Stephen Philip Jaikens – 15th Feb 1946 to 24th Sep 2024
My Dad
Dad’s are almost always an inspiration for their children. My Dad was definitely mine. Always hard working and always doing something that I could spend hours watching him do. From mending clocks, playing with electronics to building bathrooms. Then letting me play with what he made. We shared our love of anything gadget’s and computer based. When I had my first computer it was with the knowledge that I was sharing it with my Dad who would make it do more with some whizzy piece of electronics to make it go faster, store more games and just make it more wow.
My hobbies where my dad’s. From photography, and air rifles to building models. We moved on to electronics and building crystal radios to touch controlled lights. When we got our first games machine, an Atari VCS, he built a button based keypad to resemble those in the arcades so we could play Space Invaders and Asteroids the way it should be played. We then moved onto our first computer a Commodore VIC 20. That’s when I first started my programming career, so to speak. With a friend of his (Graeme) they started a company that would sell different products for these new Commodore computers and would sell them through a shop in Bradford. They went their separate ways and Dad started a small hobby company called “Turbotronic” and would sell “Backup Boards” from small ads in the back of magazines. This kept us busy for a few interesting years.
Home computers kept improving and we moved onto the Commodore Amiga. This was a very different machine from the previous ones. The company eventually faded away as this new machine became more popular and we moved onto more serious computers. With much better games.
Dad’s job being a cash register service engineer moved from the very early mechanical machines to the more advanced electronic calculators. They then moved on later to fully networked and server powered computers. This was the level he was involved with when he retired.
When it came to his spare time, the family would often (when we were young) go camping. With our favourite places being Anglesey in Wales, and Whitby. A tent the size of a small house would shelter all five of us from some very extreme weather. We would have breakfast and supper sat around the camp table and listen to the radio. With the days spent exploring the local sights. Camping was more fun for the kids than the adults. So when we got older it would fall out of favour. Much to the relief of my mum, who would prefer more relaxing and casual holidays.
My Dad’s retirement years were spent finding new friends and hobbies being a volunteer for the Industrial Museum in Halifax as well as Bankfield Museum in Boothtown and other places. He would spend much of time helping to renovate clocks and the large musical box the Symphonium. This machine would take larger 17inch discs and play one track of music of each. Doing most of this work in the garage. Which still houses some of his clock collection.
His health slowly stopped most of this. A heart condition from a heart attack he had while working, to the pulmonary fibrosis that would make him require oxygen bottles and machines. His enthusiasm for all things mechanical (and even steam driven) to fancy gadgets bought online kept on going as long he did.
He will be very much missed by us all.
Stephen Philip Jaikens – 15th Feb 1946 to 24th Sep 2024 Read More »
