* Robert M. Richardson, W4UCH, SK: Robert M. "Bob" Richardson, W4UCH, of Ft
Lauderdale, Florida, died June 29, 2006. He was 79. An aviation executive, fighter
pilot and inventor, Richardson contributed several articles to QST and to
Ham Radio magazine between 1959 and 1986. He also authored The Gunnplexer
Cookbook, published in 1981 by Ham Radio Publishing. Following World War II
service as a fighter pilot, he was assigned to work on "Operation Ivy"
hydrogen bomb test in the Marshall Islands. He holds several patents
including one for a "battery-free remote radio transmitter," a precursor to
today's RF identification tags used in retail security and inventory
control. He also holds a patent for the first bacteria-powered radio
transmitter, an accomplishment featured by Life magazine in a 1961 article,
"Will Bugs Generate Our Future Power?" In 1962, Richardson's contribution
"First Biological Cell Application Powers Six-Meter Transmitter" appeared in
QST's "Technical Correspondence." The family invites memorial donations to
the Robert Merz Richardson Memorial, Chautauqua Foundation, PO Box 28,
Chautauqua, NY 14722.
Return