Benlo Park

Are you the Peter Jennings I know?

Are you looking for me? Recently, it seems I have had a lot of people asking if I am the Peter Jennings they knew back when... I love the way Google has made it easy for old friends, colleagues and acquaintances to rediscover each other. If our paths crossed, I’d love to hear from you. Join me on Facebook or contact me directly.

For the record, I am the Peter Jennings who:

That's how this page started around the turn of the century. Since then, I have been adding events and anecdotes from my life from time to time as an aide memoire for when I write more. There's a story behind each line.

• was born in Bedford, England, in 1950.
• went to Goldington Road School in Bedford in the 1950s.
• lived in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
• lived in Welland, Ontario.
• lived in Niagara Falls, Ontario in the 1960s.
• went to John Marshall Public School in Niagara Falls.
• went to Princess Elizabeth School in Niagara Falls.
• built his first computer in 1961 using switches, relays and lights to do 4 bit arithmetic.
• built a radio transmitter in 1962 and launched it on a model rocket to send spin information to a receiver on the ground
• went to A.N.Myer Secondary School in Niagara Falls from 1963 to 1968.
• designed and built an analog computer to successfully predict the 1964 US Presidential election from early results.
• interfaced a surplus Model 15 teletype to a homebrew computer in 1965 and programmed it to play chess openings and present quizes.
• designed a "Mars lander" which detected microbial life on the roof of his house in 1965
• showed projects at the Niagara Regional Science Fairs in 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968.
• was a finalist at International Science Fairs and Canada-Wide Science Fairs in 1964,1965,1966,1967 and won the Grand Prize in 1968.
• Played in the A.N.Myer Chess Club and the Niagara Falls Chess Club (mostly elderly Eastern Europeans who met in a smoky room over the YMCA). Was Niagara Regional Chess Champion in 1968.
• was licensed as VE3GEJ in 1965. His father was licensed in 1986, and took the same call.
• designed a phone patch to connect his ham radio to the telephone network. The Garden Patch: A Junk-Box Phone Patch CQ Magazine August 1971.
• used the phone patch to connect troops in Gaza and scientists in Antarctica with their families in Canada and the US by ham radio
• published articles on electronics and radio communications in various technical journals while in High School and University.
• built a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer in his basement as a teenager, as one does.

• represented Canada at the London International Youth Science Fortnight, 1968.
• danced with a girl who told me she had danced with the Prince of Wales and that henceforth every girl I danced with could claim she had danced with a man who danced with a girl who danced with the Prince of Wales.
• Witnessed the student protests in Paris, 1968.
• Narrowly escaped the Soviet Invasion of Czechoslavakia in 1968.
• studied Math, Physics, Fine Art, Philosophy and Psychology at McMaster University (1968-1971), where he lived in New House, Whidden Hall with Ivan Reitman.
• represented McMaster at the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship in 1969.
• worked for Canada Customs on the Queenston-Lewiston bridge.
• created computer generated ascii art using a CDC 6400 computer
• created artificially intelligent aleatory text art works in 1968.
• designed a 6 element delta loop beam that fit in a suburban back yard. Six Elements on 20 Meters 73 Magazine #141 June 1972
• designed circuits for a flat screen TV at Autotelic in 1970. Patent 3940757.
• was accepted into the PhD program in Physics at Stanford, Cornell and SUNY Stony Brook when he was 20.
• sold the Merit Student Encyclopedia door-to-door as a summer job.
• Played chess for money in Washington Square.
• received his MA in Physics when he dropped out of Stony Brook in 1972.
• married Jane Barley in St Catharines in 1973.
• received his MBA in Finance and Marketing from McMaster University in 1974.
• lived in Toronto, Ontario in the 1970s.
• worked in marketing and financial planning for Gulf Oil in Toronto, 1974-1975.
• worked with McKinsey to develop innovative marketing strategies - created the first Truck Stop.
• Taught the Xerox Professional Selling Skills (PSS) course to the Gulf Oil sales team.
• Closed a $60 million dollar (2020 $300M) sale of oil to Ontario Hydro and decided it would be a good idea to work on a commission in future.
• marketed financial planning software for Comshare in Toronto, 1976.
• was one of the first members and designed the logo for the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry (ISPE), The Thousand in 1976.
• wrote emulators for the 6502 and 8080 microprocessors in APL running on a Xerox Sigma 9.
• a member of TRACE, the Toronto Region Association of Computer Enthusiasts.
• created and published Microchess, the first computer game product, 1976.

• shared a bed with Margot Kidder and Toller Cranston in Toronto.
• started Micro-Ware Limited in Toronto, the first PC software publisher, 1976.
• Microchess 8080 distributed on paper tape, Tarbell cassette, Sol-20 cassette.
• Interfaced two surplus IBM 8" floppy drives to the Kim-1 and wrote a disk operating system for it.
• introduced engineers to microprocessors in a 3 day course that toured North America.
• created Micro-ADE, a 6502 development system.
• 1978 TRS-80 Microchess 1.5 for Level I and Level II computers on cassette. Available in all Radio Shack stores for $15.
• 1978 Commodore PET Microchess 1.5 on cassette
• 1979. Predicted software would make personal computing ubiquitous by the end of the 1980s. Everyone will need a computer for communications, banking, education and home energy management.
• 1979 Apple ][ Microchess 2.0 on cassette
• created the Commodore ChessMate, a handheld chess game.
• programmed the Novag Mark II chess computer.
• was challenged to a game of chess by Bobby Fischer, the highest ranked player in the world at the time, and undefeated World Champion. Fischer won all three games.
• created the Program Evaluation Analysis Computer (PEAC) for TVO and Children's Television Workshop in 1977.
• created the Mondrian data display for the PEAC Project in 1978.
• taught a weekly extra-curricular class for gifted high school students in Toronto

• designed a computerized security system for Bell South so they could hoard millions of old silver coins collected from their pay phones
• co-founded PEAC Media Research Inc (PMRI) in Toronto in 1978 to perform market research and audience testing of television programming and commercials.
• created the Fantastick, an electric art sculpture, a 6 foot glowing coloured tube with an embedded 6502 that produced a dazzling light show.
• attended meetings of the Homebrew Club in Gordon French's garage and at SLAC.
• co-founded Personal Software which became VisiCorp.
• was involved in the creation of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program.
• lived in San Jose, California.
• created the Chess and Checkers cartridges for Radio Shack's CoCo computer in 1980. More than 1 million cartridges sold.
• was an angel investor in a small Cupertino startup - which did quite well.
• Played craps with Steve Jobs ($5 bets) in Las Vegas a few weeks after the Apple IPO, in which Steve made $167M. A Texan, winning on Steve's rolls tipped him a fifty.
• Learned the Hi-Opt II Blackjack strategy from Lance Humble before he published The World's Greatest Blackjack Book.
• Was banned by two casinos in Las Vegas after proving the system worked.
• Wrote a program for the Apple ][ to teach the system. (Never published as VisiCorp moved to business software.)
• was playing Blackjack in the casino hours before the MGM Grand fire that killed 85 people during Comdex II.
• is pictured in Fire in the Valley 1984 and 2000 editions.
• lived in Los Gatos, California.

• created VisiDex, an early free-form keyword search based database for the Apple ][.
• invented a low cost software protection dongle for the inchoate IBM PC in 1980.
• exhibited a series of computer generated morphing images at SigGraph 1982.
• created computer generated mathematical plotter art using an Apple ][ and a drum plotter
• was a venture capitalist, founding partner in Associated Venture Investors (AVI).
• was a founder of Gavilan Computer, which created the first laptop computer.
• Artifacts and documents from the period 1977-1984 were donated to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View California.
• An oral history interview is also available at the museum.
• Some artifacts from the same period are at the York University Computer History Museum.
• Artifacts and documents from his Digital Nomad period, 1984-1989, are available at the ACONIT Computer History Museum in Grenoble, France.
• Spent 4 long hours on a flight with Little Richard hearing about how he was Born Again.
• was involved in the creation of Visi^ON, the first GUI operating system for PCs, which inspired Bill Gates to start work on Windows.
• was Chairman of Vasona Corporation, creating software for the IBM PCjr based on the Gavilan operating system.
• was a founder of Vivid Systems. Limelight was the first portable PC projector.
• advisor and investor in Starstruck, a private space venture, and helped launch the Dolphin hybrid rocket.
• Almost merged VisiCorp with Microsoft (50:50) in 1983. VisiCorp led Microsoft in sales from 1979 to 1983.^W
• was the keynote speaker at LOGON '83 where mythology, humanities and the computer revolution met.

• Was the subject of a TV Ontario documentary that ran for many years.
• was invited to present at the first TED talk in 1984. He said no, and was never invited again.
• had lunch with Henry Heimlich and Tracy Kidder. Unfortunately, nobody choked.
• invested in Personics Corporation, helping them develop the Head Mouse for the Macintosh in 1984.
• founded Tallgrass Canada to sell hard drives for personal computers.
• created a competitive relaxation game with a brain-computer interface in 1984.
• extended MacForth 1.0 and implemented the help functionality for the language.
• sailed the Med for 3 years on Tusom, an 8 meter Catalac catamaran.
• published a flashcard program for the Macintosh in 1985
• created the Macintosh Word-a-Day program which was purchased by Disney.
• is amateur radio operator VE3SUN.

• invented the MagicNotch electronic filter. Patent US5438304
• founded j.com in 1989 to market ham radio products - a too early dot com.
• created the freeware MagicKey DOS TSR program which had a large following in the DOS days.
• invented the Ventriloquist digital voice recorder.
• designed a VHF antenna that was tested on NASA Columbia shuttle mission STS-52.
• created stereogram artworks for the new World Wide Web.
• is on the air as AB6WM when he is in the United States.
• Founded Sunburst International LLC to develop a small subdivision in Branson, MO.
• created HamBase, the first electronic callbook, distributed on 29 floppy disks.
• started this web site in 1993 to distribute his freeware and shareware.
• is C31LJ, when he is at home in Andorra and was C31LHJ and C30LEV.
• Has been a CQWW winner from several locations in different categories.
• Participated in setting the Canadian record CQWW All Band High Power at VE3EJ.
• co-authored the Pocket Guide to World History with Jane Jennings.
• Wrote a Short Story for a Europanto contest which won first prize and was published in Brussels.
• Created VisiDex, Pocket History and J Notes for the C-Pen.
• Wrote Daily Smiles for the Globe and Mail.
• was a member of the V31DX DXpedition contest team.
• created Cachet, a Netscape browser add-on utility.
• Built a camera controller for kite aerial photography.
• wrote and continues to improve DX Monitor (1993-).
• created an APRS Monitor for Windows.
• created a remote water tank monitor and alarm system RF link.
• was involved with Quantum Magnetics, developing NQR techniques for explosive detection. (Acquired by Invision). Patent US5592083A.
• was a consultant to the Government of Andorra, suggesting a plan for a future in the Information Age, convincing them to be the first country to install fibre to every home and business.

• is the IARU International Beacon Project Coordinator.
• flew Schweizer sailplanes at Sky Sailing when it was still in Fremont, California.
• was a test pilot for Steve Snyder’s P-2 Paraplane in February 1983.
• Learned to fly his powered paraglider (PPG) with Eric Dufour in 2000 near Quebec City.
• Met Richard Branson and Steve Fossett in Marrakesh as they prepared their balloon for an around the world flight.
• Flew in the world record setting, most paramotors in the air event, 2001.
• has a passion for paragliding in exotic places.
• Drove 80,000km around Europe in his Romahome.

• spends as much time as he can in Andorra, and calls it home.
• visited Monk Apollo SV2ASP on Mount Athos and stayed in a cell in the Dochiariou Monastery.
• drove a 75 ton Mercedes dump truck on winding mountain roads from Dafni to Karyes on Mt Athos.
• Sold his 37 bitcoin for $74 when the price reached $2.00 in 2011.
• belongs to the CIA. The Club International d’Andorra.
• is a member of the Unió de Radioaficionats Andorrans.
• is a member of the Andorra Computer Club.
• likes to take pictures for fun and profit.
• Published a coffee table book of a trip to Greenland and Wild Labrador.
• spends his summers on Fairy Lake Island on Stoney Lake.
• spends his winters in California.
• is a member of the Northern California Contest Club.
• is a member of the Contest Club Ontario.
• is an advisor to the Northern California DX Foundation.
• created the Slinger Slingbox Recorder and Viewer apps.
• was a docent at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.
• was a life member of TechShop, where he likes to make things.
• created a profitable Twitter identity and trivia game web site and sold it in 2009.
• wrote several HTML5 webapps for the iPhone in 2009: Analog Scientific Calculator, Pocket History, Border Gas, Night Sky.
• enjoys finding a daily interesting factlet to tweet.
• still likes to play around with microprocessors.
• has been seen driving his camper around South America
• Invented camera controller for underwater photography used by the Scripps Institute to monitor coral reefs in Vanuatu.
• invented a system to monitor and control GoPro cameras under water for boat inspections.
• designed a cat mounted, accelerometer controlled camera to study the foraging of feral cats in Australia in 2013.
• designed a system to control GoPro cameras mounted on the wing-tips of the Solar Impulse when it made the first solar powered flight across the United States.
• visited Vietnam in 2014, DXFC country number 114.
• Created 3D art cut from foam by Robochop for an installation at CeBit 2015. Rabbit/Duck 3D illusion.
• visited Ethiopia, South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland in 2015. Country count = 118.
• explored both palindromic place names and isogrammic place names.
• Angel investor in Gerijoy, Gummicube, CirroSecure, Whale Path, Moment, True Link, Roomstorm, Beep Networks, interviewing.io, MatterFab, Regalii, Shippo, PlushCare, ShredVideo, PocketSuite, EarnUp, HigherMe, AKUA, DashMD, CamDo Solutions, Timia Capital, TechShop, Niagara Makerspace, Djot, SpaceX, and other startups in stealth mode.
• has been working on some gizmos and gadgets for the internet of things (IOT). The Button, Hotspot Finder, Rain Monitor Well Monitor, LuaLoader, Water Alarm, Smart Outlet, Temperature Logger, ,Smart Thermostat, Mailbox Monitor, Mother-in-Law Monitor.
• contributes to open source software projects on GitHub
• Drove an F350 Truck with a camper from Baja to Tuktoyaktuk, Alaska, Haida Gwai, and back to Ontario.
• wants to help create a community makerspace in the Niagara Region
• is working on extensions and tools for software defined radios like the KiwiSDR
• is Webmaster and Management Team member of PROBUS Global.
• used the Kemet IR sensor to create a crib monitor for a quadriplegic infant
• Visited Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates for DXFC countries 125 and 126.
• His art work was included in the Exhibition Neurones, les intelligences simulées at Centre Pompidou, Paris in 2020.
• Created an art project for the COVID-19 pandemic: In Memoriam Corona.
• Builds things for The Tetra Society and March of Dimes from time to time.
• Created a virtual blackboard on which you can write what you want to do when it's over. Art Gallery of Ontario 2020.
• Created the Covidometer to show the rates of new cases and deaths by country, state or province.
• Currently serving as a Director of CamDo Solutions, Inc and on the Management Committees of PROBUS Global and the PROBUS Club of St Catharines.
• Continues to write code daily in HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, C, Delphi and occasionally in assembler.
• Offers entertaining lectures and presentations to clubs and organizations.

There are lots of pictures in the Photo Albums.