My introduction into Ham Radio was a bit different that the below article, but not much. At an early age I had a need to “take stuff apart” and try (note the word try as I failed more than succeeded) to put it back together again. At some point in this aging and growing process, my father had moved up to being a radio repair man for “Ma-Bell”. That happened at about the same time as the CB radio explosion of the 60’s and 70’s. That movement and his being trained in the art of radio repair led to him doing CB radio repair during his off hours. It was at about this time that the art of “radio communication” was fascinating to me. I could talk all over the place and have one in the car to listen to “smokey” reports and other such reports. Some of you should remember the “Hemerroid with a polaroid at marker 174” comment?
I played the CB radio craze from about 1972 until 1977 before I finally made the move to “legal” power levels and distant communications. I had a strong interest for that in 1974 as I scouted the Ham Radio store in Tulsa and Broken Arrow, while living in Okmulgee, OK. In the Late summer of 1974 I bought an old National 300 receiver from the Broken Arrow shop (what a “boat-anchor”).
I studied the code, bout the “LP’s” to learn the code and later bought cassette tapes. Yes, way back then they had the code on long playing LP’s, but all that listening was not sticking. I am sure I didn’t put in enough effort in my study of the code early on, and I didn’t have the “Elmer” to help push me. I did, however, have the ARRL Handbook and several other books and was playing with antennas, filters and other projects at that time. I had to play with filters as my over power CB was getting into the neighbors stereo.
I continued to play with ever-increasing levels of CB radio and used a lot of those “less than legal” add-ons for a few years. In 1976 I finally got enough desire mixed with ambition to search out an “Elmer”. I wrote about that in this previous post “Ham Radio Operators”. It was strange that just a little encouragement from him and a little bit more study and within just a few weeks I had that Novice ticket. Then 6 months later I had passed up to Advanced in one setting of June 1977. Those of us that started back then remember you had to make a visit to the regional FCC office in order to upgrade from Novice to anything and set through their testing session when they gave them.
Today you can find “volunteer” examiners in most every club or larger area and request a scheduled test at a more convenient time and location and not at the set time of the FCC office.
If you have an interest in Radio, want to get involved in public service, or just like learning new stuff related to technology, find an “Elmer” or attend a local club meeting and see where it can lead. – WD0AJG
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I became interested after reading articles in Popular Mechanics on building your own radio receivers and transmitters and other home made electronic gadgets. It all began in grade school. I guess I was about age nine. And with a lot of encouragement from my Dad, I began studying electronics and it became my primary interest. He was a real tinkerer, a repairman of radios, electrical appliances, space heaters, washing machines, kerosene stoves, electric motors, you name it. He told me that in 1935 he built a 2 tube radio from a schematic he purchased from a mail order house advertisement. When he would play the radio, people from all over the neighborhood would gather in front of his house, amazed and curious. (Radio was a new gadget in the thirties and the early forties.)
He brought me to Walter Ashe Electronic store and bought me a germanium crystal, a spool of 22ga enameled copper wire, a 355pf (mmf) condenser (capacitor), we made a coil wound on a discarded toilet paper roll and using a set of high impedance crystal headphones, used an alligator clip to connect this to a nearby radiator (for a ground) and A fifty foot hank of stranded lamp cord for an antenna.
Later, I answered an ad in QST magazine from an amateur radio Elmer who happened to live in my neighborhood. Jim was about forty years old when I met him. He had a horizontal three element antenna on his roof. His equipment was set up in a small attic room. His was running a Halicrafter receiver and a Heathkit Transmitter, A antenna rotator and other accessories. He was a ham. He would tune his receiver and we would listen to distant shortwave stations. He would call some of the stations and when they would answer back with his call letters and chat.
These were amazing sessions. I got hooked. I decided to take the F.C.C exam for the novice test. In those days the Elmers would Supervised and administered the exam for the Novice class Amateur Exam.. The test Consisted of a five -word-per-minute Morse code test and written exam on radio and electronic theory. I went on to get my Novice class license in 1955. I passed and received a General class amateur License in 1958, while stationed in the US Army at Fort Gordon GA., passed the advanced license exam in 1987 And the extra class license exam in 1997.
I give thanks for my Dad and Jim; a HAM, a friend and an engineer with years of experience in electronic technology for introducing me to this hobby. I get a certain excitement from “tinkering and getting something to work right now” and really enjoyed making my own computer interfaces, radio receivers, antennas and such.
How would you like to Make an antenna by throwing a given length of wire up over a tree limb, connect it to a transmitter-receiver and get out a radio signal to a distant Ham operator or listen to a far-away shortwave radio station. Have fun doodling in a hobby. Get that measure of pride and accomplishment when your experiment is successful, your gadget works. If you are looking for a pastime or something to cure boredom, something that you may do whenever you want, with friends or by yourself, take up a hobby. Find suppliers and others who are hobbyist. Amateur radio is a fascinating pastime, however there are thousands of other hobby sites online to investigate. Have fun.
Please leave your comments.
Roger Hardieway is a retired Engineer and Amateur Radio Operator
Author: Roger Hardieway
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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