[bars] Brent Desautel, W1IA, SK

[apizer at comcast.net]

Another memory I have is when he was still living in the condo/apartment up on Christian Hill, he would still get on HF from that QTH.  Brent was a sharp guy and an early adopter (and expert) of electronics and radio technologies, even though his “day jobs” were more mechanically oriented.  That visit to his apartment was one my first views of packet spotting over the DX cluster.  He had it set up as text-to-voice, and would blast the spots over his stereo in hi-fi, so wherever he was in the apartment, he could then go running to his shack and work ‘em.

 

Because many of us were apartment bound back in those days, in the summer he would invite us to his mom’s (or was it his mom-in-law?) backyard screen house in Tewksbury and we would set up shop on HF outside with a real antenna.

-Art

NF1A

 

 

From: bars <bars-bounces at w1hh.org> On Behalf Of wo1n
Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2023 5:38 PM
To: 'Steve Wedge, W1ES/4' <w1es at protonmail.com>; bars at w1hh.org
Cc: w1ela at comcast.net
Subject: Re: [bars] Brent Desautel, W1IA, SK

 

I am truly saddened to hear this. At least we had some warning.

 

So many memories stretching back to the early 90’s when we were wild and crazy guys.

 

I needed an Air Conditioning recharge on my pickup truck just before one Field Day one year. Brent says swing by and he’ll fix me up. He sure did, every time I used my AC after that it literally would blow snowflakes out the vents!

 

Brent and I were both manning the controls of TWF’s FT1000 at the end of one of the major CW contests. It was 40 meters, total bedlam. We were tag teaming trying to pick out calls. We worked a few stations and we come upon a G, loud as all get out. Throw out our call and he’s just ignoring us. We are like WTF? This goes on for a few minutes when I finally notice the FT1000 had somehow gone into split. We were transmitting about 10 KHz away. From then on it was “He’s working Spleeet, OM!” 

 

I remember the 4 wheeler he had that was straight out of the 70’s tweens show “Banana Splits”. He must have shuffled 20 HF Beam antenna hanging off that thing up and down the ski hill at Nashoba prepping for Field Day.

 

Then there was the time we both had to work Friday on NEARFest weekend (Still Hosstraders at the time). So, we decided to drive up together in my pickup. That was during his home brew years. When I picked him up we first rigged up one of his mini-kegs with a hose from my truck bed into the cab. Made for an interesting drive up to Deerfield.

 

RIP, OM, you are missed….

 

Ken – WO1N

 

From: bars <bars-bounces at w1hh.org <mailto:bars-bounces at w1hh.org> > On Behalf Of Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 via bars
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2023 3:32 PM
To: bars at w1hh.org <mailto:bars at w1hh.org> 
Subject: [bars] Brent Desautel, W1IA, SK

 

Many of you from BARS remember Brent (aka “Tina”) and some of you know of his recent struggle against ALS. 

 

Brent passed away today.  He was my best friend. 

 

RIP, pal; the struggle is over for you. 

 

73,

 

Steve Wedge, W1ES/4

 

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

 

 

Sent from Proton Mail for iOS

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