Member Spotlight

Jerry Proc, VE3FAB, a resident of Etobicoke, Ontario, has been a licensed amateur radio operator since 1964 and also holds an Advanced Amateur Radio Operator’s Certificate. His interest in electronics was sparked at a very young age, and during the 1960s Jerry developed a fascination with military radio gear. In 1970, he graduated with a diploma in Electronics Engineering Technology from the Radio College of Canada. Later, he obtained an Advanced Networking Certificate through the Continuing Education Studies program at Humber College, Etobicoke, Ontario. Jerry has served in both a technical and managerial capacity in the mainframe computer and data communications field since 1970 and is currently retired from Bell Canada, where he was employed as a network support specialist.

 

His involvement with the restoration of radio systems aboard HMCS HAIDA started out quite innocently after reading about Radio 1 in The Canadian Amateur magazine. After a single visit to the ship in July 1992, he was bitten by the famous “HAIDA bug,” thus launching the rebuild of HAIDA’s four radio rooms back to nearly functional order. In October 1999, his efforts to restore HAIDA’s radio rooms and other significant contributions were recognized by the Historic Naval Ships Association, which awarded Jerry the Bos’n Marvin Curry Award — the first Canadian to receive it.

 

In early 2001, Jerry’s research work on radio and radar was officially recognized and incorporated into the Appendices of the book HMCS HAIDA – Battle Ensign Flying by Barry Gough.

 

In October 2025, the Antique Wireless Association, located in Bloomfield, New York, awarded Jerry the Houck Award for Documentation. The Award for Documentation recognizes quality original research and writing on the history or evolution of electronic communication technologies in a published book, several articles in the AWA Review or AWA Journal or other publicly available periodicals, or a long-running website. Preference was given to subjects that have not been covered elsewhere.

 

Here are some previously published story titles:

• Wireless and the St. Roch
• A Brief History of Canadian Television
• Analysis of Radio Transmissions During WWII
• Canadian Weather Ships
• Canadian Marconi Communications Systems
• RCN Radio Operations During WWII
• Amateur Radio In The RCN

 

To see Jerry’s other web pages, visit jproc.ca.