Ham Radio – A contact sport

Ham radio operators were one of the first groups to embrace the world wide web and its power to share information. Not long after the HTML standards were developed, hams began to create simple websites with tips, how to information, antenna designs and the like. Invariably, in those primordial days of the web, the site would contain a small collection of web links to other sites of interest… the ARRL website, a local club or two, a contest page, DX news, and sites of a few buddies.

Eventually, many of these early websites were forgotten or never updated. One man made it his mission to put together the ultimate collection of ham radio websites on his site: Rod Dinkins, AC6V. His site, AC6V.com, contains thousands of links to sites that are organized by topic.

In fact, Rod’s site was the inspiration behind what later became my own ham radio links system and others.

I learned today of Rod’s passing.  (SK = Silent Key) He’ll be missed in the ham radio websphere for his passion for maintaining a good starting place for those seeking information on the hobby of ham radio… both newbies and old timers alike.

I’m sure that Rod had devoted many hours to his site and the hobby – and that effort resulted in many newcomers finding resources that enabled them to get a license or answer a question to make the hobby more enjoyable.

73 Rod.