Jack N. Brown *1922-2009* W3SHY - W4OLL - Electronic engineer, author and business man. Most of Mr.
Browns life except for military and college was centered around Washington Crossing, Langhorne and Yardley
Penna. Jack shared some of his personal time with me (W8SU) a few years ago as he had a gift of making friendson the bands. I caught him on the 80 Meter CW band around the Holidays. It was around 10 or 11 PM with hissignals bouncing in here in the Cleveland region with very comfortable copy. That time of year is a splendid timeof night for some solid QSO’s when things settle in for the long cold winter spell.
Jack was relaxed in his senior years and proud of his family. Little were we aware of his education, skill anddedication. Brown also was a radio officer during the radio heyday on the ore carriers that plied the Great Lakes.
Jack entered WW2 as a Captain in the Army Signal Corps. After the war he and wife Caroline moved to Penn
State University to complete his EE degree and was part time engineer at their broadcast facility. Around thattime five years at National Bureau of Standards in propagation research.
In 2008 my friend Sid W2FDE in Trenton said knew Jack personally and spoke of Jack’s engineering days withBarker & Williamson in Bristol Pa. He stated Jack was responsible especially with design of the B&W 5100 andthe highly vaunted and expensive 6100 both of the crystal plexer type and had a five or so ten position switches
that could be set for whatever frequency in the band one desired to send on.
Sid visited the B&W factory frequently in the 60s and 70s andgot to know co owner Jack Williamson and family quite well asthey were heavily into the QCWA fraternity. The factory started
out making a line of plug in coils that ran from 25 watts to over
1 KW rating. To begin with Williamson and Barker used agarage to assemble their coils and they delivered them to theircustomer stores in the Philadelphia area. B&W Chief engineer is
our subject Jack Brown W3SHY with Jack Wiley their nationalsalesman. Mr. Brown was known to have said “He had worked
for large corporations and small and much preferred the small company atmosphere.”
Jim KB3NBB reminisced about Jack Brown being first licensed in
1938, Jim mentioned Mr. Brown in his talk on antennas at the National
Radio Astronomy Observatory, Greenbank because he had worked at
NBS in Virginia with Grote Reber, the amateur to first publish a chartof radio sky noise and whose call sign was used in the movie “Contact.”
KB3NBB advised Jack again in his talk on frequency measurement andplayed a video interview of him that appeared on a local PBS station.
Brown’s link with frequency measurement was his then current
business from his home of providing accurate frequency validationservices to about 100 local FM broadcast stations. The video of him
showed the part of his interview where he related receiving and relaying
the CW Japanese request for surrender negotiations after the first ABomb had been dropped.
Jack N. Brown W3SHY expired 8 April 2009 at Washington Crossing,
Pa. A memorial service was held at Langhorne Presbyterian Church.
Jack left a big foot print in radio and electronics. A W2VRK Tony QSL.
W8SU 2013