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
>