Ron,

I had a novice crystal for 3703 I used a lot and about 1 o'clock in the 
morning one night, I was listening and calling CQ on that frequency.  Since 
the BC348 was so wide, I could hear some high pitched beeps off to the side 
so I quickly tuned down to about 3700 and heard two guys going so fast, I 
could not copy but a word here and there.  This was in 1966.  They were 
sending using break in to each other so I started sending bk bk whenever I 
heard then change over to the other person.  Finally, one of them said they 
thought they heard something and they tuned around and heard me so they both 
moved up to my frequency.  I believe Rick was working a WB4ASN or WB4AIN or 
something like that.  They slowed down to my 20 WPM ability to copy and we 
talked about an hour.  Then we found out I went to the Nebraska school for 
the blind and he went to the Michigan school.  Shortly there after, I got my 
general and Rick and I not only worked CW on 15 a lot but we talked on 20 
and 15 side band many times after that first QSO.  I know he's been gone for 
a long time but he was a very good CW operator and I enjoyed knowing him 
over the years on the bands.  To this day I wonder how they heard my little 
80 meter signal over 3 KHz from their frequency, haha.

Phil.
K0NX


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dr. Ronald E. Milliman" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2014 8:17 AM
Subject: Re: My view and memories about ham radio: was RE: Amateur Radio 
Licensees in U.S.


> Yes, I knew Rick Hayner, WA8JQV. However, Rick is a few years younger than 
> I
> am, and he was not one of the original little group of guys that got their
> ham tickets back in the late 1950's. I'm not sure, but I think Rick got 
> his
> ham ticket around 1969 or there about.
>
> So, tell me the inside story about WA8JQV. I suspect Steve probably knew 
> him
> better than I did.
>
> Ron, K8HSY
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind amateur radio operators
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Phil Scovell
> Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 9:36 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: My view and memories about ham radio: was RE: Amateur Radio
> Licensees in U.S.
>
> Ron,
>
> Very interesting to read.  It reminded me of my early days getting into 
> the
> hobby.  Did you know Rick from the MI school for the blind, WA8JQV?  If 
> so,
> I'll tell you a story about meeting him on the air one night as a novice.
>
> Phil.
> K0NX
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dr. Ronald E. Milliman" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 6:55 PM
> Subject: Re: My view and memories about ham radio: was RE: Amateur Radio
> Licensees in U.S.
>
>
>> Some of my most enjoyable life experiences have been related to ham 
>> radio.
>> When I was a very young boy, I loved to visit my Grandmother and sit
>> on the floor in front of her floor model Zenith radio. It was am and
>> shortwave and was one of those old radios that were considered a
>> valued piece of your living room furniture. It had a big round dial
>> that I could see even though my eyesight wasn't very good in those
>> days. I tuned in hams and listened to them and was totally mesmerized
>> with the idea of being able to hear ordinary guys talking to each
>> other from all over the country. I asked people what those guys were,
>> and when I learned they were called hams or amateur radio operators, I
>> did what I always did when I wanted to learn more about something, and
>> that was go to the library and research it. I checked out every book I
>> could find that dealt with ham radio. Then, I ordered a set of books
>> from the ARRL: "How to Become a Radio Amateur," The Radio Amateur's
>> License Manual," and another little booklet called: "Operating an
>> Amateur Radio Station." I also purchased a Knight Kit shortwave radio
>> called the Ocean Hopper and put it together with my Dad's assistance.
>> That was a very inexpensive, 3 tube, super regenerative receiver, but
>> it allowed me to stay awake many nights listening to hams and foreign
>> broadcast stations.
>>
>> A small group of us guys at the Michigan School for the Blind studied
>> together at a local ham's house to get prepared to take our Novice
>> license exam. We all passed, and at age 13, I became KN8HSY. My very
>> first station consisted of a homebrew transmitter loaned to me by
>> W8AJM, and old time ham who helped me get on the air, and a BC-454,
>> military surplus receiver that covered something like 6 to 9 Mhz. I
>> only had two crystals for the 40 meter novice band, 7176 and 7182, as
>> I recall, and so, I worked 40 meters almost exclusively as a novice.
>> Besides, my receiver only covered the 40 meter band. The first
>> Christmas after I received my novice ticket, my parents gave me a
>> Hallicrafter's SX-71 receiver, which was a huge step up for me, and
>> then, I passed my General license exam and became K8HSY. By then, I
>> had saved enough money to purchased a DX-40 with an outboard VF1 VFO.
>> At that point, I was really cooking with gas!
>>
>> I remember chasing DX into the wee hours of the night. While I worked
>> some AM, most of my contacts were on CW. That was also the days of the
>> AM/SSB wars.
>>
>> Since those early days full of fond memories, I've owned many pieces
>> of ham gear, Viking II, NCX-3, Hammarlund HQ-110, Drake R4b and T4b,
>> Galaxy Marc5, TS-520, TS-440, TenTec Paragon, Alpha 374, Among several
>> others. My favorite rigs were the Drake pair and the TS-440, and I
>> sure loved that Alpha linear.
>> I've also earned the Extra Class ticket, and have held numerous calls
>> over the years including W7GPF, W5UVL, N5GSY, AC4HM, and now, I'm back
>> to my original K8HSY call. I've used lots of different antennas, but
>> for working
>> 75 and 40 meters, I especially like the Double Bazooka, but for
>> working 20
>> -10 bands, I like a quad, and my 5 element Tri-bander.
>>
>> Ham radio has really changed since my beginnings in 1957. The
>> equipment has become considerably more complicated and expensive, but
>> it also performs much better for the most part, e.g. selectivity and
>> sensitivity are both much better. The average age of the active hams
>> is pretty old, and the new hams don't seem to have the same level of
>> interest in the hobby and few ever become very active. I'm very
>> concerned about the future of our hobby. So, we all better enjoy it
>> while we can.
>>
>> 73,
>> Ron, K8HSY
>>
>