If you've read much about antennas for ham, shortwave or VHF/UHF use, you've probably read one of his articles.
RIP.
Curt W4CP
--- On Tue, 4/22/08, Bob Roske <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
From: Bob Roske <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [QCWA] Antenna Expert L. B. Cebik, W4RNL (SK)
To: "QCWA - Reflector" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 10:30 PM
>From ARRL News http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/04/22/10059/
Antenna Expert L. B. Cebik, W4RNL (SK)
L. B. Cebik, W4RNL, ARRL Technical Adviser and antenna authority, passed
away last week. He was 68. An ARRL Life Member, Cebik was known to many hams
for the numerous articles he wrote on antennas and antenna modeling. He had
articles published in most of the US ham journals, including QST, QEX, NCJ,
CQ, Communications Quarterly, Ham Radio, 73, QRP Quarterly,
Radio-Electronics and QRPp. Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, QEX Editor, called Cebik
"probably the most widely published and often read author of Amateur Radio
antenna articles ever to write on the subject."
Cebik lived in Knoxville, Tennessee and wrote more than a dozen books on
antennas for both the beginner and the advanced student. Among his books are
a basic tutorial in the use of NEC antenna modeling software and
compilations of his many shorter pieces. A teacher for more than 30 years,
Cebik was retired, but served as Professor Emeritus of philosophy at the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
One of Cebik's last articles for QST, "A New Spin on the Big
Wheel,"
appeared in the March 2008 issue. The article, co-written with Bob Cerreto,
WA1FXT, looked at a three dipole array for 2 meters. This was a follow-up to
their article in the January/February issue of QEX that featured
omnidirectional horizontally polarized antennas. Cebik authored the
"Antenna Options" for QEX; his last column appears in the May/June
2008
issue.
Former ARRL Senior Assistant Technical Editor Dean Straw, N6BV, and editor
of The ARRL Antenna Book, said, "LB will be greatly missed by the
thousands
of hams he's helped through his incredibly prolific -- and invariably
proficient -- writing about antennas. LB helped me personally in numerous
ways while I worked on antenna matters at the League, always communicating
with a gentle, scholarly attitude and a real eye for detail. I'm in shock
at
the news of LB's passing. May his soul rest in peace."
Licensed since 1954, Cebik served as Technical Editor for antenneX Magazine.
According to Jack L. Stone, publisher of antenneX, he had not heard from
Cebik for a few days and became worried: "I called the Sheriff in
Knoxville
to go check on him since I hadn't heard from him in over 5 days, either
e-mail or phone, which is highly unusual. The Sheriff [went to Cebik's
house
to check on him and] called back to tell me the sad, devastating news. As
his publisher of books, monthly columns, feature articles and
software/models for more than 10 years, we communicated almost daily during
that span of time. Not hearing from him for that long was unusual, causing
my concern. He was like family to me and was loved and respected by so
many."
In a Web posting, Cebik fondly remembered his first QSO and how his father
came to his rescue during his first contact: "I was licensed in 1954 as
both
a Novice and a Tech, since then you could take both exams in one session and
privileges were separate. My calls were W1APS and WN1APS. I got on the air
for the first time with a ham a couple of blocks away, an fine old timer.
However, I got key fright half way through. My dad, James S. (Jim) Cebik,
came to my rescue and finished the contact, although he had not touched key
in over 20 years. Jim Cebik had been 1ATG and later W1BUK in the late 1920s
and early 1930s (and wrote a few articles on his experiments). He gave up
Amateur Radio when he married in the depression years; the cost of parts
were high and family came first. In fact, he rarely mentioned Amateur Radio,
and my entry was independent via some high school comrades and a cousin. But
he had not forgotten his CW or key skills and saved me from embarrassment on
that first day. I returned the favor by renewing his interest in Amateur
Radio and about 1964, he was relicensed and obtained his old W1BUK call
which he used for very many years. He died in 2002 in his high 90s."
Cebik maintained a Web site, www.cebik.com, a virtual treasure trove to
anyone interested in antennas. Besides a few notes on the history of radio
work and other bits that Cebik called "semi-technical oddities," the
collection contains information of interest to radio amateurs and
professionals interested in antennas, antenna modeling and related subjects,
such as antenna tuners and impedance matching. Cebik said that his notes
were "geared to helping other radio amateurs and antenna enthusiasts
discover what I have managed to uncover over the years -- and then to go
well beyond."
His Web site also contains information on antenna modeling. His book, Basic
Antenna Modeling: A Hands-On Tutorial for Nittany-Scientific's NEC-Win Plus
NEC-2 antenna modeling software, contains models in .NEC format for over 150
exercises. "Since the principles in the book apply to any modeling
software," Cebik said, "I have also created the same exercise models
in the
EZNEC format. For more advanced modelers using either NEC-2 or NEC-4, I have
prepared an additional volume, Intermediate Antenna Modeling: A Hands-On
Tutorial, based on Nittany-Scientific's NEC-Win Pro and GNEC. The volume
includes hundreds of antenna models used in the text to demonstrate
virtually the complete command set (along with similarities and differences)
used by both cores."
ARRL Contributing Editor H. Ward Silver, N0AX, said, "LB typified
generosity. He was always developing material that was published widely.
Furthermore, the quality of the articles and concepts was always high, but
the writing was such that an audience with a wide range of technical
backgrounds could understand it. His Web site is a Solomon's Treasure of
solid antenna information -- available to all."
Wolfgang remembered Cebik, saying, "L. B. was an ARRL Technical Advisor,
with expertise in antenna modeling and design. I learned that I could count
on L. B. to offer clear, concise comments on any submitted article dealing
with antennas. He was always a friendly voice on the other end of my phone
line when I needed to talk to an expert, and I came to expect a quick
e-mailed response to any antenna questions that I sent him. L. B. was so
much more than an antenna author, though. He was one of the first ARRL
Educational Advisors I ever had the pleasure of working with when I became
editor of the ARRL study materials. He played a key role in helping develop
the concept of online courses when ARRL began to study the idea of the
Continuing Education program; his Antenna Modeling course has been one of
the most popular offerings in the program. L. B. leaves a legacy of friendly
advice and Amateur Radio wisdom. I will miss him as a friend and as an
advisor."
In his Web reminisces, Cebik summed up his own life in Amateur Radio:
"My Dad was a part of my Novice beginning in Amateur Radio, and I strove
to
send CW with a straight key so that one could not tell it from a keyer. He
remains a strong part of my effort. He noted that the ham spirit is to give,
if needed, the shirt off one's back to a fellow ham and to expect -- not
its
return -- but rather that it be passed on to the next ham who needs it."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LB was also a Life Member of QCWA and was elected to the QCWA Hall of Fame
in 2003.
73,
Bob Roske, NØUF
QCWA Webmaster
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