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 Previous: The K7RA Solar Update |  Next: Surfin': Boxing A Radio |
DAYTON, OH, Mar 10, 2006--Dayton Hamvention has announced the winners of its 2006 Amateur of the Year, Special Achievement and Technical Excellence awards. Being honored for their contributions to the Amateur Radio Service are Gordon West, WB6NOA--Amateur of the Year; Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH--Special Achievement Award, and Dick Illman, AH6EZ--Technical Excellence Award.
Hamvention Amateur of the Year: Gordon "Gordo" West, WB6NOA
 Gordon West, WB6NOA |
West, of Costa Mesa, California, was named Amateur of the Year for his efforts in recruiting and training many new amateurs, in addition to his nearly lifelong involvement in ham radio. Starting in the late 1950s "Gordo," as he is known, worked for some of the big names in the field helping to develop several innovative pieces of equipment.
In the 1980s West and his wife Suzy, N6GLF, began teaching ham radio classes at college and marine venues and authored Amateur Radio training books sold by RadioShack and equipment dealers around the country.
A Radio Club of America fellow and a recipient of the ARRL Instructor of the Year Award, West remains active from 75 meters through 10 GHz, spending at least a couple hours on the air every day, helping new hams make friends on the many nets he runs.
In addition, West volunteers with the American Red Cross communications team in Orange County, California, and regularly offers free kids classes and classes for cities to support their Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT).
"It's my give-back to a hobby that gives me the satisfaction of offering free classes for kids and emergency responders, and I thank all the ham operators who support our training program, and the ARRL for their continued support with the emergency communication Web-based classes," West said.
Special Achievement Award: Riley Hollingsworth
 Riley Hollingsworth |
Hollingsworth, who's Special Counsel in the FCC Enforcement Bureau at the FCC's Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, office, will receive Hamvention's Special Achievement Award for his efforts in resurrecting the FCC's Amateur Radio enforcement effort and helping to eliminate an increasing number of enforcement problems plaguing the ham bands. Hollingsworth's efforts, begun in 1998, reversed more than a decade of FCC apathy in amateur enforcement. Radio amateurs across the US credit Hollingsworth with reducing malicious interference and other problem behavior on the air.
Hollingsworth's other FCC responsibilities include interference resolution in the Land Mobile and Public Safety Services. In past years, he served as co-chair of the FCC's PCS Broadband and Narrowband Licensing Task Force, for which he received a Reinventing Government Award in 1994. He also managed the FCC's 800 MHz Task Force in which new 800 MHz spectrum was assigned in 13 cities, and he organized a Commission enforcement initiative to recover underutilized land mobile radio channels in major cities for reassignment.
A graduate of the University of South Carolina, he received his law degree from Wake Forest University. Hollingsworth was first licensed in 1960 in his home state of South Carolina and is a member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association and F.I.S.T.S. CW club.
Technical Excellence Award: Richard "Dick" Illman, AH6EZ
 Dick Illman, AH6EZ |
Illman, who lives in St Charles, Illinois, was picked to receive the 2006 Technical Excellence Award for his work as principal staff engineer at Motorola in developing a broadband over power line (BPL) system for his company that essentially eliminates HF interference. The nominating committee cited Illman's technical knowledge and his willingness to help tackle and overcome BPL's thorny interference issues, influencing Motorola to deliver his patent-pending solution, Powerline LV.
Motorola approached the ARRL in 2004 seeking input on a BPL design that could avoid many or most of the interference problems that have plagued some other BPL systems. The company and the ARRL subsequently cooperated in deploying a test stand Powerline LV system between ARRL Headquarters and W1AW. Preliminary results from the ARRL tests have shown the Motorola Powerline LV system seems to be Amateur Radio-friendly.
Motorola introduced its Powerline LV wireless-to-low voltage BPL solution at the United Telecom Council's "Telecom 2005." The ARRL has cited the Motorola solution in filings to the FCC as an example of a BPL system designed to avoid interference to or from Amateur Radio.
Illman, who hold a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, has enjoyed a 31-year career with Motorola Systems Engineering. His idea to include a set of hardware notch filters in Motorola's Powerline LV equipment to protect Amateur Radio beyond the traditional technique of turning off specific carriers is an industry first.
His passion for ham radio began in high school as a Novice licensee in 1969 and has continued over 37 years on all bands and all modes. It has included everything from working satellites while aboard a moving passenger train to demonstrating ISS contacts to Boy Scouts. An avid DXer he works more than 200 countries each year, in part because of a friendly competition among his fellow Fox River Radio League members in Aurora, Illinois. Illman has been the club's president for the past two years and has been recognized with the club's Ham of the Year award three years in a row.
Difficult Choices
Hamvention Awards Chairman Pat Johnson, KC8ZZO, said the committee faced a tough task selecting the winners from among a number of worthy nominees. "We were impressed with the quality of the nominations," he said. "We believe the winners all represent excellence in service to the ham radio community."
Hamvention Chairman Jim Nies, WX8F, praised the winners. "On behalf of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association and Hamvention 2006, it is my distinct pleasure to congratulate this year's award winners," he said. "Please join me in recognizing each of these gentlemen for their outstanding contributions to Amateur Radio and their many years of devotion to the Amateur Radio Service."
Held this year from May 19 until May 21, Dayton Hamvention,
the world's largest Amateur Radio gathering, annually attracts more than 25,000
people to the greater Dayton area. The event includes exhibits, a flea market,
forums and educational sessions. More information
is on the Hamvention Web site.
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