Kurt N. Sterba -- SK

[K7JEB]

From the ARRL:

Silent Keys: Palomar Engineers President Jack Althouse, K6NY, SK
-- Was "Kurt N. Sterba"

As "Kurt N. Sterba," Althouse wrote a regular WorldRadio
"Aerials" column and several articles and books.

Palomar Engineers President John E. "Jack" Althouse, K6NY, of San
Diego, California, died September 15 after suffering a massive
stroke. He was 90. With his death, his alter ego "Kurt N.
Sterba," who penned the "Aerials" columns from 1999 until 2012
and authored books on antennas for WorldRadio, also passes into
Amateur Radio history.

Althouse graduated from the University of Nebraska with a BS in
electrical engineering. He held an MS in electrical engineering
from the University of Iowa. Last summer Althouse announced that
he had disposed of most of his product line, since he would be
"semi-retired" and entering an independent living facility. He
remained active on the air until earlier this year.

Palomar Engineers, the Escondido company he operated, may become
a thing of the past as well. A message on the company's website
says Palomar Engineers is "temporarily closed" and "not taking
orders at this time." A regular QST advertiser, Palomar marketed
balun kits, RFI kits, toroids and ferrite cores and beads. It
once offered antennas and other accessories....

[martyn...@googlemail.com]

Kurt (Jack) sent me a copy of his book 'Kurt Speaks out' I will always treasure it, Martyn GW6ITJ

[butch.ru...@gmail.com]

Maybe you have since changed your identification of Kurt N. Sterba (identified as K6NY, Jack Althouse, SK). I came across the SK announcement as I was looking for what was up with KNS.
I knew Jack Althouse, I even had dinner with him and others when WorldRadio asked him to take over the Sterba column. Myself and the WR editor of the moment delivered a huge 20 meter antenna
to him one stifling summer day. (He was a nice and interesting gentleman and is very much missed in the Ham community.)
K6NY Jack Althouse was not Kurt N. Sterba. He wrote the column for the remaining years of WorldRadio. He did not write the Arial books and it was not Jack, K6NY that I helped build the 5/8 (or was it 7/8) 10 meter
vertical antenna (I still have it) that was written about in WorldRadio.

I knew Kurt N. Sterba, I spent a lot of time with him, building, planning and agonizing over whether Armond and Helen were doing the right thing having his column in the magazine. We talked about the difficulty
I had finding antenna companies willing to advertise in WorldRadio when he had most likely tore the antenna apart in a column.

In 2005 I retired from the publication company back to the land of snow an continual wetness.
Kurt N. Sterba will be missed, but you will really never know who he is, and it is really best this way.

Respectfully,
W6RWR, Glen Rudesill
butch.ru...@gmail.com

[Allodoxaphobia]

We see yet another google grooper replying to a 2-year old followup,
which ITSELF was a one-year old followup to the orifginal post.

[Michael Black]

And no context, so I have no idea what the post is about. It almost
sounds like a kook, instisting something except no quoting to see what
he's arguing with. Not that replying to an old post via google isn't
kookish in itself.

Michael

[ki...@twc.com]

Kurt N. Sterba was the psuedonym of a WorldRadio Magazine columnist who wrote a regular monthly column about antennas which often poked fun at the exaggerated claims of manufacturers. After reading his obituary in QST, Kurt wrote in his next column that the obituary was premature, in a manner reminiscent of Mark Twain, who encountered a similar situation. 73 de KI4QG