Tribute to Donald G. Murray -
K4FMA, ET3FMA, W4WJ
June 23, 1943 - February 6, 2022
Don was living in Fredricksburg, TX. Don was first licensed in March of 1959 as KN4FMA in Miami, Florida. He upgraded to General in 1959 as K4FMA. A few years later he upgraded to Extra and then in 1976 received his W4WJ callsign. Don was a member of the A1 Operators Club, FOC, CWops and the South Florida DX Association, where he was the President for 9 terms. Don achieved Top of the DXCC Honor Roll in 1993 with 327 countries. His ARRL Mixed DXCC Standings were 339/357 confirmed. He operated overseas as BV0W, G5DAD, ET3FMA, 9E3FMA and 9F3FMA (1965 - 1968).
Don was a collector of the Ethiopia and Eritrea QSL cards. He was a member of G4UZN's QSL Card Collectors email reflector group. He was a big contributor to Hamgallery.com sending many scans from his QSL card collection. I remember working Don several times when he was operating ET3FMA. He will be missed. RIP my friend. K8CX
The following was taken from Don's QRZ.com page!
Life Member ARRL
Life Member AMSAT #1743
Life Member CWOps #654
Life Member QCWA #17737
MAR '59 KN4FMA Novice - Miami
SEP '59 K4FMA General
FEB '62 A1-OP
MAR '64 K4FMA Amateur Extra
JUL '65 - JUN '68 ET3FMA - Asmara, Ethiopia
OCT '76 W4WJ Callsign Application To FCC
NOV '76 W4WJ Assigned - Not A Vanity Call
JUN '77 - JAN '98 FOC #1334
MAY '79 CW DXCC #749 - 150 countries
DEC '93 DXCC TOP OF THE HONOR ROLL All CW 327/327
JUN '08 W4WJ - Fredericksburg, TX
AUG '10 CWOps #654
APR '17 FOC #2102
| Alias | |
|---|---|
| G5DAD | Previous call |
| ET3FMA | Previous call |
| K4FMA | Previous call... W4WJ since Nov 1976 |
| K2USA | Operator 1964/65 |
| BV0W | Operator 1984 |
| ET3USA | Operator 1965-68 |
| 9F3FMA | Previous Callsign |
| 9E3FMA | Previous Callsign |
KN4FMA as a Novice June 1959.
Don January 1960.
Don K4FMA operating ET3FMA.
SM6JSM, W4WJ, Don's XYL Gabrielle on the front porch of their home in Fredricksburg, TX., October 2015
SM6JSM, W4WJ looking at Don's extensive Eritrea / Ethiopia QSL collection! October 2015
Don's license plate!
License good for one year,
renewable. Cost for a Category 4 license, at 100 watts for one
year was $40 ETH, or about $28 US.
The Category 4 license included stations established for tests,
research, experiments and stations established by radio amateurs.
Regulations for operating in Ethiopia.
QSL cards, License from W4WJ
Comments, Tribute courtesy of K8CX
Last 3 Photos courtesy of SM6JSM
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