So long, Arizona

Sad news to report from the Netherlands as this week I heard that Gerard, the operator of Radio Arizona had passed away. I never had the chance to meet him, but I enjoyed catching his signal particularly as his transmitter was low power and it was always a surprise for him when his signal made its way to my radios in England.

The operator of Radio Paradiso tells me that Gerard was in his late 60s and had been involved in radio for many years. He started out as an FM pirate before switching to the MW band as part of the Apollo Team from Oldenzaal. He was busy during the 1980s with CB radio, during the 1990s with building computers and then returned to the air on MW and SW during the mid-2010s.

Gerard's brother is the operator of Radio San Antonio, a regular on 183 metres. I would like to send my condolences and very best wishes to him and the rest of the family.

In memory of Gerard, here is a recording of him during one of his regular qsos on 1.6 MHz:

MW Free Radio · Radio Arizona 1642 kHz

Members of the Tamara WhatsApp group have been collecting for a floral arrangement to be sent to Gerard's family. Donations can be made here.