They were given a time to take their exam in the hall of Post 46. By doing so, each applicant completed the administrative portion of their testing paperwork at home. John K4FT, club VE coordinator, arranged for 21 applicants, from Kentucky and two other states, by pre-registering each applicant. COVID-19 had forced relapse in the execution of that Legion testing mission since January 2020.
Chuck called him on SSB, and the emotion in the voice of the OT was something that brought tears to the eye as Chuck took the time to talk to him, wish him well, and assure him that he would get a QSL to finish off his achievement.The Wilderness Road Amateur Radio Club (aka WRARC) of Danville, Ky, routinely has FCC amateur radio exams utilizing VE examiners from within/outside of the club in Boyle American Legion Post 46. The CW OP changed to SSB, and it was obvious that he was an OT who had been a ham for decades.Ĭhuck heard his plaintive comment that he was sorry he had used CW, but that he was running a small station and Bouvet Island was the last country he needed to have worked them all. I heard a CW signal on frequency, and pretty soon the frequency police were telling the CW OP to stop, because Chuck was operating SSB, and the CW OP should get back in the CW bands. Of course there were still people calling him on SSB. After being on the air satisfying everyone's need for a "new one", he was obviously tired and needed a break. My memory of Chuck was a poignant event during his 3YØC operation. Survivors include Brady's fianc Susan, their four-year-old sonCharlie, and a sister. In 1992, NASA selectedBrady as an astronaut candidate, and he qualified as a missionspecialist for shuttle flights, ultimately logging more than 405hours in space. He received training as a flight surgeon after joining the US Navyin 1986, and he was flight surgeon for the Blue Angels Navy flightdemonstration squadron from 1989 until 1990. In addition to ham radio, he enjoyedcanoeing, kayaking, tennis, and cycling.
TheNorth Carolina native packed a lot of activities into hisall-too-short lifetime. "Chuck will surely be missed by his many friends around the world,and many will remember him as a kind a loving human being," McClennysaid.Ī physician, Brady held the rank of captain in the US Navy. Later that year Chuckwas the dinner speaker at the Dayton DX Dinner." "This one was kept totally secretuntil he showed up on the air in January 2001. "Probably Chuck's most notable operation was that of 3Y0C fromBouvet Island," McClenny recounts. According to The Daily DX andQST "How's DX?" Editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, Brady activated someof the rarer American Pacific islands including Kure Island, Palmyraand Jarvis Island, Midway Island, Wake Island, Baker and HowlandIsland and Kingman Reef. "And he predicted that Amateur Radio would be a very important meansfor astronauts to feel as though they were in touch with the worldwhile staying on-orbit for months on end-and so it is," White said."During his shuttle flight, he spent more hours on the ham airwavesthan probably he should have, much to the pleasure of hamsworldwide."įollowing his career as an active astronaut, Brady went on to takepart in several popular DXpeditions. ARRL Amateur Radioon the International Space Station (ARISS) liaison Rosalie White,K1STO, says Brady saw into the future of ham radio in space. AnARRL member, he was active on ham radio during the 16-day STS-78shuttle mission in 1996, then the longest ever.
During his years as an active astronaut in the 1990s, Brady wasamong the pioneers of SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment). Retired space shuttle astronaut and DXer Chuck Brady, N4BQW, of OakHarbor, Washington, died July 23 following a lengthy illness.