Denis Jones, G3UVR, September 2020
Denis Jones, G3UVR (SK)
We have to report the sad passing of Denis Jones, G3UVR. Denis will be known to many amateurs around the world but also as a stalwart of the Wirral and District Amateur Radio Club, of which he was a member since its inception.
There are so many things that could be said about Denis by all who had the good fortune to meet him on air, or in person since he was first licenced in 1965. Even up to a few weeks ago, after taking ill, he was a high scorer in the UKAC on almost every band, often featuring in the highest three scores across the country, and the overall top scorer more than once. With Denis, it was generally thought that the higher the frequency, the better he liked it, whether using CW, voice, data or television. Although he was no stranger to the HF bands either and was proud to have achieved the first 4m contact between the UK and Greenland.
Many of his SHF achievements are featured on his YouTube channel, including his use of rain scatter and aircraft scatter.
He really enjoyed all club events but especially the annual trips to the Radio Rally in Friedrichshafen.
His home QTH was almost the highest house on Wirral. He would submit excellent scores on the weekly contests, especially in the 2m UKAC, using what was jokingly referred to by club members as his one-element beam (it was a dipole).
His achievements were not restricted to contests. He was also a great enthusiast of satellites, amateur television, as well as the club DF hunts.
His knowledge and enthusiasm were second to none, as were his skills as a designer and builder of many projects, some of which were entered into the club Construction Competitions. He was always willing to assist those of us who were less knowledgeable and less capable than he was. In the true spirit of amateur radio he would help and advise, but never patronise.
He was always looking to achieve the best from his transmissions and many club members will remember his tales of recent interference problems. First, with dogged determination, he traced interference to a faulty light in his fridge. The second, on 50MHz, turned out to be from hydroponic cultivation equipment installed in a nearby premises, for reasons that will not be expanded on here.
Even in his seventies, he was known to climb to the top of what he described as his ‘mast’ to change antennas for the current week’s contest. This ‘mast’ was in fact a 70 feet tall pine tree in his garden.
Denis, you will be sorely missed.
73, RIP
Category: Silent Keys
