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Bill Fisher, W4AN, SK
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by NT1Y on April 6, 2004
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he best thing about our hobby is not the radios, the QSLs, or the QSOs, it's the great friends you make. I am deeply saddened the untimely passing of my friend Bill Fisher, W4AN.
I know of only two people in the world with my odd mix of passions--radio contesting, bicycle racing and, new for me in 2003, parenthood: Bill W4AN and Mark N5OT (if you saw a photo of a bicycle mounted high up on a Rohn tower in QST, that's Mark).
Bill and I first met thru radio contesting and kept in touch even when I took a hiatus from ham radio '96 - '01. During this time, both Bill and I launched Dot Com companies and frequently compared notes. Bill & his Spoke Technologies colleague Garth once flew down from Seattle to visit the Enigma Digital office in Santa Monica. After a couple of hours talking e-biz shop at my office, we hit a 3rd Street bar and talked contesting for a few more hours. This conversation was the main catalyst for getting me back on the air--Bill's enthusiasm was contagious and it rekindled my ham radio flame.
Bill and I also shared an interest in bicycle racing. Bill had started riding again recently and I frequently got IM messages from him that said "just got back from a 50 miler" or similar. Not too a long ago, he did one of these marathon rides thru very bad weather and ended up half-frozen. Just like Bill not to let something like freezing rain get in the way of something was determined to do.
My personal Website (www.AA6TT.com, don't bother checking it, it's way out of date) and personal email account are hosted by Akorn. I always made contributions to eHam, but Bill wouldn't take my money for Website hosting.
When I started rebuilding my contest station last year, I spent hours and hours and hours talking strategy and technique with Bill via IM, email and phone. Lots of W4AN ideas have been and will be incorporated into my station. I can never hope to be as good an operator as Bill (he's contest Hall of Fame bound, I'm sure), but some W4AN DNA will be in my station design.
Bill was happy when I told him last year my wife was pregnant. He said this will be the greatest thing that ever happens to you. Bill was right.
What a great friend Bill was. Always had time to chat or help with a problem despite a busy life. Always aimed for excellence in everything he did.
I will be at the memorial service in Georgia Saturday morning. If anyone would like to have a contester's wake afterwards and swap W4AN anecdotes, I'm game.
I also want to remember my friend Joe Clement W6MR (ex-KF6OG). Joe died in a car crash recently while driving to a drag race (he was a pro racer). Joe was an incredible rigger who installed all of my Malibu and Colorado towers and antennas.
Bill NT1Y (ex-AA6TT)
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Bill Fisher, W4AN, SK
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by k3td on April 7, 2004
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Although I was never a big gun, and haven't done much contesting lately, Bill was a good guy to me, too. Back in the early-mid 1990s when I was living in Atlanta I had the incredible good fortune to come in contact with Bill as I was getting started in contesting. He was very helpful to me as I set about to build a *very* modest station (single radio, 100 watts, single wire 25' off the ground) and try computer logging for the first time.
Bill gave me great help with the computer setup for NA and cw keying interface for my IC-765, but the best operating advice he ever gave me was simple and direct -- "stay in the chair!" Bill inspired me to set a personal goal for my second CQWW ... not an easy contest for a relatively new contest operator with a low power station in Georgia ... and I did. I achieved that goal, it was incredibly rewarding and I was hooked forever on contesting. Bill was there to help me several times after that, whether on the local 2 meter repeater or via e-mail, but I'll never forget that first conversation!
I've been blessed with several great mentors and coaches in ham radio in general and contesting in particular. Thank you K4EA, K4RF, W4WA, K5AND and W4AN.
RIP Bill,
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RE: Bill Fisher, W4AN, SK
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by NL7Z on April 7, 2004
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Bill was one of the great ones on 160. He will be missed by us all.
God's speed om....
73'
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Bill Fisher, W4AN, SK
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by n0jk on April 7, 2004
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Very sorry to hear about Bill, W4AN. I met him once years ago at Dayton in the contest suite. We talked briefly about my idea of getting HF contesters going on contest DXpeditions to operate 6M for solar cycle 23. He was encouraging and supportive. Bill did alot for amateur radio, both on the air and through personal contacts and the Internet. He will be missed.
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Bill Fisher, W4AN, SK
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by WC1M on April 7, 2004
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I was very shocked to receive this news. Bill was still a young man. It's a terrible tragedy for his young family and I pass along my deepest condolences to them.
This is also a great loss for the contesting community. Bill was one of the best ops in the world and it would be hard to think of anyone more dedicated to the sport and helping others to enjoy it. I first became aware of Bill on Tower Talk back in 1997, when I sought advice on building my first tower. Bill was just finishing up his super station on the mountain in Georgia. I didn't have any direct communication with him for a while, but very much admired his huge project and quest for perfection. I learned a great deal from Bill's descriptions of what he had done, and incorporated as many of his ideas into my own station as I could. Later, I was not surprised at all when he won USA in CQ WW CW 1999, spending a full 48 hours in the chair. I gather that in the past few years Bill was very busy with work and didn't have time to do the major contests. I really missed his presence there, and was always happy when he dropped by to give me a contact or I heard him handing out QSOs. Well, sort of happy -- I knew if Bill was doing a serious effort there would be one more person ahead of me in the standings! Also, I made sure to send my best CW to Bill -- he was a great op and I didn't want him to think I was a lid.
Like many of you, I never met Bill in person. I knew him only from QSOs, numerous e-mail exchanges and his website. I was looking back though my e-mail archives and was amused to see that my first interaction with Bill, in May 1998, was when he slapped my wrist rather hard for posting a "test" message to Tower Talk. Bill did not suffer fools lightly, and never pulled any punches. That was Bill, and I came to appreciate that about him more and more as time went on. Not one to take it lying down, I engaged him in a little back-and-forth in which I tried to justify my post as a last resort to debug an ISP problem. As usual, I was verbose to a fault and Bill was as terse as could be. Eventually the conversation ended in a stand-off with Bill saying, "I love you, too, man. I thought for a second there that we were going to get into a flame war... ;-)" After that, we had a number of pleasant exchanges on technical and business matters (we both were working on startups in Seattle.) I always learned something from Bill.
Bill had a very strong sense of right and wrong. One thing that really impressed me was when he quickly banned a certain person from one of the reflectors for making Nazi-like hate comments. I was also impressed with how he kept the contesting.com reflectors going even when it became apparent that they were hurting him financially. I donated whenever he asked. If you think about it, these reflectors have made one of the greatest contributions to contesting and amateur radio of any innovation since the beginning of the hobby. Whatever becomes of them, I hope that we will find a way to permanently remember Bill as the founder and visionary who made it possible.
Good-bye, Bill, and thanks for all you did for us.
73, Dick WC1M
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Bill Fisher, W4AN, SK
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by WP3C on April 7, 2004
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I didn't met him but, i worked and talked with him in few bands a lot of times and i realized tha he was a nice person.
I sent my good feelings to yhe family and friends.
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RE: Bill Fisher, W4AN, SK
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by KM3T on April 8, 2004
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Please refer to W8JI's web site for trust fund information for Bill's two children:
http://w8ji.com
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Bill Fisher, W4AN, SK
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by K4JA on April 8, 2004
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Bill and I first made contact in the early 1990�s when we would often find the time to send me an encouraging note about our contest endeavors in M/S and M-2 efforts as KS9K/W9JA.
Later when we own a place in Blairsville GA, near Bill�s contest station. I helped Bill with small projects several times. However mostly we talked about station design, and building bigger and better antenna, systems. We tried to get together each time I came down often for breakfast. I remember them all fondly, one time we met K4BAI on the way to an SS effort from W4AN.
I remember his love for Mountain bike racing. One day after we finished some work, he mentioned going on 30 Mile Bike ride on roads that I often hated to drive.
Later if was Bill the first suggested that I think about a station on the south east coast. He suggested NC and I took a hard look at that but for one reason or the other it didn�t work out. However after a 9 month search I ended up with a new property that is now home to K4JA about 150 miles north.
We continued to discuss antenna combinations all during the dreaming and construction a lot of his thoughts ended up in real life.
What a world class contester, he was in a Zone during contests.
A lot of people will miss him, count me as one.
RIP Bill.
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Bill Fisher, W4AN, SK
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by n4rj on April 8, 2004
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I have been in amateur radio for 48 years and have met many hams.
Bill Fisher was a shining star. He operated N4RJ for many years and was like one of the family. Dana might come over with Bill for a visit or he might bring his son, Graeme, to play in the woods or in the pool or ride bikes, etc. It was obvious that he wanted to be a great dad for his son. And, he was.
Bill not only operated, he modified, engineered, improved and perfected N4RJ to be highly competitive. We spent countless hours on the towers together, moving beams and re-phasing arrays. When Bill first came onto the contest scene with winning scores,the "established" contesters thought he was a fluke. Not so. He eventually brought the top Sweepstakes and CQWW plaques in Georgia. And everyone knew you couldn't win from here.
Bill had the belief and persistence to make it happen. What a talent. He dominated the sprint scene also. It was one of his favorites. He was an ethical contester and I never worried that he would embarass my station's reputation with poor operating. I was so proud of his efforts and attitude.
As their friend and dentist I knew the Fishers well and have the highest regard for their family. May God bless Dana, Graeme, and Erik now and in the days to come. They, and we, have lost a fine person.
We love you Bill, and we will miss you.
Val and Becky
SK
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RE: Bill Fisher, W4AN, SK
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by k5tr on April 9, 2004
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It is a beautiful spring afternoon here in the Texas hill country.
One of those days when I would normally be out working on my station
but, when I look at those towers and antennas all I can think about is
my friend Bill Fisher and I miss him.
I will miss the IM messages asking about how to do something in TR-Log
or for help with some broken email list on contesting.com or talk of
radio or contests to come or contests past or who will win the Tour de
France.
I guess I have known Bill about half of our lives. As it is with this
hobby most of it was via the radio and in the last 10+ years via email
or telephone. When I was in college I used to go hang out in N5KO's
office - since he worked on campus - and Bill would be calling up
after contests to compare notes with Trey.
I think the first time I got to meet Bill in person was when he came
out to N5AU's station for a visit one weekend. The next time I
remember seeing him was this time at Dayton.
> On Tue, Apr 06, 2004 at 11:38:49PM -0500, Scott Neader KA9FOX wrote:
> Another great memory was in May 2000, when Bill flew in for one night of
> the Dayton party at Crowne Plaza. VERY late at night, after many beers, we
> wound up on the 3rd floor of the hotel, by the elevators, just sitting
> around and talking radio, contesting, etc. It was quite a crowd... N5KO,
> K1TO, WC4E, K4OJ, N2AA, W0UA, K6NA, K5TR, plus K9NW and I. Fun, to say the
> least.
KL7RA and N0AX were there too and maybe a few others. It was worth
every moment of lost sleep several times over - the party did not
break up until Bill hitched a ride to the airport at dawn. Bill often
said that this was one of his top ham radio moments of all time.
Over the years one of the amazing things to me is that this radio
hobby is such a social event - even in a contest it is really a huge
social event as each of our friends check in to give us a contact.
When he was building his station I recall him telling me that the
operating was great fun but that he had found that he really enjoyed
building the station, that the building might even be more fun. I
told him I understood - for I too had found that as I was building the
W5KFT station that I too really enjoyed building and designing a
station. I was looking forward to building mine - and to that end Bill
was a great person to trade trade station building tips.
Over this last year I got to operate from his station. Even though I
have never been to Georgia Bill opened his station to me via his
remote. Several times he and I were on the remote at the same time
and chatting via IM - it was like being in the same room and chatting
and tuning the bands and working a few guys and talking about it all
the while. I was so looking forward to installing the remote software
at my station and letting Bill tune the bands from Texas.
This years Tour de France will not be the same - it was great fun
chatting with Bill about how riders were doing and how the race was
going during last years great race.
The last time I talked with Bill he called to talk about some of the
plans at W8JI. Bill and Tom were planning some really cool antennas.
Bill was planning on putting the remote at JI's and I was really
looking forward to listening in to Bill using the antennas they had
planned. And I was looking forward to hearing about what did and
didn't work after the next contest.
Bill, I miss you.
73
--
George Fremin III - K5TR
[email protected]
http://www.kkn.net/~k5tr
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