No. 17 March 28, 1997

L.I.V.E. DX

(Low Impact, Vegetarian, Environmentally Safe DX)

You remember, I’m sure, the revealing discussion we had some "LIVES" ago about the ethics of the trumpeted Myanmar Dxpedition. If you can get the Spring, 1997 issue of the QCWA (Quarter-Century Wireless Association) Journal, (N6CSW, Editor, 970-564-9186), read "Dxpeditions and American Principles: Must We Choose?" by George H. Shands, W9WUU. We did say it first right here in LIVE DX. Even worse than the laundering of drug money is the ignorance of egregious human rights violations. The Dxer is the international voice of amateur radio. It is our responsibility to uphold an ethic based on the "golden rule".

Like Shands, I can’t come up with any concrete suggestions. After all, if I, alone, boycotted P5, XU, EP, etc, other Dxers would surge ahead of me in the DXCC listings! Never! However, the idea of taking human rights and other issues into account when granting DXCC country status and acceptability should be discussed. We need to have our consciousness raised. Bless his heart, the late Bill Bennett, W7PHO (back in the eighties, I believe) yelled at a USSR station, "get outta Afghanistan!" He, like LIVE DX, was ahead of his time.

In the category of "thin ice" politics, the Chinese Sports Association is planning a one-week operation from Scarborough Reef, BS7H, April 30. This controversial "country" is almost totally submerged. The operators include a contingent from the JA1BK Japanese faction, and three US operators. Each operator had to demonstrate his ability to walk on water. A hilarious presentation at Visalia last year, showed Martti Laine, OH2BH, lashed to a wooden structure designed to keep the station above the sea.

TS8A has been operating from Tunisia. It’s the North African Hollywood, a lot of the "English Patient" was filmed there. If you happened to see "Popeye," the austere ambience made those sets seem strangely morose. Not a valuable quality for a wacky comedy. They’ll be celebrating 40 years of independence, and eight years of the presidency of Ben Ali. The club station will be operated by Hrane, YT1AD, celebrating his free ticket on Air Yugoslavia by accumulating a million frequent third-world miles.

I was particularly pleased to work the 7O1A group in Yemen. While I had believed that Yemen was Club Med for terrorists, I found out that Yemenites are known for their gardening abilities. So I worked them. I also need 7O badly on CW. It’s the only one I need. The expedition was led by the other Japanese faction, Zorro, JH1AJT. It seems that Zorro had permission from the authorities in Aden, but not from San’a. The ARRL DXCC desk has disqualified 7O1A. I already sent for the cards, so I’ll let you know if they return my "donation". Next time, Zorro has decided to bring Bandini and some good Kansas manure.

This letter was received from a Mrs. K. Wiederhorn of Wonderful Caverns, IA.:

"I tried out your scratch ‘n sniffs on the pictures of the lacrosse team in my school yearbook. It really brought back vivid memories of my old squeeze, Raymond who never washed his shorts and jersey. Pretty soon the ball and chain Earl comes home and starts lookin’ for the scratch ‘n sniffs because Roy the mailman brought the QCWA Journal."

"Well, I went to get them for Earl before he gets squirrelly and all that, and heavens to Betsy, the scratches got no more sniff! They just smell like cheap paper. Quick! Can you tell me how to get the stench back before Earl wises up?"

Dear Mrs. K. You need about 24 hours to resmell a sniff, so I suggest you make Earl a really powerful Margarita. Put the S ‘n S’s in the freezer overnight. In the morning, rub in a teaspoon of distilled water (no chlorine). Turn on your TV and stick them to the screen until you sense a vague smell in the room. The strips should be good for another activation or two unless you suck them dry with another lacrosse team.

The Strange Tale of RV2/FO8

By 1940, Roland d’Assignies, age 35, had been in Indochina (The area betweenIndia and China, including Vietnam, Thailand, etc.) for some time. He worked for the French Government. In September of 1940, the Vichy French Government opened the ports of Indochina to the Japanese who immediately occupied the territory. Roland was taken prisoner and spent the duration of the war in jail. It wasn’t easy time, it was ruthless and cruel wartime incarceration. Besides the Japanese, the French were under attack by the Communists. They were slowly losing their grip on Indochina. After the war, and Roland’s release, they sent him to Tahiti.

Roland’s assignment was to the island of Raivavae, in the Tahiti group, where he would provide weather information by radio. With the assistance of Joe Bourne, FO8AB, Roland assembled a modest station, a small Hallicrafters S-38 receiver, a Hartley oscillator using two 6L6’s, running about 25 watts, a doublet antenna.

Using his commercial callsign, RV2, Roland got on the Amateur bands. His stipend from the French Government was small, supplemented by income from crops of oranges and coffee. He was befriended by John, WK6E, then W6UCX, and Marv, W6FR, then W6VFR. These generous southern Californians provided Roland with parts and encouragement and more. In their contacts, Roland bemoaned his lost years, as if a major part of his youth had died in that Japanese prison.

Roland finally got his callsign, FO8AD. He provided many contacts throughout the world. He dreamed of opening a small radio shop. In 1959, he emigrated to the United States. In those years, it was not possible to obtain an amateur license without US citizenship, which would explain Roland’s initial silence. Marv and John helped Roland to obtain a job with Hughes, where he remained until his retirement. He lived modestly and raised a daughter. He was never to be heard on the air again.

On October 17, 1996, a story in the Orange County Register told of a grinding five vehicle crash. A 91 year old driver ran a red light in his blue Subaru and died. Roland d’Assignies didn’t make it home, only a block away.

Marv said, "Roland would never ‘run a red light.’ He probably just didn’t see it." Considering the hardships Roland faced in his life, he held on tenaciously to his vitality, driving at age 91, and making up for those lost years by living every moment until it ultimately was his last.

(Thanks to John Linden, WK6E and Marv Gonsior, W6FR. 7O1A photo exclusive to LIVE from Franz Langner, DJ9ZB)…Harvey, N6HL

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