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Old 10-09-2014, 10:29 PM   #16
electricflyer
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Douglasville, GA
Posts: 417
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Had I got licensed when I first studied for it I would have had 52 years by now but I chickened out. My father-in-law was a ham and I studied the handbook (still have it) and practiced code. I could send about 25wpm and receive about 8 and could draw all the possible radio circuits, understood the rules but since the FCC only came to Omaha for 1 day once a quarter the timing didn't work out and I was newly married and had other things on my mind. Finally in 1992 my oldest son had just gotten of the AF after 11 years and went to work for ICOM as a regional sales manager I decided to take the tech test. I let it ride until just after the code requirement was dropped and took the general one month and the extra the next month. So here I am a no code extra that a few old timers still can't get over. I think that has relaxed quite a bit now.

My other hobby took up most of the non ham years, RC airplanes. Been at it for about 60 years now but not very active any more since my best buddy, mentor and guru passed away, lot of stories about that hobby. Built my first 5 channel radio control from a kit. A bag of resistors, a bag of capacitors, a tiny circuit board about 2'' square, made my own coils and when I got through it worked!! A club member worked for the telephone company and we went into a faraday cage and put it on an O scope and checked the alignment and I was off and running, but now it is back to hamming.

I'm working on the code again, slowly. I think the only way to make the tough DX contacts is with CW so maybe in another year I will be ready. Ham radio is kind of in the family, both sons are licensed (both worked avionics in the AF, youngest is still in AF Reserves with 30 years of service and they don't want to let him out, oldest son retired from the Ohio Air Guard), a daughter-in-law and a brother-in-law also licensed.

Met many hams during my working years, and worked with a number of them also. Recently met up with K0CIA (got his license when he was 12) who I worked with and hadn't seen in about 35 years. I remember he had a Drake TR4 and a home brew amp with a 3-500Z that he ran white hot.

When I had my own business I put my call on my business card and when I called on the traffic engineer in Tallahassee he asked what it meant on my card and I told him it was my call sign, then he said OK and put his call on his business card for me, how about that.
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