Amateur Radio Europe has learned with sadness of the passing of well known VU DXer Dipuda (Dipti Prakesh Dey), VU2DPD at the age of 76.
Dipuda passed away in the early hours of the morning of Thursday 16th February 2012 at a nursing home in Kolkata following a cardiac arrest. He had been admitted a few days previously and was coping with pneumonia and diabetes related complications.
Dipuda is survived by his wife and daughter.
Dipuda received his Amateur Radio Licence in the mid 80s and was an avid DXer and DXCC holder. A lover of CW, Dipuda was a great homebrewer and his home made CW peddles were simple yet marvelous. He had a great understanding of antennas and antenna systems and experimented with several types of yagis, quads and loop antennas. (his favourite was the cubical quad which he ran and made huge pileups with during his stay in Haldia port when he was a rare DX on VHF for us in Kolkata).
He excelled in every aspect of this wonderful hobby and his friendly yet expert handling of the All India Net on 14.150 warmed our hearts for many many years. He was also the QSL manager of the ARSI QSL bureau for a very long time, a job he performed with utmost dedication and competence.
In recent times Dipuda had been off the air because his radio an Icom IC706MKII had developed some critical which he had tried very hard to repair without success. His last dream was to return on HF with a new radio which he was in the process of importing.
Horey, VU2HFR, writes:- VU2DPD was a veteran radio ham, one of the very best in this hobby in which currently true radio hams are becoming an extinct community. He will be remembered as the wily, lanky, witty Dipuda smoking his favourite pipe, always in good humour, eager to lend his helping hand. His loss has created a vacuum in the ham community which will never be filled.
