Daniel Yaari (Israel)

Born 1941 in Rome Italy, given name was Fabio Giarri, but on arrival to 4X-land, for some complex reasons, I received the name Daniel Yaari. As I was raised in places close to water, first near the Sea of Galilee, and thereafter near the east Mediterranean coast line; it was immediate that my hobby included Paddles and Waves surfing, but also a lot of sails and swimming. At the periods of the elementary school, and even during the high school, learning physics and electricity, did not gave me a clue that Paddles and Waves may mean a very different things. Close to the date when I was drafted for the army service, I saw a movie where the actor Tony Curtis was carrying a radio transceiver, in a Marine combat on one of the pacific islands. That scene cached my interest and led me to spend more time tuning the “green eye” of our domestic broadcasts receiver. Doing so, I encountered the clicks of the Morse code. With growing interest, and investigating the matter, I arrived to a local radio service shop, were the owner was a Ham, and he build me a pitch oscillator with which I was able to read the cw stations that penetrated the broadcasts receiver. It was a `love from first date` and thus I learned the CW code all by myself. Being drafted to the army service, I was asked if I have any preference among 3 or 4 options put in front of me, without any hesitation I choose to be a radio operator. During those years (59-61) it was mainly CW and after about 6 months course I graduated to be a Radio Operator and after further courses I became also a cryptologist. I spent my first Radio Career, mostly, in a commando patrol unit, operating all versions of the 19-set (190/191/192…) on a command car with the key belt to my leg. After the army service I found a job that called for proficiency in radio operation but also trained me to qualify for its special requirements in radio- communication. The job was for the Ministry Of Communication. In the early 60ties there were not many undersea communications cables and no satellites so most of the international communication was on HF. My job was to monitor all point to point radio links carrying all modes and all the country traffic to the world. That included a change of:- frequencies, antennas, receivers and transmitters. The place where I controlled all those was called a Terminal Station, from which I was orchestrating at least 3 far apart receiving antennas fields, transmitting antennas field and remote operated transmitters and receivers. It has to do a lot in understanding HF radio propagation and foreseeing a change before degradation in quality of the mode on use will occur. That job was my second career in radio; it has to do a lot with waves but not with paddles. Being a government job it was poorly paid but it was a great Hobby. Young and healthy, I was seeking to see the world and make more money, thus my roots in sea water, and interest in radio directed me to study and issue a Merchant Marine Radio Officer license. At that era it was also named “Sparky”, “P.M.G” or “Proficiency in radiotelegraphy”. That ticket put me on various vessels for about nine years and circumnavigating the globe at least two complete round voyages. That may be counted as my third career with a lot of paddles and waves. Still I did not thought about Ham radio. In the eyes of a healthy man that can row, swim and surf it looked insane to use your trade as a hobby on your free time. On the year 1973 I completed a study of junior electronic engineering, but also was drafted to serve as a radio operator in a tanks unit at the war of that year. I came out partly disabled. Still on a wheel chair, presuming that I shall not be able to go back to maritime mobile radio; I started my interest in Ham radio. Soon after a surprising quick recovery I started a 30 years career of practical seamanship instructor and a teacher for maritime communication and navigational aids in a nautical school. On the year 1976 I was offered a job, of a one way voyage, from Hobart Tasmania to Amsterdam Holland. It was only a three months voyage, but almost anything that may happen did happened on the proposed vessel. It was a small bulk carrier of a New-Zealand Union company and its name was “Union Trans Tasman”, call sign ZMPT, later changed to 4XYP. That voyage worth a book of its own, and it was the last voyage that I made as the sole Radio Officer. During my 30 years as an instructor and teacher I made a lot of voyages but mainly as a whale boats and sails yacht skipper or as an instructor with students on merchant marine cargo ships. These were years with a lot, of both types, of paddles and waves. On the year 1973 I issued a Ham license 4Z4OL, but it was not until 1976 that I bought my first station. Radio Officers were granted an extra class Ham license after a temporary, one year second class. Around the late 80ies all extra classes were allocated with a “1” after the entity prefix, and as I was offered to choose my own suffix, I quickly found that F and C are the best on my preferred CW Iambic mode, thus I became 4X1FC. On the year 1999 when the Morse code was about to cease being an official mode for international communications, and the Radio Officers were a vanishing peoples of the seas, I went to a course for issuing the General Operator Certificate (GOC) to be licensed to operate the equipment of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). I never had the chance to operate, at sea, the full volume of the system. I retired on 2003 and until 2007 worked as an examiner for the written parts of yachts masters and all other small vessels licensing categories. At the age of 70 with a cluster of health problems, it is the Ham radio and especially the cw paddles and waves that maintain my sanity…so, see you on the bands … – Giarri Fabio/Daniel Yaari 4X1FC