Biography

The Purpose of the Tulsa DX Association is to promote the traditional values of amateur radio, including encouraging the use of the International Morse Code, and to provide public service and educational opportunities for our members. Our goal is to generate good will toward amateur radio by operating club activities in a manner that will encourage newcomers to enter into and actively participate in amateur radio.

Dr. Eugene Zimmerman, W3ZZ (SK)

The Tulsa DX Association was awarded the call sign W3ZZ on 24 June 2014. It is fitting that we acknowledge the outstanding legacy of the former holder of the call sign.

Eugene Zimmerman of Gaithersburg, Maryland, passed away on 3 June 2012. He was born in 1941, and started college at age 16, eventually earning a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Maryland in 1968. He had a distinguished career with the National Institute of Health. He was a short wave listener before becoming a licensed amateur radio operator in 1956 with the call, KN1ANV. He received K1ANV when he upgraded to General class. He earned his Amateur Extra class license in 1963. He left Connecticut in 1963 and moved to Washington, D.C., where he became seriously involved in HF DX contesting at the W4BVV (SK) multi-op station. Gene obtained the call sign, W3ZZ in 1977.

He wrote the popular QST column “The World Above 50 MHz” from 2002-2011. He also served on the ARRL Contest Advisory Committee, edited the VHF contesting column for CQ Contest magazine during its five-year lifespan, and was director of the CQ VHF Contest from 2000 to 2002. He was an ARRL Life Member.

Gene loved the challenge of working DX on the VHF and UHF bands. He earned VUCC on six bands: 50, 144, 222, 432, 903 and 1296 MHz, as well as DXCC, Worked All States and Worked All Continents on 6 meters. He was an early proponent of aggressive contest log checking. Gene logged several national top-10 finishes in the ARRL November Sweepstakes (both SSB and CW), as well as a second-place North American finish in the CQ World Wide CW Contest (from VP2MDD). He placed in the Top 10 several times in the ARRL VHF QSO Parties and in the ARRL VHF Sweepstakes.

Gene, along with Terry, W8ZN and Chuck, W4XP, was the driving force behind pulling together the right people in the D.C. area to build a new, competitive, multi-operator VHF+ contest group. This group in turn became known as the Delmarva VHF and Microwave Society and K8GP Grid Pirates Contest Group. Gene operated contests for over 15 years with that group. He was an expert in the areas of VHF, UHF and microwave propagation, and was an avid and highly accomplished radio operator and contester. He was always willing to share lessons learned, as well as his extensive experience and knowledge. He enjoyed entertaining other hams and answering their many questions. Gene (aka "Dr. Doom") provided many hams with countless hours of conversation, anecdotes and abundant good humor over the years. He is greatly missed by many.

http://www.k8gp.net/2012/06/gene-zimmerman-w3zz-sk

Here is a YouTube video of Gene operating in the June 2007 ARRL VHF Contest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab87XUlVduY

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Transceivers:

Elecraft K3

Icom 756 Pro III (X2)

Amps:

QRO HF-3KDX

Elecraft KPA 500

Antennas Include:

K5ZG 75-Foot Folded Umbrella Vertical (160 through 10 meters)

Telrex TB6EM tri-band beam

Innova 6-element 6 meter beam

W5GI all-band dipole