Kirk Trummel, had been a Shortwave Listener since 1976 and a pirate radio DXer since 1980 when he logged his first pirate station Jolly Roger Radio. Strangely enough, that was the year he got his Amateur Radio License KA9GRA but we're sure he kept all his transmissions inside the ham bands. During 1985/86, while stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army, he managed to acquire a Yaesu FRG-7700 and DXed pirates on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He created and edited "The Black Book" for a year, Co-Authored "The Pirate Radio Survival Guide" and was the Dialogs editor for the ACE magazine in addition to several special features. In 1993 Kirk and I started the Free Radio
Network as a computer bulletin board, The FRN was set up to be a
communications point for pirate radio station operators and listeners.
When the Internet came to be, the FRN was moved to the web where it
remains today. During the 1990's Kirk operated several well known pirate radio stations. Radio Doomsday rated #3 of the top ten most active pirates in 1994 Wired Magazine, other stations included Amiga Computer Generated radio, Freedom 40, KTVI, Quantum State Laboratory, Voice of an American, and several others. Kirk helped many other pirate stations get their start, he often provided them with equipment as well as advice and even programming. His knowledge of transmitters and electronics made him a great source of information for many pirates. His willingness to help out made him a mentor to many station operators. He maintained the technical advice section of the FRN for many years. His favorite radio character was "Nemesis" of Radio Doomsday, as Nemesis, he played the "bad boy" of Pirate radio, thinking of numerous ways to make people angry and get them fired up about the free radio hobby. He had strong feelings for the radio hobby and was very passionate about it. Kirk often voiced his opinions, sometimes his thoughts were controversial and even offensive. His love of a good debate and passion for the hobby made him notorious to some. Many people thought Nemesis was the true personality of Kirk Trummel, in reality the opposite was true. Kirk was the kind of guy who would do anything for a friend, he was the kind of guy who stayed home one New Years eve because he was worried about a stray dog he had taken in that was about to have puppies. He also loved children and confided in me many times of his desire to someday be a father. Sometimes when Kirk would visit my home he would spend more time with my children than he did with me, they loved him deeply, he was their favorite big brother/uncle.
In 1994 when the standard pirate transmitting frequency of 7415 khz became un-useable, Kirk pioneered the move to 7385khz and finally to 6955khz by contacting pirate operators and urging them to change to the new frequency, most of the other pirate stations followed his example and moved their transmissions to those frequencies as well. In 1995 I received a visit from the FCC, Later that day Kirk also had his turn with them, in his usual style he used the opportunity to try to interview the agents for publication in the ACE magazine, they declined to make any comments to his questions. Their constant monitoring of his activities did not discourage him, he continued to help other stations get their start and also found ways to maintain his own on air activities. He even had fun with the agents, one funny story involves Kirk finding FCC agents hiding in a monitoring car a few blocks from his home. Kirk approached them and asked them if they were lost, the agents were not amused. Kirk was a free spirit, in the late 90's he traveled all over the U.S.
alone in a journey to help him find his place in the universe. Im not
sure if he ever found his place, he always seemed to feel as if he did
not fit in to regular society. But he did not really want to fit in,
he was most comfortable being the outsider, the guy who lives "outside
the box", always thinking just a little differently, always pushing
the edge of the envelope. On June 15th 2001, Kirk was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the panaceas. Just two months later on August 15th 2001 he passed away at the age of 38. Leaving a trail of accomplishments, and touching the lives of many. He rests in Clinton Illinois near his family. He will be remembered by friends from all over the world. Kirk taught me to see things a little differently, He taught me to relax and enjoy my life. He was a part of my family, a brother, a confidant, and most of all he was my friend. When I look at Kirks life, I think he accomplished what he set out to do, he made a difference.
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By John Cruzan
Kirk
organized a yearly tradition called 
