I haven't seen it mentioned -- but the origin of that W4BVV recording was
Fred, K3ZO, and the recording location was Vietnam. In addition to
W4BVV, recordings that he made of W3AU, W4KFC, & W3PZW are on the PVRC
website.
The "rest of the story" and those recordings can be accessed at:
https://www.pvrc.org/wav/cw_audio.html
73, Dave K3ZJ
On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 5:37 PM Pete Chamalian via CQ-Contest <
cq-contest@contesting.com> wrote:
> Brings back fond memories. I had the honor of being an op there in CQWW
> CW for a few years in the 1960-70
>
>
>
> Pete Chamalian, W1RM
> W1RM@Comcast.net
>
> WWW.W1RM.COM
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CQ-Contest <cq-contest-bounces+w1rm=comcast.net@contesting.com> On
> Behalf Of Dan K2YWE
> Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2026 7:26 PM
> To: Art Boyars <artboyars@gmail.com>
> Cc: CQ-Contest Reflector <cq-contest@contesting.com>
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] W4BVV's long CQ
>
> I used a tape loop unit from Burstein-Applebee and did the same rectified
> audio thing to my 'TO keyer's driver for it's mercury-wetted relay. I may
> sstill have that loop thingy somewhere here :)
>
> 73, Dan
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 10:21 AM Art Boyars <artboyars@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > VE3DZ posted a link to a 1971 recording:
> > https://hamgallery.com/dx1970/w4bvv.mp3
> >
> > I was one of the operators at the W4BVV(SK) Multi-Multi back then.
> > (W3ZZ (then W3BQV, formerly K1ANV) (SK) said of me "He didn't know a G
> > from a DL!").
> >
> > At some point during my years at 'BVV I built the boxes that were used
> > for those CQ machines. Tom had little stereo cassette tape recorders,
> > one for each band/station. They had cassettes that were short
> > continuous loops of tape. We would record the CQ message CW audio on
> > one track, and a continuous tone on the other track. My boxes had
> > simple rectifiers for the audio tones -- the CW track to drive the key
> > line, the continuous tone to drive the PTT; some kind of push button
> > start. I don't remember what I used for drivers -- transistor
> > switches?? relays?? For 'phone, the CQ message was recorded on the
> > one track, and the second track was still used for PTT. Everybody
> called CQ with Tom's voice.
> >
> > Now, to the case in point. I think that the long and slow CQ in the
> > linked audio file was K4YF (then K3NPV, formerly W8ZBX?) (SK) on 80M.
> > You didn't get a lot of rate or volume on 80M back then. Tom's 80M
> > antenna was four sloping dipoles off one of the towers -- a pretty
> > good antenna in those days.
> >
> > Of course, "in those days" we were logging on paper, with paper dupe
> > sheets. Except K4YF, a blind op, used a portable typewriter.
> >
> > Dupe sheets... W4BVV himself had access to a computer (later, we
> > would have called it a "main frame"). Between the TWO WEEKENDS of
> > each mode of the ARRL DX Contest he would enter the entire log for
> > each band into a sorting program, and output a printed alphabetical
> > list of stations worked for us to use, going into the second weekend.
> > We would read the 80M list to K4YF just before the contest re-started.
> >
> > For 160M Tom had an old DX-100 in the corner (I think we still had
> > power limits on 160M) and another set of four-sloper dipoles on a
> > different tower. I think that now and then in the night somebody
> > would fire up on 160M, work the few QSOs and multipliers you knew
> > would be on, and maybe a sked or two.
> >
> > More on dupe sheets... One time, W3ZZ wondered, "If you had a computer
> > that would give you a red light or green light to tell you if a call
> > was a dupe, would it give you an unbeatable advantage?" Well, Gene
> > did tend to overstate things, as those who knew him would attest. And
> > he is still missed, as are W4BVV, K4YF, W1ARR (SK) and many of the
> > other op's from the old W4BVV team.
> >
> > To tie this to another thread running here, remember that back in the
> > day SS was TWO WEEKENDS for each mode. That's a change that even I
> appreciate.
> >
> > 73, Art K3KU (K3OAE back in the day)
> > _______________________________________________
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> > CQ-Contest@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
> >
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