Tribute to Robert Naumann

Tribute to Robert Naumann - WA2OVE, KR2J, N5NJ, W5OV
September 8, 1958 - February 10, 2025

Bob Naumann, 66 years old, passed away at his home in Texas on February 10, 2025. Naumann was a mentor to many in the Amateur Radio Service, and well known in the ham radio contesting and DX community. He served on the ARRL headquarters staff.

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio as Director of Operations from 2021 to 2024. He was an ARRL Life Member and a member of the ARRL Diamond Club.

Bob held callsigns: N5NJ('96), KR2J('80), WA2OVE('73), and WN2OVE('73).

Bob said; "My primary ham radio activity is contesting, VHF, then DXing, then digital modes and ragchewing".

Bob recounted that he earned his Amateur Radio License as a teenager in 1973 as WN2OVE, but his fascination and exploration with radio began even earlier. “Those GE walkie talkies I received as a Christmas gift from my parents when I was about 9 years old, was what really lured me in. I was fascinated about how one could communicate through the air using these simple, 9-volt battery powered devices,” he wrote.

Naumann had many friends around the world through amateur radio. He achieved ARRL DXCC Honor Roll, and was a long-serving member of the CQ World Wide DX Contest Committee. He operated from several Caribbean islands, including Antigua, where he held the call sign V26O and previously V26RN; and Bonaire, where he operated as PJ4/W5OV. In the United States, he noted on his QRZ profile that he has operated from the Smithsonian Institution station, NN3SI; the United Nations Headquarters station, 4U1UN, and the station aboard the Queen Mary, W6RO. Naumann enjoyed trips to the HAM RADIO exposition in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Throughout his professional career, he worked for Electronic Data Systems (EDS), Citigroup Financial, and held positions in the amateur radio industry (DX Engineering, ARRL).

Bob was a good friend. We shared lots of good times and laughs together. We contested at K3LR together. We operated from the same station in Antiqua and shared many stories from that place. We would get together at Dayton with a select group of friends and Bob would always have us laughing with his great stories. Our friendship goes back many years. It was sad to hear that Bob became a SK, and at such an early age. RIP my friend. K8CX

Dayton 1994