Saving Ham Radio: Kay K6KJN and the DLARC

Kay Savetz K6KJN is saving ham radio—sort of. Not by answering the big question of how we build the future, but by preserving the proof that it all ever happened—and why it mattered, and still does. As curator of the Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications (DLARC), Kay has quietly assembled the most ambitious archive in the hobby’s history: over 155,000 items, 20 terabytes of newsletters, manuals, magazines, callbooks, cassettes, slides, rare field recordings—and yes, videos like this one. Some of it was born digital. Much of it was not. And more arrives weekly, packed into U-Hauls and pulled from attic boxes around the country. DLARC may not be “saving ham radio” in the way the title implies. But it’s safeguarding the stories, the documents, and the cultural trail that prove ham radio was real—global, human, and worth remembering. In this conversation, Kay shares the challenges of digitizing history, why curation matters, what still eludes the archive (hint: CQ Magazine), and how you can help—before it’s too late. 🎙️ Join the conversation—and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio for more stories like this. 🙏 This episode is made possible with support from DX Engineering—a trusted source for amateur radio gear worldwide. Their team understands that preserving the past of ham radio is just as important as building its future. We're grateful for their commitment to meaningful stories like this one.