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Leonard A. 'Len' Hooks Bristow, VA Born 1948 QCWA # 31549 |
We lost a good friend and companion in Len Hook, 59. Len served as our President during 2007 and as our Vice President and programs chairman for the two years before that. A bachelor, he is survived by his brothers Richard and Ken Hook, and his sister, Martha, or "Marti." Marti is the wife of Tom Shuster, KI4HEX, and Richard is licensed as N1KHT.
A memorial service was held the evening following Thanksgiving; the place was packed with Len's many friends from the Vienna Wireless Society, volunteers at the Smithsonian's own ham station NN3SI, and the Vic Clark Chapter of QCWA.
The two photos were supplied by Len's older brother, Richard, who writes: "The one of Len rowing would have been taken in San Diego Bay in the late 80's or early 90's. The early station would have been taken in Birmingham, MI, before he graduated from high school which was in 1967."
Dave Wiesen, K2VX, remembers Len this way: "Len was the nicest person I have ever met. It was a pleasure knowing him and associating with him in QCWA, WVS and at the Smithsonian. He was a man who never had a bad word about anyone to the point where I would watch my tongue when with him since I knew that he would not say what I was thinking of saying in some situations. Associating with Len made me a better person. Len's signal will continue to roll around the Ionosphere."
Dick Rucker, KM4ML
From http://www.qrz.com
"Transmitto Ergo Sum"
Len is now a silent key. He loved ham radio and his closest friends were members of the Vienna Wireless Society and the Quarter Century Wireless Association, Inc
Tom Shuster KI4HEX
Len's Biography: My QTH is Bristow, VA, near Manassas, 40 miles west of Washington, DC. I'm a microbiologist, and have worked for over 20 years in the biotech software and instrumentation field. I've been a ham since 1964 and I like to operate mostly CW. I also enjoy operating Field Day, NAQP, and other events with my ham radio club, the Vienna Wireless Society. On Sundays I'm a volunteer op at the Smithsonian Institute's station, NN3SI.
Previous Callsigns: WA8KYH; VP2V/KG6ZR [British Virgin Is.]; J8ØH [St. Vincent and the Grenadines].
Amateur Radio Club Affiliations: Vienna Wireless Society, Vienna, VA, K4HTA,www.viennawireless.org/home.php. QCWA Vic Clark Chapter 91, Wash. DC Metro Area, W4QCW. http://homepage.mac.com/rrucker/chapter91.html, ARRL and FISTS #9294.
The KG6ZR Ham Shack. ICOM IC-756 Pro II, with Schurr Profi 2, Bencher Mercury and GHD paddles. Back-up and portable rigs: ICOM IC-706 MkII, Kenwood TS-940S, TS-140S VHF rig: Kenwood TR-751A All Mode 2-m Xcvr; Digital Modes: MixW USB Rig Expert Interface, MixW Software.
KG6ZR Boat Anchor Collection. I am mostly interested in novice stations from the 1960s. So far the collection consists of: Hallicrafters SX-111 & Knight T-60 (my WN8KYH novice station, 1964). Hallicrafters SX-101A & Eico 720; Drake 2B & Heathkit DX-60; Heathkit HX-10 Marauder xmtr & Hammarlund HQ180C rcvr. Collins S-Line. 75S-3B rcvr, 32S-3 xmtr, 312B-4 station console. KWM2-A transceiver. Drake Line:T4XB xmtr and R4B rcvr; Kenwood Twins: T-599D xmtr, R599D rcvr.
Attic Antenna Farm: HF Antenna No. 1, 80 - 10 meter Bands, 25-m long folded dipole tuned with ICOM AH-4 auto-tuner. The counterpoise is 30-m of heavy, 8 gauge stranded copper cable fed into the basement.
HF Antenna No. 2, 20 - 10 Meter Bands, AEA IsoLoop with autotuner.
VHF / UHF Antenna No. 1, 144/440 MHz, Cushcraft A270-10S, 10 el. beam. VHF / UHF Antenna No. 2, 144/440 MHz, Diamond X-50A Dual Band Vertical.
Other Interests: Sailing, golf, coins, 1960s "garage bands," and 1962 Corvettes.
Bio last modified: 2007-11-27