Open Roads Radio forum for Ham, Amateur Radio and RV camping - View Single Post - Poll: How long have you been a licensed Amateur Radio Operator?

Mr. Ham · 09-07-2014, 07:16 PM

I became involved in RADIO in 1969, I did not have the resources or an Elmer to get an Amateur Radio License.

Dad built a couple of Knight Kit CB radios back in the early 60's and was involved in Civil Defense.

Had dad not been involved in Civil Defense - he probably would have been called back to the military in 64 or 65 when tensions flared in Vietnam.

Dad had an old Hammarlund Super Pro 10 and a Viking transmitter - by the time I found it, the tuner was rusted fast.

It was probably a good thing, else I probably would have tried to put it on the air and would have caused even more problems.

I confined my hobby to the listening side of the hobby.

A friend got me interested in Amateur Radio in 1978, but I couldn't get a seat in the schools' amateur radio club - hence no opportunity to get my license once again.

There were no open VE test sessions in my area and I had no wheels.

I always knew just enough about radio to make myself dangerous.

I started building long wire antenna's in 1986 and started to listen to AM broadcast radio - day and night.

I had a decent High End Sanyo receiver, and could hear commercial AM stations 50 miles away in the daytime that only had 1 thousand watts from a short stick and lot's of noise.
Their service contour range was only 25 miles....

I got involved in Polka music at an early age and spent a considerable amount of time working on old Gibson, Fender tube type amplifiers and Thomas organs.

Thomas organs were made by Heathkit at one time.

Hunting, Girls, stock car racing, kids, work, drinking and music all came first for a number of years.

The bottom fell out after the family sold our hunting camp and we had to become mobile.

It all came full circle when we tried to get organized and found that 11 meters was not suitable for local communications in the woods.

The antenna was too long, the band was too noisy and there were no quiet places to talk.

We bought a couple of the first Motorola GMRS / FRS radios that became available.

They used batteries and were bulky and were very expensive.

The newer models were rechargeable and a little better, but not much.

When the newer / more powerful Talkabout models came out we switched to them, by then it was time to get a license.

The amateurs and the amateur radio clubs eluded me for many years - due to the code restriction and the glass barrier - the cost and status involved in being a ham radio operator.

When the barriers were dropped, and the code was dropped, and the questions were published and available, I was able to find the time to study and get my license.

I started listening to what I could hear - which was not much on 2 meters and 70 cm.
It was a virtual wasteland of nothing.

I took the plunge and visited the local amateur radio club - when the internet became available and the clubs started making web sites and I was able to learn where it was and who was involved.

I visited a special event station - Groundhogs Day and operated for about 5 hours.

I quickly learned that no one from the club wanted to operate the radio and that I was pretty good at it.
Two weeks later, I found a club 50 miles away that had a VE test session and I took the license exam and passed.

I cannot tell you how many questions I got right or wrong, since the only thing that counts is that you passed!
It doesn't make you any better of a ham if you get all of the questions right or miss all 9 and still pass.
What matters is what you do after you get your license.

I didn't bother buying a transceiver right off, since I still had all my listening equipment at home..

I did put up better antenna's and listened as much as I could.

The license application got lost somewhere between the head VE and the VEC and 6 weeks later, I got two of the most important telephone calls of my life.

The first was from the ARRL apologizing to me for loosing my application - the guy was in Florida.
The second call was from the FCC - telling me that my call sign was KB3 _ _ _. and to go ahead and start talking - even though it was not yet in the database.

3 days later my call sign appeared in the data base...

I picked up the telephone and called Ham Radio Outlet in Deleware and put in a $1000 order for equipment the very next day
.
3 days later the stuff was on my doorstep.

The coax however was the wrong length.

I had some coax at dad's house and a old high band vhf scanner antenna that matched up pretty well on 2 meters and started talking.

That was the very same week that the local repeater was linked to a wide area network.

I practically burned up the local repeater talking to people.

I talked 10 hours straight for two days.

By that time, I had already passed my General Class Exam and was studying for my Amateur Extra.

Two weeks later, I passed that also.

The first FM radio was a Yaesu FT 8900R and my first HF radio was a Ranger 2950.

By that time I had acquired a very old decrepit Solorcon A99 vertical.

My yard started to look more like The Voice of America.

Poles were placed on every corner of the garage and storage shed and there were wires everywhere.

When the Kenwood TS 590 came out, I ordered one from Ham Radio Outlet and it was the best $1800 I ever spent!

The Ranger was returned to it's rightful owner with a heartfelt thanks - along with a complete alignment and a new Clarifier - for the use of the radio .

Next came the Orion and then the Kenwood TS 990.
I also had loan of a Icom 746 Pro.

I started to collect power supplies about 2 years ago - I now have 6 - all Astrons.
I got the reputation of being the guy that was able to repair Astron's and so I was elected repair person when ever someone had a problem..

I got involved with all the local clubs and became disillusioned with most of them because they had lost their way.

I now operate by myself with the exception of Field Days, or by special request when there is a contest such as the PA QSO party.

I also got a vanity call sign about 2 years ago.

I have been both a LARC and a ARRL VE for the past 3+ years, and have participated in over 20 VE test sessions..

I can usually be found on 2 meters, 6 meters SSB or 10 meters - calling CQ DX when the band conditions allows.

I have participated with the Phone Traffic net, the ARES, the RACES group and also have been net control for most of the local nets.

I operate PANBEMS - digital on Sunday mornings and when there is an emergency.

I am a member of Skywarn and also a amateur radio test instructor and Elmer.

There is a 30' tower on the corner of the garage with 4 antenna's on it, and about 150' of tower on saw horses in the yard - waiting to be put up.

I am the trustee of 2 local repeaters and one repeater -120 road miles away!

We are now equipped with a brand new Yaesu DR 1 repeater, and I have about 100' of tower waiting to be put up for the repeater 120 miles away....

When the operating station there is done, it will have a 40m 4 el beam,
a 20m 5 el triband beam antenna,
a 2 meter and 70cm SSB beam,
several off center fed dipole antenna's, and a Diamond X510 antenna for local communications..

Local being every repeater for 200 miles...

The elevation there is 2800' amsl.....

09-07-2014, 07:16 PM	#11
Mr. Ham Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 95	I became involved in RADIO in 1969, I did not have the resources or an Elmer to get an Amateur Radio License. Dad built a couple of Knight Kit CB radios back in the early 60's and was involved in Civil Defense. Had dad not been involved in Civil Defense - he probably would have been called back to the military in 64 or 65 when tensions flared in Vietnam. Dad had an old Hammarlund Super Pro 10 and a Viking transmitter - by the time I found it, the tuner was rusted fast. It was probably a good thing, else I probably would have tried to put it on the air and would have caused even more problems. I confined my hobby to the listening side of the hobby. A friend got me interested in Amateur Radio in 1978, but I couldn't get a seat in the schools' amateur radio club - hence no opportunity to get my license once again. There were no open VE test sessions in my area and I had no wheels. I always knew just enough about radio to make myself dangerous. I started building long wire antenna's in 1986 and started to listen to AM broadcast radio - day and night. I had a decent High End Sanyo receiver, and could hear commercial AM stations 50 miles away in the daytime that only had 1 thousand watts from a short stick and lot's of noise. Their service contour range was only 25 miles.... I got involved in Polka music at an early age and spent a considerable amount of time working on old Gibson, Fender tube type amplifiers and Thomas organs. Thomas organs were made by Heathkit at one time. Hunting, Girls, stock car racing, kids, work, drinking and music all came first for a number of years. The bottom fell out after the family sold our hunting camp and we had to become mobile. It all came full circle when we tried to get organized and found that 11 meters was not suitable for local communications in the woods. The antenna was too long, the band was too noisy and there were no quiet places to talk. We bought a couple of the first Motorola GMRS / FRS radios that became available. They used batteries and were bulky and were very expensive. The newer models were rechargeable and a little better, but not much. When the newer / more powerful Talkabout models came out we switched to them, by then it was time to get a license. The amateurs and the amateur radio clubs eluded me for many years - due to the code restriction and the glass barrier - the cost and status involved in being a ham radio operator. When the barriers were dropped, and the code was dropped, and the questions were published and available, I was able to find the time to study and get my license. I started listening to what I could hear - which was not much on 2 meters and 70 cm. It was a virtual wasteland of nothing. I took the plunge and visited the local amateur radio club - when the internet became available and the clubs started making web sites and I was able to learn where it was and who was involved. I visited a special event station - Groundhogs Day and operated for about 5 hours. I quickly learned that no one from the club wanted to operate the radio and that I was pretty good at it. Two weeks later, I found a club 50 miles away that had a VE test session and I took the license exam and passed. I cannot tell you how many questions I got right or wrong, since the only thing that counts is that you passed! It doesn't make you any better of a ham if you get all of the questions right or miss all 9 and still pass. What matters is what you do after you get your license. I didn't bother buying a transceiver right off, since I still had all my listening equipment at home.. I did put up better antenna's and listened as much as I could. The license application got lost somewhere between the head VE and the VEC and 6 weeks later, I got two of the most important telephone calls of my life. The first was from the ARRL apologizing to me for loosing my application - the guy was in Florida. The second call was from the FCC - telling me that my call sign was KB3 _ _ _. and to go ahead and start talking - even though it was not yet in the database. 3 days later my call sign appeared in the data base... I picked up the telephone and called Ham Radio Outlet in Deleware and put in a $1000 order for equipment the very next day . 3 days later the stuff was on my doorstep. The coax however was the wrong length. I had some coax at dad's house and a old high band vhf scanner antenna that matched up pretty well on 2 meters and started talking. That was the very same week that the local repeater was linked to a wide area network. I practically burned up the local repeater talking to people. I talked 10 hours straight for two days. By that time, I had already passed my General Class Exam and was studying for my Amateur Extra. Two weeks later, I passed that also. The first FM radio was a Yaesu FT 8900R and my first HF radio was a Ranger 2950. By that time I had acquired a very old decrepit Solorcon A99 vertical. My yard started to look more like The Voice of America. Poles were placed on every corner of the garage and storage shed and there were wires everywhere. When the Kenwood TS 590 came out, I ordered one from Ham Radio Outlet and it was the best $1800 I ever spent! The Ranger was returned to it's rightful owner with a heartfelt thanks - along with a complete alignment and a new Clarifier - for the use of the radio . Next came the Orion and then the Kenwood TS 990. I also had loan of a Icom 746 Pro. I started to collect power supplies about 2 years ago - I now have 6 - all Astrons. I got the reputation of being the guy that was able to repair Astron's and so I was elected repair person when ever someone had a problem.. I got involved with all the local clubs and became disillusioned with most of them because they had lost their way. I now operate by myself with the exception of Field Days, or by special request when there is a contest such as the PA QSO party. I also got a vanity call sign about 2 years ago. I have been both a LARC and a ARRL VE for the past 3+ years, and have participated in over 20 VE test sessions.. I can usually be found on 2 meters, 6 meters SSB or 10 meters - calling CQ DX when the band conditions allows. I have participated with the Phone Traffic net, the ARES, the RACES group and also have been net control for most of the local nets. I operate PANBEMS - digital on Sunday mornings and when there is an emergency. I am a member of Skywarn and also a amateur radio test instructor and Elmer. There is a 30' tower on the corner of the garage with 4 antenna's on it, and about 150' of tower on saw horses in the yard - waiting to be put up. I am the trustee of 2 local repeaters and one repeater -120 road miles away! We are now equipped with a brand new Yaesu DR 1 repeater, and I have about 100' of tower waiting to be put up for the repeater 120 miles away.... When the operating station there is done, it will have a 40m 4 el beam, a 20m 5 el triband beam antenna, a 2 meter and 70cm SSB beam, several off center fed dipole antenna's, and a Diamond X510 antenna for local communications.. Local being every repeater for 200 miles... The elevation there is 2800' amsl.....