I wanted this page to live as a bit of a legacy for a man who I think is great, Donald Alfred Jordan.  

My callsign, VE7DJ was the callsign once held by Don Jordan.   He and his generosity is the sole reason I have it, so this page exists for two reasons:  To share that story, and more importantly, as a legacy for a great man who accomplished a lot in amateur radio.

Don started into amateur radio in 1986 and he now lives in Victoria, BC.  He achieved some very enviable things in the hobby, bagged the big awards and even participated in a DX-pedition, something most hams would envy and will never attain.  Below is his bio copied from QRZ:

Hi I'm Don and have been hamming since 86. Born in Burnaby B.C. a suburb of Vancouver B.C. I now live in Victoria the capital of B.C. on the extreme south end of Vancouver island NA036, I just moved down from Comox in 2011. It took me some time and red tape to erect a tower here in the city and limited to 15m. It is a big change from my station in Comox.I had two towers as I had one acre of land. my antennas there were a 402-2element on 40m, a full size delta loop for 75m, a TH3 Mk 3 for 10-15-20m, an A3WS for 12 m & 17 m.. Now I have only the TH3 and stacked above that is the A3WS.I just put up a DXDD trapped dipole for 40m & 80m due to the size of my lot in the city. So now I am back up on the air and good to be back.

I was in the Royal Canadian Navy and served in Korea on a destroyer DDE-228. HMCS CRUSADER I was in the Engine room and boiler and gear rooms while on her.( Engineering Branch.) After that I was drafted to HMCS Sussexvale (frigate)then HMCS Ontario Lite Cruiser. I then got my discharge after 5 yrs. Went back into heavy construction as a steam pipefitter until I retired. I was on tools and was a foreman and later a General Foreman until retirement.. I have four children all grown up and have families of thier own, I have been married 62 yrs, have 8 grand children 4 boys 4 girls. Four great grand sons.

I have DXCC honour roll, DXCC #1 Honour roll, DXCC-YL plaque number 8 for working 100YL countries. I enjoy chasing dx and last new country worked is Z81D and Z81B. Just to keep up my #1. In 2005 I was a member of the CY9SS gang on St. Paul Island. West coast pilot for CU5X-Cu6-Cu7. I now enjoy chatting with many hams around the world that I have chatted with and met many personally. I have changed my calls over the years. VE7GDJ, VA7DJ Now VE7DJ this one will be with me until I go SK. 73 and 88 to all. Don VE7DJ

\I have taken all my station and antennas down and sold everything. I decided this because I am 89 years old and I would not liked to think all the problems that this would cause for my daughter if & when I go SK. She would not know where to start finding some ham to take down my tower and get rid of all my radio equiptment.  I had 37 yrs of meeting many hams around the world on the radio and visitors from around the world. I wish to thank all the contacts for FB qso's. 73& 88~Don

Now, the story of how I came to have this callsign.  In Canada, VE# followed by two letters is the shortest personal callsign you're permitted to own.   Because I live in British Columbia, all calls here are VE7 (or VA7 in the new series), but VE is the newest and "better" series.  My initials are DJ, so for many years I've wanted VE7DJ.   I often looked at Don's QRZ page and wished the callsign was mine.  I know thou shalt not covet, but covet it, I did.   I never met or had the pleasure of talking with Don, but I would often visit the QRZ page and think what a great call it was.  As you can see above in his bio, it indicated that he had many callsigns "but this one will be with me until I go SK".   Every time I saw that, I was dejected, I thought, "I'll be very old before I ever get a chance on that call sign".  I even contemplated contacting the owner to say something like "I'll pay you to trade", but I thought that was wrong to do and not my style.

I looked at QRZ so many times, that one day, on a lark, I thought I'd take a few moments to write the owner to tell him how much I loved his callsign.  I told him I thought it might give him a laugh to know that someone very much wanted something he had.  Though I said that I wished him many more years of having it and operating with it.

In October of 2023, quite surprisingly, I got an email from Don rather 'out of the blue'.  I didn't realize he was 89 and had given up the hobby completely (as you can see from the update that was then on his QRZ page).   He let me know that he liked my email.  He also said that he visited my QRZ page, which he said he also liked.  We had a lot of the same interests and he liked that I was very active in the hobby as he also was.  We certainly had a lot in common.   He said he ruminated a long time before sending the email, but said he wanted me to have his call sign.

I was floored that he would do that.  It was an honour for sure, what a generous and wonderful thing to do!  I was a stranger to him and he had no obligation to give up the call.  It was rightfully his until death and not only that, he had made significant achievements with that call.   It was almost as if they should retire the call just like Wayne Gretzky's jersey number.   But when you take a new call, the old QRZ details get wiped and that almost seemed wrong to me.  

I decided that I would return the favour to Don by creating a place on the net where his QRZ details, his achievements in the hobby, and his memory could be made into something of a legacy.   Maybe nobody he talked to years ago will go through their log and want to contact him, but anyone that talks me might see this link and be interested in the story.  And that story will include Don's achievements in the hobby as his legacy, for as long as I hold the call.  

This hobby is well known as a very gentlemanly hobby and Don typifies it.  My son's initials are also DJ, so I'm hoping I can pass the call to him, but if he can't get it, I hope to pass it on to someone that deserves it.  Maybe passing it on will be a tradition to keep alive for many years.   A big 73 to Don, for starting it.