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Richard Haungs W2UJR
Throughout
our life we meet only one or two people that have profound effect upon our
lives.
For
me, one of those people was Richard H. Haungs. Known through the Northeast
amateur radio community as W2UJR, or just "UJR", Dick was one of those
rare people who was truly everyone’s friend. Dick loved radio, and would share
it with anyone that would listen.
Background
Born
September 18, 1921, Dick had an interest in radio from an early age. He would
carry around a small notebook in which he would copy CW from the air. When he
had the book full, and it was a thick book, he felt that he could then take the
exam for his license. The speed requirement was 12 or 13 wpm, but by the time
that Dick took his exam he was already copying at 16 or 17 wpm. Dick was first
licensed in 1940, at the age of 19.
One
of Dick's early elmers was Harvey Wannemacher W2MZ. Harvey, who was employed
with the local electric company as an auto mechanic, was also a talented
musician with the organ. Like Dick, Harvey lived in Lancaster, NY. Dick thought
the world of Harvey; he was very bright like Dick. Dick received one of his
receivers when Harvey became a Silent Key in 1976.
Another
mentor and friend was the legendary Mike Premus, W2OY who was licensed 1919 to
1967. After W.W.II, Mike didn’t want to bother getting back on the air, but
Dick talked him into it. That’s an interesting bit of trivia that Dick used to
like to chuckle about. It was at Dick’s urging that Mike applied for a new W2
call, and was issued W2OY. Prior to that he had been W8MLR, but W2MLR wasn’t
available after the war. Dick, on the other hand, had W8UJR, and W2UJR was
available after FCC had re-ordered the call districts, and took New York State
out of the 8th district.
In
the fifties and sixties Dick was THE BIGGEST AM signal in the northeast on 75
meters. In those days he ran his push pull 250THs on AM, modulated by P.P. 810s.
The R.F. section (and its power supply) was in one seven-foot rack cabinet, and
the A.F. section (and its power supply) was another. What a rig that was, and
when he pushed it into his two element collinear array at 60 feet, it was the
biggest signal in the northeast. It was so big that in the mid 1960s, the slop
buckets put on 4-KW rigs with 75-meter beams just to QRM him. He finally got
disgusted with it all, and left 75 AM forever. It’s a pity, but they literally
drove him off.
Most
recently, Dick could be found on 1.888AM early mornings like clockwork. One
thing that I learned very quickly about Dick, he was an early riser, often awake
and on the air at 5:00AM. Dick became the backbone of the early morning 160m
group, which often had a 10-15 member roundtable from throughout the Northeast,
with check-ins as far away as the Midwest. Dick was also a member of the Gray
Hair Net holding number 116, in addition to keeping other skeds with friends
outside the local area via CW and AM.
The Ham Shack
Dick’s
ham shack was something that had to be seen to be appreciated. I can still
vividly recall the first time that I visited. I was still a JN, not yet having
HF privileges, or the boatanchor bug. I had heard rumors of Dick’s shack, but
to see it with my own eyes was something else.
Dick’s
transmitters, except for the Collins 32V2, were all home brew. Mounted in large
seven-foot racks with crinkle black panels, it was like traveling back to the
fifties. Dick patiently showed me about the place, proudly explaining each of
his creations to me. The glowing tubes, the whirl of blowers and the hum of high
voltage transformers were something that needed to be seen and felt to be
understood. For high voltage supplies on some of the transmitters, Dick was
using what he termed "pole pigs", old power pole transformers. He had
reversed the installation, using the secondary windings as the primary to obtain
his HV.
Dick
was a firm believer in open wire feedlines, and used homemade acrylic insulators
between the wires. I noticed little neon bulbs carefully secured to each
feedline in the shack; Dick would later explain that the RF would cause the neon
gas in the bulb to glow, and he could tell which antenna was active.
With
a chuckle and a beaming smile Dick then showed me his binary transmitter and
receiver control system. Using a series of Schmidt triggers and other chips Dick
had constructed a digital logic control for his transmitters and receivers that
allowed fingertip access from his operating position. Cleverly designed, it
allowed only one transmitter and receiver to be active at a time! Eighties
Digital Logic circuits interfaced with 1950s vintage gear, only W2UJR could do
that! Photos of Dick's station can be found on the W2UJR Web Site at the Buffalo
AM page, URL http://hamgate1.sunyerie.edu/~larc/ujram.html.
The Man
Dick
certainly became a fixture on 160 AM, but his first love was always CW. And he
was a great CW op with his Vibroplex bug, he was easily able to copy and send 35
wpm CW in his head. After becoming disgusted with the current state of 75 meter
AM, he dismantled the 75 meter rig with it’s 810 modulators, and built up a 40
meter C.W. rig with P.P. 810s in that rack cabinet instead. W2UJR was well known
and respected throughout the Northeast for his professional operating manner,
and extensive technical knowledge. When I was first given my HF privileges I was
a bit nervous and shy on the air, until I discovered a magic key. I only had to
mention that W2UJR was my elmer and I would be warmly welcomed into the fold.
As a
founding member of the Lancaster Amateur Radio Club, Dick served faithfully as
club Secretary for over 10 years. He was the backbone of the club, instrumental
in both its growth and outreach. A fixture at club events, you could always
count upon Dick to run the weekly Net, help with the hamfest, show up at Field
Day, or coordinate the July 4th Parade. He always had time for
people. And when something had to be done, and no one else would do it, Dick
would take up the challenge without a complaint.
The Legacy
Dick
was also an ARRL VE, and ran the monthly exam sessions in the Lancaster area for
over 10 years. Pat NW2I, his assistant at VE sessions for many years relates,
"His teaching ability was superb and yet he would take no credit for
himself, but became delightfully proud to know when a new ham accomplished
another ladder of success. He looked forward to every VE session; he had tested
over 2500 candidates. "You passed"; he would say and shake another
outstretched hand. If the candidate needed to try again, he encouraged each one
to do so."
I
received my license via one of Dick’s VE sessions in July 1995. That was my
first exposure to his boundless energy. Every time that he would see me he would
ask with a smile, "Are you ready to take your next test", or "how
is that C.W. coming along?" Dick’s encouragement, and gentle prodding
pushed many of his students into achievements they would have never thought
possible. However, Dick did not confine himself to exams, he taught a course in
the spring and fall for new amateurs and upgrades. Even after I was licensed, I
used to go and sit in on his Saturday license classes just to hear him speak. He
really brought the theory alive. Instead of just dry facts, Dick was a rich
storyteller (as all great teachers are) intermixing theory with his personal
experiences with radio. We both shared a common interest in Nicola Tesla, and
would exchange books and stories about our early efforts to create Tesla coils.
During
the short time that I knew him, I learned that Dick had a great sense of humor
and wit, and was a bit of a jokester. One of his former co-workers recalls Dick
making small bombs from dry ice and a plastic tube. Placed under an unlucky
friend's workbench, the dry ice would melt and develop great pressure in the
tube causing it to burst, creating a very loud, but harmless explosion!
One
thing that I remember best about Dick was his patience. He would listen as you
presented some rambling, disjointed explanation of a technical problem that you
were having, then, when you were done, he would think for a moment and come up
some clear simple solution. He would say, "try this" and hand you a
part, or "do this" and draw a quick schematic, and it would usually
work. I must have spoken with him 100 times about the problem I was having with
my newly acquired KWS-1. He always had time to listen, do an air check, or offer
a replacement part. That is what I remember most about Dick, he was patient, and
kind to everyone.
And Then
Dick
became ill in December of 1997. Although I did not know it then, Dick had
developed terminal cancer.
In
the last 6 months of life, fighting cancer, Dick remained the same caring,
dedicated person as always. Marie, his wife of 43 years, explained, "Dick
was determined to see the end of the century, the year 2000. And what Dick sets
his mind to he accomplishes." Unable to sleep comfortably due to the pain,
Dick would often be awake and in the ham shack at 4:00 AM. Sometimes he would
call his usual CQ "Anyone around this morning?" if he felt good, or
just stand by listening. I was fortunate to have had several early morning QSOs
with him during this time. Even though it was often a struggle for him to speak,
Dick would always want to know how things were with the club, how the VE
sessions were going, and how my 20-wpm CW was coming along. It really struck me
that though he was often weak and in pain from his illness; Dick was still
focused on helping others.
Despite
the pain of his illness, Dick remained active on the air until just a few weeks
before his death, continuing his many friendships and dispensing advice to his
radio friends. Richard H. Haungs, W2UJR, passed away May 15, 1998. At the age of
77, after 58 years of hamming, Dick became a Silent Key.
I
found it strangely fitting that the number of the last hymn at W2UJR’s
memorial service was 599, the CW shorthand for a perfect signal report...
599
W2UJR my friend and my teacher de KG2IC SK.
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Amateur Radio Station W1UJR