John Beanland, G3BVU

John Beanland, G3BVU / AA1YE in 2008 – Image credit: PART Westford Radio Club

John Beanland, G3BVU

John was an avid AMSAT member and helped man the AMSAT booth at the Boxboro Hamfest over the years. His friends remember John to be outgoing and enthusiastic about amateur radio in space. AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW noted, “AMSAT has lost a good friend and enthusiastic member.”

Charles “John” Beanland, born in Witney, England passed away on September 21, 2012 after a long illness, aged 85. John enlisted in the Royal Navy during WWII. He was first licensed as G3BVU in 1947. He worked for the General Post Office (GPO) in Engineering and the English Electrical Valve Company (later known as EEV / e2v) where he worked on Guided Weapons. He later joined Texas Instruments and finally Microwave Associates, UK where he developed VHF solid state power amplifiers all while attending and receiving BS degrees in Electrical Engineering, Radio and Telecommunications.
Microwave Associates transferred him from the UK to Burlington, MA in 1963. In 1966 he joined the MITRE Corporation in Bedford, MA as a Member of the Technical Staff working on microwave systems and Over The Horizon Radar (OTHR) HF direction finding systems until his retirement in 1993. During that time he received his Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University. In 1972 he acquired Spectrum International, specializing in antennas, filters, VHF transverters and satellite tracking systems which he operated until his passing. He later received his US call sign, AA1YE and taught Amateur Radio licensing courses and HF radio propagation at local radio clubs. As well as AMSAT he was a longtime member of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB), the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) and most recently the PART Westford Radio Club.

John was married to Dorothy Beanland for over 57 years. They have 3 children and 3 grandchildren. He resided in West Acton, MA. A wake will be held on Monday, September 24 from 5-8 PM at the Acton Funeral Home on Rt. 111 in Acton, MA. A burial service will be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Acton, MA at 10 AM, Tuesday, September 25 followed by burial in Acton, MA.

[Thanks to ANS, Joe Reisert, W1JR and Barry Baines, WD4ASW for the above information]

Tribute courtesy of Trevor Hawkins, M5AKA and the AMSAT-UK website: http://amsat-uk.org/2012/09/23/john-beanland-g3bvu-sk/

Category: Silent Keys