William I. Orr

William (Bill) Ittner Orr (1919-2001), amateur radio licensee W6SAI, was the American author of numerous amateur radio and radio engineering texts.

He was an engineer, educator and communicator. Over a period of 40 years he wrote and edited scores of technical books and articles of interest to Amateur Radio enthusiasts. His topics ranged from basic electronic theory to microwave communications to the theory, design and construction of antennas.

Bill had the ability to use simple plain language in writing about technical subjects in a way that attracted amateurs who had an interest in the topic but lacked a technical background in the area. He is best known as the author of The Radio Handbook.

Bill grew up in New York, where he was an only child. His father took little interest in him and did not encourage him in activities that involved other children. Bill's mother encouraged his early interest in amateur radio. Bill taught himself morse code, and in his early teens held the amateur license of W2HCE, later changing to W6SAI. After earning his degree in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, he was hired to work on innovative radar systems for combat airplanes during WWII. Bill married Natalie McCrone and after the war was over they moved to Menlo Park, CA where he was involved in engineering for the tube manufacturer Eitel-McCullogh (EIMAC). In addition, to working for EIMAC, Bill penned columns for the CQ and Ham Radio magazines. His application notes for EIMAC tubes were favorite reading for amateur radio homebrewers worldwide.

He was a well known DXer and a DXCCHonor Roll member; he also conducted a few personal DXpeditions to exotic locations like Monaco, St. Pierre and Miquelon.

Bill Orr died in his sleep on January 24, 2001. He is survived by five daughters, one son, and 4 grandsons.

His titles include:

In early 1960, William Orr joined a group of radio amateurs (mostly electronic engineers) working to launch a private satellite. By 1962 they had created "OSCAR" (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) Total cost: $63.47. "OSCAR" beat out the $50 million Telstar by seven months for the honor of being the world's first privately owned satellite.

"Oscar stayed in orbit for 3 weeks and broadcast "Hi" in Morse Code to "more than 570 Radio Amateur tracking stations in 28 countries including Japan, China, Antarctica, and the Soviet Union."

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