDK)

Gerald Wyatt, N4GD:

It was while in Pensacola in 1960 that I read in QST that Ky. had a CW net on 3600 KC nightly. The next evening I was on duty (Navy OP), and fired up our TCS XMT/RCV. The TCS was only used once week on a drill circuit.

I raised W4BAZ, and told him I was from Paducah and wanted to send a message to my folks there. I did not know amateur message format, but J.B. took it with no problem.

I did not get back on KYN again until 1969! Living in Paducah and not with the Navy I had lots more radio time. I was on KYN and KSN every night. W4BAZ and W4OYI helped me get into the NTS groove...I met with J.B. in Louisville many times. J.B. really loved CW and the nets. I really miss J.B. (Gerald Wyatt, N4GD)

From Steve Ellington, N4LQ.

In 1966 my parents brought me and a truck full of radio gear (a HQ-170 and a Viking Pacemaker to Louisville for electronics school, and left me at a house where I would board. I set up a shack in the attic. J.B. knew of my move and called me at the little house and asked if I would NCS some KSN spots. I told him I had no straight key, so he drove 25 miles across the county to deliver a key to my door so I could NCS the net.

Do you remember the battles between W4BAZ and W4RHZ? RHZ (now sk) would QNI with QRP and JB would chastise him for his QNP signal. RHZ would go off on a long QRQ soapbox right on the net QRG. RHZ would then pout for a few days and not show up. While visiting John Thernes in 1967, John and I went to visit RHZ. He lived in a run down old shot-gun house with his shack in the back room. There was nothing that resembled a ham rig visible, just some wires, parts and a few bare chassis.

Joe Rice was a little wiry fellow with a hot temper. Somehow I managed to put up with him because he had a great bug fist and that was good enough for me! I don't think JB could stand him though. I still remember Joe's QSL which showed a picture of him and his 1934 auto. The caption read. "6 watts on 5 meters running less power than my headlight". (Steve Ellington, N4LQ)

Tom Delker, K1KY, Fri, 17 JulY:

Gosh, he was a CW net icon. All I can remember is his encouragement and help with a young WB4ZSA coming up through the ranks. You could always count on him being there! (Tom Delker, K1KY)

Ray Smith, WB4ZDU (April 1998 QAN):

J.B. (W4BAZ) was my Elmer and without a doubt the motivation for my interest in CW and traffic nets. My first real exposure to traffic nets began in 1978 with the SET. Prior to that time, I had checked into KYN and KNTN but had never served as an NCS. Since SET lasted two full days, I volunteered (was drafted) to be NCS for several hours each day. I remember vividly calling J.B. either during or after SET and asking how in the world does one keep track of all of the stations checking in. As dumb as it may now sound, I had a real problem keeping track of four or five check-ins and where I had sent them to pass traffic. SET was certainly a great way to experience the NTS and a lot of fun to boot.

One of my most memorable experiences is the very first time I got on the air. I had purchased my T4XB and R4B from J.B. at Mobile Communications. I had never operated before, and J.B. offered to come over and help me get set up and on the air. He then was to go back to his office so that we could have a QSO.

J.B. arrived late in the morning. He had just come from the eye doctor and his eyes had been dilated. He could barely (if at all) see the dials and knobs on my T4-XB. It truly was hilarious to see J.B. and me trying to get everything hooked up and tuned up. We were lucky that the radio didn't blow up. Nevertheless, after everything was properly connected, J.B. became my first contact on July 1, 1972, on 7.125 Khz. CW. (Ray Smith, WB4ZDU)

John Farler, K4AVX:

My first QNI on KYN was on July 25, 1959, as a 17 year old new general. K4CSH, Al, was net manager, I believe, and W4ZDB was also quite active. I don't know exactly when JB took the reins, although he had been Route Manager of CW nets before this time in the late '40's when they were started, and it had to be right after this time.

But I do remember his being very active on the nets, and encouraging and training everyone who came along. Other operators he elmered in the nets included K4TXJ, WA4HLW, and WB4ZDU, who was close to J.B., and who mentions him in his Story in the April newsletter. I also know there are many others whom he elmered on the nets. I do remember those meetings in Louisville, held in January before and in preparation for the yearly SET, which was then in late January. J.B. berated the phone net guys just as W4ZN described, and much time was spent at these meetings on how in the world to make the phone nets "formal nets" and get them serious about handling traffic.

I also remember when J.B. came to Hazard, stayed at LaCitadelle and we had a meeting with local hams at my house to stir up interest in the nets. As John says, I knew he was wealthy, and I was suprised when he drove up in a tiny Opel and bragged about his gas mileage! Never mind that he had to put it in first gear to get up the mountain to the motel! He also mentioned that the trip was on behalf of and paid for by the Audubon Society (Or was it the Sierra Club?).

You can see J.B.'s wit on the two QSL cards in this newsletter. On page 3 is his card for his original call, 9BAZ in 1925.On page 4 is a 50's card....Thanks to Ray, WB4ZDU for both of these.

I was privileged to be on the scene when J.B. was given the ARRL Special Appreciation Award by V.P. George Wilson, I had been invited by John Thernes, W4ZN, to come along, and this was the only time I was at J.B.'s house.

If you were a Kentucky ham, especially a new novice, J.B. would find you on the air and do his darnest to recruit you for the CW nets. A very nice method he had to keep new ops interested was to send messages to persons he knew throughout the state, whether clients of his flying service, or members of the Audubon Society or the American Red Cross. He would know someone in your town out in the state to send messages to for you to deliver.

I believe Amateur Radio in Kentucky benefited greatly from J.B. It was important to us young guys to have a prominent person like him have such a keen interest in Amateur Radio and CW Nets, and in getting us involved, and sharing his abundant enthusiasm. From him, and from other such leaders as George Wilson, W4OYI, we knew that ham radio was important.

Steve Morgan, W4NHO, former SEC and Section Manager:

The best story was in 1977 during the floods in Eastern KY. As you know, JB never owned a microphone for HF that I knew of, if he had to check into a phone net, he would always do so in cw. Well during this event, I along with several others fellows from Owensboro and Muhlenburg Co., were sent to Eastern KY to provide communications for those areas that were stricken. I was sent to Pikeville and ran a station there in the courthouse for about 36 hours straight, I think. I was with Denver Matney, forgot his call there in Pikeville. Anyway, JB was bringing in Red Cross traffic to the phone net via CW. I was the operator during that time, and he was not sure if those on the phone net could take traffic via cw. He asked who the operator was and I said NHO, and he came back with a big DIT DAHHH DIT ! ... and proceeded to send the traffic to me. I was using Denver's call at the time I think.

JB was the guy who got me interested in traffic handling on KYN and KSN and of course OYI. JB was a guy you really liked or hated, depending on what side of the fence you were on. I really liked him, and remember the last time I got to see him on this earth, when Ray, ZDU, OYI and myself went out to visit him at his house during the Louisville hamfest, I think. JB did countless work on getting many an operator interested in CW. I think he was the father of the Novice net back then and really got alot of guys interested in traffic handling through that net. I think W4BAZ will be pounding brass for eternity. SK... (Steve Morgan, W4NHO)

Steve McCallum, W2ZBY, the Ky. PIC, emailed me this statement about J.B, which I think best sums up his enthusiasm for ham radio: "wherever he (J.B.) went and to whomever he talked he publicized ham radio with the statement: "You know, I have the best hobby in the word. Let me tell you about it . . . "

Fifties QSL

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