Ham Radio and Me
There are thousands of stories out there about how people got interested in ham radio....this is mine. It began when I was about 15, in 1960, in Grand
Junction, Colorado, population about 12,000 at the time. A neighborhood friend and schoolmate of mine (Fred Schneider) and I noticed an antenna on a house
a block from us, and were curious about what it was.
We knocked on the door and introduced ourselves to the lady who answered. She said both she and her husband were amateur radio operators and that if
we came back later when he was home, he would be happy to show us his radio station. Wow! A radio station in a home almost next door to us! That had
to be something to see....and so we did. Roland Weir was his name, and over time he became my "elmer" - a ham who takes others under their wing and
helps them through the licensing and initial setup of their own station. Roland's call sign was KØSJK, and we found out that his wife Phyllis, was KØZRI. Jumping
ahead in my story, this is their QSL card, from my first contact in February 6th, 1961:
Roland invited us into his "shack", which was actually a small closet without a door where he had all of his mysterious equipment. Ron (as he preferred), was
a slim man, but could barely get inside the closet and sit in a chair facing the radio gear. The smell of warm tubes and distinctive smell of solder filled the air.
He turned on his radio and voices filled the room from far away places. His equipment consisted of a Heathkit DX-20 transmitter and an RME 4300 receiver.
His antenna - the one that got us involved in amateur radio - was a vertical.
RME 4300 Receiver
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Heathkit DX-20 Transmitter
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My friend and I were hooked! Ron invited us to a ham radio club meeting, where we met other hams in the community. The club sponsored license classes,
and both Fred and I decided to give it a try. In the mean time, we visited other hams in the community and marveled at their equipment. We were
introduced to homebrew linear amplifiers that stood six feet tall, with huge, glowing tubes that filled the rooms. We saw top of the line gear made by Collins
owned by those more well to do hams, along with stations of modest means like Ron, my elmer. Ron was not only a ham, but in what may appear to be a
dichotomy, he was a plumber by profession and a trained concert pianist!
The race was on - time to study the electronic theory and learn morse code - and see who could earn their license first. We attended classes and studied
at home. At that time, the license allowing entry to ham radio was the "novice". I took the test in late 1960, and the wait was on. It took almost two
months for word to come back from the Federal Communications Commission that I was a newly licensed novice amateur radio operator, with the call sign
KNØFNL. Fred took his exam a bit later and was licensed as KNØYUM. We were now members of this wonderful society who spoke in code to people in
strange countries around the world!
In anticipation of receiving my license, I worked especially hard at my newspaper delivery job and earned the money to purchase a National NC-109 receiver,
and a Globe Chief transmitter. The NC-109 was my ear to the world, and the Globe Chief my voice, modest as they may have been. Following my elmer's
lead, I purchased a vertical antenna, much like Ron's.
National NC-109 Receiver
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Globe Chief Transmitter
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With this equipment, my ham radio career began. That was 60 years ago. I still have the logs of all of my contacts, as well as the QSL cards I received
from all those stations I contacted so many years ago.
Over the years, I have moved to several states and foreign countries, continuing my hobby by obtaining new call signs or licenses in all those places.
Some big thrills have been:
Talking to KC4USA, a station at the South pole, while driving my car to class while I was in college.
Talking to the US astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle, and the Soviet Cosmonauts aboard Mir, as they flew overhead when I lived in Hawaii.
Assisting in saving the lives of several people involved in an automobile accident in the middle of the Mojave Desert, well before cell phones were
invented. I was able to contact an emergency ham radio network who called the California Highway Patrol and an ambulance, who arrived in time
to save their lives.
Getting back in touch with my friend Fred, now KØYUM. I had a radio in my car and was driving on a back country road on top of the White Mountains
in California, and just happened to hear him on the air. He was serving in the US Army, and I was in the US Air Force. This contact was purely by accident,
and a reminder of the "surprises" to be had when on the air.
My first contact when using an amateur radio satellite, to talk to another ham who was in Russia, when I lived in Alaska.
Helping with communications in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race when I lived in Alaska.
Talking to a total of 339 "countries" around the world. A "country" may be only a small reef in the middle of the ocean, but for ham radio operators, it
counts as a "new one", even if the hams who are there are the only ones in the "country".
Talking to a newly licensed young man in California who was THRILLED to talk to someone in Alaska as one of his first contacts.
Relaying to his family in Florida that a crewman on a boat near the Spratley Islands was OK, after they had not had contact for an extended period.
Being the last state that a ham needed to talk to on 6 meters, after trying for well over a decade, to finish the challenge. What made it so special is that
the ham was a man with severe physical limitations who had a difficult time making himself understood on the air. Ham radio provides a medium through
which you can explore the world, despite the limitations you may have on being able to actually travel.
Talking with a young woman from India who persuaded her government to allow her to operate from the Andaman Islands. Shortly after I spoke with her,
the earthquake hit just off the island that spawned the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed well over 280,000 people in December 2004. She immediately went
into an emergency communications mode, assisting in passing traffic to and from governmental agencies in support of rescue operations, much to the credit
of ham radio operators around the world.
You will note that among these "big thrills", there are those of a very personal nature, as well as those of technical achievement. The personal ones
outshine those technical ones in my memory. That is a special attraction to being a part of ham radio.
I have provided thousands of contacts to fellow hams from around the world who needed a contact with Hawaii or Alaska. They too have provided me a
big thrill by allowing me to vividly recall my first contact with China, which was coming out from behind a Great Wall of secrecy, as well as talking to a ham
from the Ukraine who had persuaded the govenment of North Korea to allow amateur radio as a demonstration. They later stopped him from operating and
forced him to halt his communicating with others around the world from this most secretive country.
I've been a ham for so many years that I am now a member of the "Quarter Century Wireless Association", and my favorite, the "Old Old Timers Club", which
requires that to be a member, you must have been licensed for over 40 years to be considered a "Pioneer of Amateur Radio". Now that I've passed 60 years as a licensed ham, there is still plenty of adventure left!
If you have an interest in amateur radio, be it for the satisfaction of community service, the technical aspects or for the person-to-person contacts it offers,
contact any ham in your community, or the Amateur Radio Relay League, to begin the steps necessary to obtain your
license.
Speaking of licenses, over the years, I have held the following call signs:
KNØFNL KØFNL WB6ACM WØMXE
KL7IBM KL7NJ NL7Z AH6JY WYØH
WU1J WX1C DA2JA WL7M WDØM
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.........and I hope to hear you on the air!
73,
Joe
WDØM
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