Hi Phil, thanks for that brief history, I always like to hear how other
blind hams got started, it is usually a story sumular to yours, or my
own!

I was one of these kids who should have been a 12 year old novice, but
just never did it!  I discovered ham radio when an uncle gave me a little
transistor radio that had A M broadcast and Marine band on it.  This was
65, or 66, I don't remember exactly! I do remember listening around with
that little radio, hooked up to a long wire and heary hams talking on 75
and 160 meters A M!  In the Detroit Area, whare I grew up, there was a
very active local group that were members of SEMARA, wich was south
Eastern Amateur Radio Association and they all hung out on 1806 KHz, A M.
 That frequency was the equivalent of the club repeater or 146.52, today!
 GRIN!  Guys were running around town with 160 meter mobile whips on
there cars and strange radio equipment that a new ham of today would
hardly believe!  GRIN!  I somehow made the discovery that the marine band
on that radio, was nothing more than a continuation of where the A M
broadcast band left off, and soon, I had every broadcast band radio in
the house de-tuned so it would go up to 1806KHz!  It's a good thing my
Dad didn't listen to WQTE in Monroe Michigan, whic was at 560, I think,
because it wasn't there anymore!  GRIN!

At the same time, I recieved a set of walkie Talkies with a super
regenative reciever, and one transmit crystal on channel 14. There were
several CB operators in the neighborhood who would talk to us kids and
that eventually led me to an interest in CB!  I never lost my interest in
ham radio at this time, but never did anything about it either. About a
year later, I recieved a Halicrafters S38 reciever from my then, cousin
by marage, Fred, W8PYM.  I went up to the School for the blind in Lansing
shortly after that and met other kids in my class who were already hams,
such as our own K8SP!  GRIN!  Steve was known then  as WA8VAA and I
anciously await his telling of his own story!  GRIN!  It must be about 40
years for you, isn't it steve?

I spent 2 years at the school, but never did get my Novice, though I
could have passed it I'm sure, as I new the code and probably new enough
to pass the theory!  The school had a radio club and a club station,
wichwas WA8LKL and I did spend alot of time in the radio room.  They had
a Halicrafters HT40 and SX140 combo, along with a Laffayette HE45B, for
six meters!  Just before I left, they got some kind of huge ten watt SSB
transmitter for 75 meters I remember it covered 3800 to 4000 in four
bands!  And, I did say 10 watts, that was not a typo!  GRIN!  I think it
would be properly called an exciter!

During this time, I stayed active on the 11 meter band, mostly at home
until, one day in 69 or 70, I was visited by the local FCC!  They had
been sitting in front of the house for an hour, recording all of my
ten-fours and Mercy's!  GRIN!  At that point, I started getting less
active on CB, and started listening with multi-band radios, that could
copy everything from aircraft to vhf marine channels, they had moved off
of 2 mhz by then, Local Police and Fire, and hams, using things called
repeaters, of which there were only a few in the detroit area!  In 1971,
my Cousin asked me if I was going to get my license or keep screwing
around, so I went into cramming mode and on October 4, 1971, recieved my
Technition ticket, with the call sign WB8LDU!

I will save the rest of the story for part 2, if anyone is interested! 
GRIN!

73 and 88 whare appropriate
John Jacques
Amateur Radio Station:
KG7FA

"Where Cat Is,  Is Civilization!"