I guess the pattern has been laid down, so here is my story.
My 50th anniversary will be December 26 of this year. I got started
with an old Admiral AM table radio that picked up some short wave
stations for some reason. I later got a Hallicrafters Trans World
TW1000, which was the Halllicrafters version of the Zenith Trans
Oceanic. Then a ham moved in across the street and, after watching
him operate for a while, I took my novice exam. My dad was stationed
at Eielson AFB near Fairbanks at the time, so my first call was
WL7CAJ. My mom put together a Heathkit DX35 and I borrowed a
National NC120 from the ham across the street. I used a 40-meter
dipole hung under an 80-meter dipole and fed with 72-ohm
twinlead. Being DX, I got lots of action on the bands. Later I
borrowed a Hallicrafters SX28 from another ham, which had a lot
better band spread. That ham gave me my conditional class test
before my novice year was up.
When my dad was rotated back to the states (Alaska was not quite a
state yet then), my mom bought me a Hallicrafters SX100 out of the
Sears catalog to go with my DX35. We landed at an AFB in Idaho and
my call was K7BNA. I put up a Hy-Gain TH3 on the flat roof of our
two-story apartment and rotated it with an AR22 that had a roto brake on it.
Later I bought a Globe Scout 66 to replace the DX35 as the latter was
not put together very well. My mom was helpful, but not a great
solderer! I later traded the TH3, rotor, and rooftop tower to a
friend for a Central Electronics 20A with a converted BC348 (I think)
as the VFO. That put me on sideband, although I was always more of a
CW op. The addition of a Globe Linear LA-1 and a Hamarlund 120A
HQ170C set my station up nicely. Then I got married and moved to
California to attend graduate school ... My equipment was sold to
pay for a used car and I let my license lapse. In those days the
conditional class license taken before another ham was only good for
five years and wasn't renewable.
In 1976 I relicensed in California with the call WA6QND. I took the
novice, technician, general, advanced, and extra all in one session
at the FCC field office in Sanfrancisco on Friday the 13th of
August. It was my lucky day as I passed them all.
My first rig after relicensing was a Kenwood TS-520 with a Hustler
4BTV vertical. I traded for a Tentec Omni later when the WB5MRB
voice readout was created for the Tentec. When extra class licensees
were allowed a short call, I applied for and got the call AF6Y. Now
I live in Oregon with the call W7OQ and have a Kenwood TS480.
Over the years I have had a lot of fun with amateur radio, but it was
the most fun when I first started. When I relicensed, I had another
flury of activity chasing DX. I fully expect another round of
activity here in Oregon if the bands were just a bit better...
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
73,
Dave, W7OQ
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