Zipper was one of the local regulars on the original adult’s channel (Channel 3), in the greater Norristown area in the early to mid 70's.  Zipper was another person who aspired to be the best at whatever he was doing.  He was one of the first in the area to have a D-104 microphone, and the first to have over a 100 watt "kicker".  He operated a top of the line Pierce-Simpson Simba SSB base, and a "Super Starburst" (A locally produced omni antenna, for which the makers claimed fantastic gain figures), mounted at the then illegal height of 60 feet.  All of this was so that he could become one of the premier signals in our local area.  He was also somewhat arrogant, as well as having a tendency to become somewhat of a "Channel Master". Along with his brother, Papa Bear, he pretty much "ran" Channel 3. 

All of this equipment, along with his attitude, and it was no wonder that he had little tolerance for guys like Steve, Jimmy, and then later, our "teenagers" group, which bled him over at regular intervals.  Though egotistical, and relatively powerful, he wasn’t too smart when it came to R.F. theory, as he found out once when he tried to come between me and my next door neighbor who’s antenna was a scant 60 feet away.  Even with his 150 watt amplifier helping him, he couldn’t get between us, and that realization just made him madder.  Zipper was always jumping onto "our" channel, to lecture us about how "kids" don’t belong on the radio, and that we should take our "chatter" to the land-line.  He was also caught a few times dumping carriers on us. We had regular dealings with Zipper, as myself and one or two others in our group bled him over on a regular basis, and he couldn't deal with it. This kind of conflict was just what Steve enjoyed, as it gave him someone to plot against, and a target for mobile agitation.  But it was our relentless bleed over, which finally forced Zipper to buy a beam antenna, just to point away from us.  He eventually sold his house, and moved out of the immediate area.  He was heard mobile as late as 1977 (as in this clip), but since then, it's anyone’s guess as to his whereabouts.

Today: I haven’t heard anything about Zipper since the late 70’s. I had heard a rumor that he had passed on, but I can’t verify it.