...I often wonder what happened to that big
beautiful Amplifier? When I first visited HZ1AB in 1959, they were using
an old BC-610 as an Amplifier. They disconected the 807 driver and
connected a Collins 32V2 to the plate caps thru a capacitor!!! The picture
of Vic on expedition shows the my old Land Rover, which I loaned him to
make the trip to the Neutral zone. Vic and I were founding members of the
Dhahran Experimental Radio Association (DERA). I was the first President
and Vic followed and then Jim Mandaville. We were required to form the
association in order to meet the requirements of the Saudi license. Aramco
government relations dept. negotiated the agreement, which made ARAMCO
responcible for any wrong doing and spelled out the terms of the license
which included the license holders to monitor and report any infractions of
the Saudi Communications Act. Vic & I made frequent trips to Riyadh on
ARAMCO business and we made it a point to visit with Ahmed Zaidan who was
the Assistant Minister of Communication for the Ministry of The Interior.
It was Ahmed who convinced King Faisal to approve the Saudi Communications
act, which among other things permitted Experimental (HAM) Radio. It was a
great day for DERA when that news was received, but ALAS! we never
succeeded in getting additional licenses granted. ARAMCO provided the meeting room for the club and WA5OEG, Joe Hall fabricated the code practice tables and desks. Joe retired shortly afterwards and settled at Hot Springs, Ark., where he put up a Tri-Band Cubical Quad on the shores of Lake Hamilton. We were able to cary on many QSO's on schedule with Joe from Dhahran and ABQAIQ where I had been transfered as Foreman of Communication. When I retired from ARAMCO in
1970, Joe and I founded our own corporation in Texas-(Micron Industries
Inc.) When Joe passed on a couple of years later I sold Micron Industries
Intact and they today are a thriving branch of Wheelabrator Corp. Henry Folkerts 7Z3AB also retired to Oregon and has since joined the many silent keys we have known. The Collins Radio Division of Rockwell Int. needed help in Iran, so my next effort was in Tehran as Senior Computer Engineer, until the Shah was deposed and we (Americans) were advised by the State Department to leave Iran. Shortly thereafter Rockwell was awarded a contract for a communications consultant in Saudi Arabia, so it was back to Riyadh to work for the Ministry Of The Interior. When Rockwell established a branch office in Riyadh (SABA) which stood for Saudi Arabia Business Area, I was promoted to Manager of Product Support and retired from that position in October of 1985. My traveling days are over now and my home is on the shores of Copano Bay, at Holiday Beach, which is about 9 miles North of Rockport, Texas. There are many color slides in my collection of activities at HZ1AB, so I will dig some of them out and mail to you along with my 7Z3AA QSL Card. This is enough I think for this time Dave, but there is much more. Hope my server accepts these several bits and pieces
and hope to hear from you soon,
Best 73s & Al-Hom-Di-Li-La Cliff Swann