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#1
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The W5YI Web site is reporting that:
With sincere regrets we announce the passing of Fred Maia, W5YI, Wednesday evening, March 28, 2012, following a brave battle with cancer. -- Jeff, KE9V |
#2
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1 In Jeff Davis writes: The W5YI Web site is reporting that: With sincere regrets we announce the passing of Fred Maia, W5YI, Wednesday evening, March 28, 2012, following a brave battle with cancer. -- Jeff, KE9V Fred was a unique, and sometimes controversial, character in amateur radio. My initial association with him was as a Volunteer Examiner (VE) under his VE Coordination (VEC) program while at the University of Maryland and its amateur radio club, W3EAX. Fred had approached many clubs, including ours, shortly after the Goldwater bill was passed in 1982, enabling regulations by the FCC to have volunteers give amateur radio exams were published, and VEC's were accredited by the FCC. So the UM club sponsored one of the first VE teams in the area. Even several years afterwards, during the time I was a club member and VE, the examination sessions were well-attended, with automobile license plates from as far away as New Jersey. These sessions continued well into the early 90's, with ARRL and Laurel VEC teams giving more local exams, and the membership base, especially Extra-class amateurs, declining in the UM club after I had graduated. Fred was also an enthusiastic volunteer for my (now-defunct) Amateur Radio Elmers Resource Directory. The main criticism of Fred seemed to have been about his for-profit business, offering to file FCC paperwork for a fee, which can be submitted for free. Fee-based assistance with filing free applications with the government was not unique with Fred, nor unique to amateur radio, and was strictly legal. However, I can see how it rubbed some amateurs the wrong way. There were occasional irregularities with W5YI VEC-sponsored exam sessions, but that was not unique to W5YI. Other VEC programs had their occasional bad apples that had to be routed out. At no time during any W5YI (or ARRL) VEC exam sessions that I helped administer over the years did I personally witness anything illegal or unethical. Rest in peace, Fred. Amateur radio is just a little bit diminished without you here with us on this earth. - -- 73, Paul W. Schleck, K3FU http://www.novia.net/~pschleck/ Finger for PGP Public Key -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (SunOS) iD8DBQFPdcdB6Pj0az779o4RAtMOAJwP+IfORTBaWnX1rANoOY 9YZZrQBgCeJ4AK lJQZ5cYwn53V6hwnD1WHjR8= =9nTH -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- |
#3
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On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:57:08 EDT, Paul W. Schleck
" wrote: The main criticism of Fred seemed to have been about his for-profit business, offering to file FCC paperwork for a fee, which can be submitted for free. Fee-based assistance with filing free applications with the government was not unique with Fred, nor unique to amateur radio, and was strictly legal. However, I can see how it rubbed some amateurs the wrong way. ARRL also charges a fee to renew licenses of non-ARRL-members. I am an ARRL/VEC accredited VE. If someone comes to one of my sessions and asks us to renew his license (without taking any exams), we have to charge him a fee. However, I tell him to save his money, and that after the session I will help him to renew his license online for free. As I am the team leader for the ARRL/VEC exam team in my town, my name and phone number is on all the publicity for the exams, and I have become the go-to guy for anyone in my town who has a problem with licenses. If I can't help them fix it, I usually can find out how. Dick Grady, AC7EL Team Leader and Liaison of the Pahrump, NV VE Team |
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