Kieran Shepherd, VA3KS (Silent Key)


Known to many in the amateur radio community and loved dearly by his family, Kieran Shepherd died in the early hours of Friday November 24th.

Kieran was active in amateur radio since his late teens in 1979 and operated in most Canadian provinces and all three territories, with his Nunavut WSPR operation as CF3KS in 2017 being his personal favourite.

Norm VE3LC’s “POTA-king” moniker for Kieran is particularly apt given his 560 activations in 263 unique parks having made 21,721 QSOs, which included many local operators.

Check out Kieran’s September 2022 “POTA Portable Operations” presentation available from the OARC web-site at https://oarc.net/2022-09-14-kieran-va3ks-pota-portable-operations/

Kieran regularly checked into several local nets including the Tuesday night Almonte D-Star mini-net and Upper-Frequency Net.

Kieran’s death was a particular shock to the local amateur radio community given the vigour with which he pursued his many interests and his being on the air right through his last day, making 120 QSOs in one hour on the morning of Thursday Nov 23 with his new green Slidewinder coil from the UK.

Plans are emerging for a “VA3KS Memorial POTA day” perhaps in the Spring or perhaps sooner, that I’m sure will be well attended by the local amateur radio community.

73, Alan VA3IAH

Appears in: Rambler Vol.66 Issue 4