Richard ?Richie? Galardi, W4DEJ, Ormond Beach, Florida, formerly Boxford and Revere, Mass. became a ?Silent Key? recently. He was 73. Rich was WA1DEJ when we all knew him he (after 1996 he was W1DEJ). Those of us who used to frequent radio flea markets and hamfests back in the ?90s and earlier will remember Richie. He wasn?t a friend; he was one of the guys in the incredible cast of characters we have in ham radio in New England. We all had run-ins with him and knew him well. He moved to FL about 15-20 years ago and we haven?t seen him since. After he moved we actually missed seeing his hulking profile scampering around trying to buy all the Collins equipment he could find. I even invited him to NEAR-Fest once but we never saw him after he moved.
The AMers used to call him ?Greaser Rick? because he was heavily into auto racing; in the later years he raced jet cars. We used to call him Richie. Richie looked like a real ?goombah? with the huge gold cross and chains.... We always said if you were making a movie and needed a ?made guy? you would call Central Casting and they would send Richie. We used to see him at all the fleas in the old days. He must have had a ton of stuff. He never sold anything at the fleas; carried a huge wad of hundreds and bought a lot of stuff, especially Collins gear which he loved.
Richie used to have a storefront for a while in the ?90s called the Hobby Factory in Revere right near Wonderland. He had a bunch of boatanchors for sale. He even advertised in Electric Radio with insane prices. I visited the store one time and I remember a Command Set receiver in a glass case priced at $250. I drive by the old location from time to time and always think of him.
Richie?s Collins S-Line/KWM-2 collection (from his QRZ page). What? No amps?
