VR 809

Being a very new VR, I was so naive.  I did not know that to do, or who to talk with.   With my Icom IC-02N and its original rubberducky I was listening to the conversation I could recieve and wondered why the other VR could hear the signal that I could not.

My house was close the the Post and Telegraph Department which our main net control station was located.  Every evening there called for net checking and the net controler was the man who processed the licence for me.  He remembered me well and gave a little greeting each time I checked in.

My main conversation at that time was only net checking..

I heard that there was a radio shop not so far from my house.. I decided to take a look of the shop one day when I was brave enough.

I went in the shop, and could only take a look.  None of the products was familiar to me.  Then I was a book, written by Police General Suchart P.,VR001.  The title was, fundamental knowledge for Voluntary Radio member.  I bought it right away.

It was really fundamental of radio transmission.  I then understood what I had done and what my handheld was doing.. Just then I got the answers for many questions that was confusing in my mind..

I turned on the radio every night, listened to the conversation.  Some were funny, some made me be more confused.  On one special night I heard VR1320 and VR809 talked about sea fish aquarium.  VR1320 had one at his house and was telling about how to take care of it.  He talked about the PH of the water.  I listened to them for hours, still did not get what the PH was.. Finally, I was shyly broke in and asked.  He explained, but I still did not understand.. so I signed off.

Then VR809 called me, asking some questions.. I answered and sometime was joking with him.  He laughed.  Then he asked whether I knew who I was talking to.. and he told to look up in the call book.  I tried not to.. but he insisted.. So I got the book and looked up and was shocked.  I was joking with a prince, the His Serene Highness Prince Thitibhan Ucala, a close relative of HM the King.

I kept quiet, decided not to contact them again.  I did not know what to do with a real prince.

But he did not let me run away.  Only a few minutes he called me again asking for the result and laughed at my awkwardness.. He told me to take it easy.  He told me to join the conversation in the following nights and he always like to talk to me.

One day he invited me to his palace.  I had no confidence at all.  I went there with my boy friend.  There were about a dozen hams gathering there.  I was the youngest.  Before we start any conversation, a car stopped in front of the door.  Joyful and surprised, I almost jumped to the door.  The person who was getting off the car was VR001, the author of the book that provided me the understanding.  I was so happy to meet him in person that I forgot an important fact that, it was only me knew him from the picture in his book.  How could he know any of his readers who suddenly come to thank him..

But he smiled anyway.. hi hi

Later, the prince introduced me to other guests.  They were the committee of Voluntary Radio Association and VR001 was the president.  He said he specially invited everyone here to meet me for he was sure that my communication art degree would be useful for the association.

And I was.  I later was close to VR001 that I so much respect, help him producing the newsletter, organizing a few radio broadcasting program about radio foundation and others news.  VR001 is now 81 years old, still healthy and still called my hand phone often.

VR809 was very kind to me.  We became close friend.  He always introduced my boyfriend to every young men as my fiancé.  He also told my “fiancé” how lucky he was to be my boyfriend.  He told him he would marry me if not because I already had a nice boyfriend like him.. and he was invited to every function I was invited.  My dear prince was a real gentleman.

The prince was presided over my marriage ceremony, said he wished us had a lot of children, all be hams.  Everyone laughed.  I was quite famous VR.  There were very few YL and fewer the active one.  Half of the guests on my wedding day was hams, about 500 of them.

I was invited to his palace very often, also to other lunch of dinner outside, and every functions he had arranged.  Some time it was a large party that a hundred hams were invited,  Some time it was just a personal lunch or dinner.  Some time it was the food from the King’s palace and my dear prince played piano while I and my husband were eating.  I told him that I felt like I was a very important person, eating the food provided by HM the King and had a prince play the music.  He laughed happily.

When he had problems he would called me and just said it out.  Sometime it was so late at night and I was tried with the magazine for the whole day.. and once I doze off while listening to him.  It was almost 3 am.  When I woke up, he had already put down the phone.  I was very guilty.  I called him the next day to apologize but he said he was sorry that he had disturbed my rest time.  He forgot that it was very late..

I could say that we were friends that he trusted the most.  We have been through the up and down together.  When the PTD announced that Ham radio had accepted and all VR turned to HS.  He was HS1YC.  He was excited about the phonetic for each alphabet.  He told me to be close to him, do not let him make a mistake.  But it came out that he memorized all very clearly and fluently..

He asked us to do the printing for a book of stories that his father, His Highness Prince Phanubhand Yucala wrote to be distributed in his father’s cremation.  I had just moved to the new house and office.  The decoration was not ready yet.  He drove his bright red Ferrari to my house at night and we worked on the preface of the book.  He could type a typewriter but had never used computer.. but he used it for the first time that night.

I did not realize that it was the last meeting.

Only a week after that he was poisoned.  He stayed on the hospital for 7 days unconscious and passed away..

The first 7 days after he passed away, I went to his funeral.  On the second day everyone was surprised to see that there was trace of water running from his eyes in the picture shown there.  The picture was in glass cover frame, no way that any water could drop in and if so, it should not had started right from the eyes.

The next day, more and more water ran out from his eyes as if he was crying in the night. He must have been sad of the sudden leaving.  The last thing he did was QSO with a YL and he was suddenly quiet.  It was the time he got poisoned and never be in conscious until he passed away.

HM the king and the whole royal family were presided over his cremation which was in the same day as his father. 

The book he planed to make for his father were distributed in his own cremation…