Tony (AM) Vandenbelt VK3BBD/VE3FXH (SK)


Graham VE3AMN received word from one of Tony's sons that Tony succumbed to Alzheimer's disease last weekend, in a home, in Melbourne Australia.

Tony was born in the Netherlands, and emigrated to Canada after the war
with his parents and siblings.

Whilst in Ottawa, Tony was very active in amateur radio, serving as president of the OARC and "Technical Advisor" with the OVMRC on the 1970 executive (see below).

He was a repeater builder and was one of the five of who built VE3DVQ, then a 2M to 6M cross-band machine, at Lavant. Tony and Graham VE3AMN were at the top when Graham VE3AMN snapped the attached picture. Anyone who knew him will remember his smile! Tony left Ottawa as a "transmitter man" for the CBC.

In 1978, Tony, his wife Kay and their three sons and two daughters moved-on to Australia. He got back into radio & TV of course and was active on HF and VHF. He retired from HSV Channel 7 Television in Melbourne, where he was again a "transmitter man" and a designer/builder of special circuits & projects.

He predated the days of buying off the shelf to get on the air. He was a builder’s builder.

Appears in: Rambler Vol.66 Issue 8