Skip Tenney, W1NLB - SK

Ham Radio Magazine cofounder and publisher Skip Tenney, W1NLB, of Francestown, New Hampshire, died on 4th August 2019 after a period of declining health. He was 89.

In 1968, Tenney and Jim Fisk, W1DTY (SK), joined forces to publish Ham Radio Magazine, which was published for 23 years.

Tenney launched the spin-off Ham Radio Report, edited by Joe Schroeder, W9JUV (SK), a weekly Amateur Radio newsletter, and in 1978, Ham Radio Publishing Group started Ham Radio HORIZONS, aimed at a more general ham radio readership.

Ham Radio Publishing Group was sold to CQ Communications in 1990, and in his retirement, Tenney was a farmer in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Prof Les Barclay OBE, G3HTF - SK

Professor Les Barclay, OBE, BSc, FREng, FIET, G3HTF, passed away on the 31st of July 2019 at the age of 85. Among many other fine works, Les was a Corresponding Member of the RSGB Propagation Studies Committee and a leading light in propagation research.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) published an obituary of Prof Barclay outlining his major contributions to science.

Prof Barclay Obituary - https://www.itu.int/en/Pages/Barclay.aspx

HAL Communications Cofounder, President Bill Henry, K9GWT, SK

One of the cofounders and later president of HAL Communications, George W. “Bill” Henry, Jr., of Monticello, Illinois, passed away on 17th July 2019. An ARRL Life Member, he was 78. HAL Communications formally got its start in 1972 among hams and graduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana, but the company’s history goes back a few years before.

Henry once explained that the name HAL was chosen by partner George Perrine, who picked the name because it was “one letter ahead of IBM.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed the job. There are not too many occupations where you get to pay yourself to do exactly what you always wanted to do.”

— George W. “Bill” Henry, Jr, 2013

HAL Communications grew into a successful supplier of RTTY and digital communications modems, terminal units, and software, including CLOVER. Henry sold his stock in the enterprise to Barrett Communications in Australia in 2012, which continues to operate HAL Communications as a standalone business unit.