Silent Key. That’s the phrase used for an Amateur Radio Operator that has passed away. It is a reference to the Morse Code keyer used by those radio operators.
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I miss him also, didn t always agree with him but he was never rude to me when I told
him I disagreed
I’ve read a lot of his words here on talk, heard a ton of stories and references to him around the elab, seen his legacy to the AR SIG, played with the amazing modulardirect conversation demonstration receiver he built. I truly wish I could have met the man.
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His legacy is all over DMS, like the dapping blocks in JSM and the basic design for the inkle looms
in Fiber arts He even taught himself how to weave on an inkle loom!
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Not so much a field trip but perhaps a memorial BBQ dinner at the Old House BBQ on a Sunday?
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I like that too but what he wanted was for us to load up on the dart and make our way over to ft.worth and to bike to the museums to enjoy a day together - so I’m going to work on that part @Adam_Oas volunteered to help with that as well so stay tuned
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I just remembered a Walter story.
In response to people using something as complicated as an Arduino to blink a couple of LEDs, Walter taught some classes to do that with just a few discrete components.
He later got into circuit simulation with LTspice. He was tickled pink that his first attempt to model his circuit refused to oscillate. The real thing, with real components, was not perfectly symmetrical and that was why it worked. The computer model, on the other hand, used ideal components as he specified.
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Yes, I remember that problem he had. He designed a simple flip-flop circuit consisting of 2 transistors. The circuit would oscillate back and forth as each transistor turned on while the other was forced to turn off, back and forth. In real life no components are identical, there would always be a difference in each transistor circuit so that one of the transistors would first turn on and start the process. In his LTSpice simulation, all components were mathematically identical. So, neither transistor would start the process. Good teaching example that computer simulations do not always work in real life.
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Funny I was just telling someone the other day how much Walter is missed daily, I know he would have been a HUGE asset in the expansion.
A year?? wow. so quickly time goes by.
His is in our prayers most nights. As are many of our makers.
Walter was passionate about the Space, and unafraid to battle for the betterment of it. And we are better for it.
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Walter was the first person to say the Emperor had no clothes.
I miss him.
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I used the Bridgeport Tuesday. I made an extra effort to clean the covers and place them back gently, as he made them as his checkout project on the multicam.
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I too miss Walter. I had many conversations with him and found him to be an incredibly bright, passionate and most of all helpful maker. He was generous with his time and his resources. Many of us have benefited from his teaching. He taught me to make a Michigan Mighty Mite. Build a radio transmitter class
Although controversial at times Walter was always engaging and most of the time very enlightening. I believe he could argue either side of an argument just to get people talking.
I like so many miss him around the space and, of course, on talk. RIP Walter.
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Many of you do not know that Walter donated all of his Amateur Radio equipment to the Dallas Makerspace. Once the Electronics Lab moves into the new area, there will be a fully equipped Amateur Radio bench that will be the envy of any Ham Radio Operator.
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I miss Walter as well. He cared greatly about DMS and gave alot of his time and energy to the space. He was a wealth of knowledge and always learning something new then teaching what he had learned.
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Best class I took at DMS. Walter was even extremely patient with us winding coils (yes that Walter). He was impeccably prepared. You could tell he was enjoying the process.
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LOL, my biggest teaching with Walter was on the awesome rotary sharpening setup he bought from tormac. Probably spelled that wrong. I put the finest edge and hollow grind on a POS $0.15 pocket knife. The knife didn’t even want to stay closed as I found out when I cut the pocket out of my jeans thanks to the sharpening.
So many Walter stories. Even after he passed I remember hanging with @Gimli talking about helping clean up some stuff in his house and Russell and @artg_dms were joking about Art’s mouth tasting like pennies when in the bathroom. Seems Walter had appropriated some pretty nasty chems for one of his planned future projects.
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I think Walter would fully embrace the expansion plans and all the possibilities it can bring. I also think he would be very disappointed in all the rant and rave over NDAs. Opportunities missed and extra costs incurred. If it’s not explicitly prohibited in our rules, bylaws, etc. then what’s the problem? Walter dealt w/ city government, city council and contractors and NDAs were ho-hum everyday thing. Pay attention to the details and move on.
Walter put together a chem lab in the bathroom. Science got the glassware and chemicals. They advised me not to box up the acids and alkalies together. Oh why not? Transporting all of it to DMS was interesting. I could see getting pulled over on one of the toll roads and being asked " Why are you in such a hurry? Interesting stuff. What is it? Where are you taking it? etc.".
Then there were the firearms. I remember visiting him at the hospital and he requested that I round up all of the firearms and remove them from the apartment. He paused and looked at me with a grin and said “They all have a full clip and one in the chamber”. Good to know. Having not handled firearms in a long while and not wanting to risk “entertaining” the neighbors, I reached out to Hatchers and Russell offered to help in rounding up and unloading everything. Walter had built a beautiful AR. The lower was finished at DMS before all the rules and laws changed. He reported that he had taken it to a range and it was very accurate - despite his eyesight.
And there’s so much more.
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Thanks for sharing Art,
I’m not sure there is anything in this world that Walter fully embraced. I also know he hated any kind of denial of the membership from having access to information. As we both fought together on those topics.
Reminds me of the Motley Crew of Allen, Walter, and I having the meeting with the DMS lawyer, just to have the Lawyer stone wall us. I believe we were trying to figure out the limits of the bylaws and the ability to notify members for membership action against a decision by the BOD.
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I miss Walter…
I’m all alone now. 
Russell Ward
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