Легендарный W3DZZ

Chester L. Buchanan W3DZZ Born in 1915. Our subject used "Roy" on the air - What a nice surprise to learn Roy is still licensed and living in Hugo, Minn. Here is a gent that was the Holy Grail to the DX world in my beginning days of the 50s 60s 70s - Every contact would bring, "Antenna here W3DZZ." In the 1950s Roy came along with a multi-band design by inserting traps at strategic points in the antenna. Our subject was The King of trap dipoles and 3 band trap beams.

Roy's card from a CW contact in 1935 gives some revealing data; Home brew receiver and transmitter running 150 Watts. He had worked all US districts, 37 states and 12 DX countries. The card was mailed from Camden NJ to W9RBO April 8th 1935. 

His home in Merchantville NJ was 3rd District pre war. a check in qst brings several articles by roy, mainly trap antenna design and others marketing the w3dzz dipoles to this very day. some fantastic notes such as "this w3dzz beam has been going for 40 years or more without trouble." plus; antennas of this type in both wire and beam configurations, have been installed by many amateurs without exception, all have been enthusiastic about the performance.

I found a testimony, W4QCF Manuals offers a schematic and parts list of the W3DZZ (3) Element Tri-bander Beam. That's a pretty good long haul record for holding on to antenna specks and material.

It appears that Roy is a Perdue Alumnus a B.S. Degree in 1939. A nice foto of a good looking young man: Chester L. Buchanan W3DZZ.

There are other items that may match but at the moment we are not positive; Dr. C.L. Buchanan Chief of Ocean Engineering Branch of Naval Research Lab advising of the wreckage of the USS Scorpion 1968. Time will tell and it has been fun checking into the life of this gifted man.

QSL card courtesy of K8CX extensive files. QST articles, mainly March 1955. W8SU 2009

73! UY5XE