In memory of our friend,
James A. Carmody - NN5O / EI8KB
(ex - WV6KCK, WA6KCK, WB6BHN, WB5FNQ, KB5CA)
November 21, 1945 - December 6, 2014
From The Houston Chronicle:
James A. Carmody
1945-2014
James A. Carmody passed away December 6, 2014 after a short battle with cancer. He was an astute lawyer and arbiter and had a longtime interest in ham radio and his Irish heritage. He is survived by his wife Tippy, daughter Leigh Carmody, son Paul Carmody, daughter-in-law Teresa Carmody, granddaughters Emma and Zoe Carmody, brother Jerry Carmody (KN6WE), sister-in-law Dian Carmody, nephews Jerrod (KG5BOU) and Zephan Carmody, and nieces Suzanne and Michelle Stroebe. He will be sorely missed. The funeral visitation will occur at Klein Funeral Home, 1400 W. Main, Tomball, TX 77375 from 4pm to 6pm on Sunday December 14th. A funeral mass will be held the next morning at St. Anthony of Padua, at 7801 Bay Branch Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77385 at 11am Monday, December 15th. It will be followed by a lunch reception at the church. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you donate to Wounded Warrior Project, Star of Hope Mission, Doctors Without Borders, or the charity of your choice.
He never forgot his (military) service and his ham radio connections.
When he was 13, he got in trouble with his parents when he called someone "old man " over the radio. He never tired of getting together with other hams, having qso's, meeting hams around the world and was always on the cutting edge of new technology.
I'm sure he's saying 73s to everyone.
Tippy
Jim joined TDXS in 1988 as member number 116. He was a avid DX'er and loved DXpeditioning, especially from his ancestral home in Ireland where he held the callsigns EI2VNO, and later his lifetime call EI8KB. He was active there during several CQWW-SSB and ARRL-DX contests. In 1983 he operated as FP0HXP from St. Pierre & Miquelon. Jim was one of the first American hams to obtain a license in Czechoslovakia where he operated as OK8AGG during the 1989 ARRL DX Phone Contest. His last DXpedition was in March 2014 when he operated from Belize as V31JA. Jim was always fascinated with tiny rigs and all things QRP. I remember a TDXS meeting many years ago when he walked in with a brand new Kenwood TS-50 rig no bigger than a Tom Clancy novel. We all marveled over its size and features. One of his favorite rigs was an Elecraft KX3 all-mode ultra-portable transceiver running 12 watts which he used on several of his trips. Many times he would manage to set-up his station in many of the hotels where he stayed and made QSO's as far away as Japan. He was often just above the noise floor here, but always managed to make the QSO. Jim never forgot his ham radio beginnings and still treasured his Hammarlund HQ-129X receiver while still embracing the newest technology with his new Flex 6300, and running remote with a TS-480SAT to K0NM's ranch.
Living in Houston, Jim was interested in our space program and had many contacts with NASA. With his love for international travel and reaching out to everyone he met, he became friends with Russian cosmonaut Musa Manarov U2MIR, and managed to bring him to Houston for one of the Houston Hamconventions. Musa had the opportunity to visit NASA on that trip and meet some of our own astronauts. Musa even brought signed QSL cards for those of us that managed to work the Soyuz space station on 2 meters.
During the past year Jim achieved #1 DXCC Honor Roll - Mixed with 340/350 entities confirmed. His 10-10 number was 7272 received in 1972. He received YLISSB number 8044 in 1969 under his then callsign WB6BHN/VO1.
Jim served our nation's military as a Lieutenant in the Navy during the Vietnam war. Members of our armed forces and veterans always had a special place in his heart, and he was quick to recognize those that supported members of our military. Many years ago, Jim read that the "Outback Steakhouse" had flown a special team to Afghanistan to serve our troops there. Eager to express his appreciation for their efforts, he presented one of the Houston Outback Steakhouse restaurants with a special plaque from TDXS to thank them. The restaurant manager was so appreciative of that recognition, he invited all TDXS members to a free dinner for one of our meetings. Jim always preferred TDXS dinner meetings so we would have more time to visit and socialize. Our annual meeting calendar has now reflected that goal and we thank Jim for that.
Rest in peace old friend, till we meet again someday.
73, Steve - W9DX
He was a great guy and a true gentleman. - Tom N5EA
I met Jim over 20 years ago when I started my company. He helped me get the first Trademark and introduced me to patent lawyers. Then, we lost touch for several years as I got more involved with a startup company.
Four years ago, we met up again and I got to see a different part of him. I realized that deep down, he was a scientist at heart. He wanted to learn new things. He was not afraid to try new things. He was always testing new equipment and new technology. So, when I mentioned that I was thinking about setting up a remote operation at the ranch, he got all excited and said he wanted to do it too.
We met regularly at lunch meetings to talk about the progress we were making and the technology. We ended up with two remote radio systems. One was at his home and one at my home.
Jim's lunch meetings were always special. He would invite several of his ham friends he got to know well. Dietz, Madison, Kim and were long time members of Jim's lunch bunch. Jim truly enjoyed these lunch meetings.
During these meetings, I realized how much he loved his wife Tippy, daughter Leigh and son Paul. He was exceptionally proud of the accomplishments of Paul and Dr. Leigh Carmody. He was looking forward to being semi-retired and enjoying his new house with Tippy. It was not difficult to see that Jim and Tippy were soul mates.
Jim’ death truly saddened me as it did several other people who knew him over the years. He will be missed by many people who knew him professionally and as a friend. - Nizar K0NM
The news about the death of my old friend James "Jim" Carmody is very sad and distressing. I will always remember him as an energetic and enthusiastic person very open to friends. My condolences to all family and friends.
73! Cosmonaut Musa Manarov - U2MIR
My first contact with Jim was a QSO when Jim was operating as FP0HXP, on September 23, 1983 7MHz. I sent a QSL card to direct to Jim's home call KB5CA with the image of our city and some information about my family. Although I did not send any IRC
coupons or USD, Jim sent me not only the QSL for FP0HXP but also a few photos direct. In those days socialist Czechoslovakia did not allow receiving IRC's or USD and people were not allowed to travel freely outside Czechoslovakia.
Jim was almost exactly two years younger than me. His wife Tippy worked as a nurse at the hospital, as well as my wife Jana, who was a surgical nurse. His son Paul is a year older than my son Peter, and his daughter Leigh is the same age as my daughter Jana.
Do you think maybe it's a coincidence??
We enjoyed a distant friendship over the years, and often exchanged photos. One day Jim asked me for information on how to obtain a Czechoslovak amateur license for his planned stay in OK during the ARRL DX Phone Contest in 1989. It was not easy obtaining an OK license for a US citizen staying in socialist Czechoslovakia, but I managed to get him a license with the callsign OK8AGG.
With the help of local ham friends (OK1FAB, OK1FIM, OK1VKA, OK1VKC, OK1VOT, OK1XJ), we managed to set up a place for Jim to transmit using his OK8AGG callsign. Jim and XYL Tippy also enjoyed touring the historic towns of Kutna Hora and Prague.
During our walking tour through Prague, we came upon a man getting out of his car who dropped his briefcase. It was windy that day, and the wind blew his documents all over the ground and into heavy traffic. Jim was the first to jump over the rail, almost breaking his camera, and helped to collect at least some of the documents. This is how I met Jim, and I will always cherish and honor his memory.
73, Vasek OK1FAI and all his OK friends.
