The Novice license is a thing of the past now - kinda. The reason I say kinda is that like the Advanced Class license I held for 25 years, the Novice license was "grandfathered". You could renew it and keep it, but no new ones are issued.
The Novice and Technician are a lot alike now, but weren't in 1973. I never considered being a Technician, no offense to those who held or hold that class of license. In those days Tech had full privileges on 6 meters and up, but nothing on shortwave, and that's where I wanted to operate!
The problem was that setting up a shortwave station was quite a challenge for a 13-yearold. It took me a year to get on the air. During that year I was studying for the coveted General Class ticket, taking a class with the local radio club on the theory and listening to morse code practice tapes. In those days the code was a big barrier to many people getting a license, as you had to be able to write down a minute of straight perfect copy - that's 65 characters at the 13 word per minute rate required for General.
But the truth is to really get familiar with code you had to get on the air. So I looked for gear. Luckily my parents wanted to support me, although they couldn't run out and buy new gear for me. So I ended up with an old Heathkit DX-40 for a transmitter, and a Gonset G-66 for a receiver.
The Heathkit was crystal-controlled, which was required for Novices in those days, and put out the maximum Novice power of 75 watts on a good day with the wind right :) The Gonset was a mobile rig - old style with tubes and a power supply that separated for those who wanted to have more room in their car. It had a voltage-doubling power supply which meant it could deal you a wicked shock on occasion. It also had a nifty cord-driven band display that flipped when you turned the bandswitching knob.
The problem was that when my elmer fired up the Heathkit for the first time it let loose with a big buzz, a puff of the magic smoke appeared and that was it - power transformer was fried. It took me a few more months to repair that. In fact I had to convince my parents to break the ironclad rule against giving money for Christmas, and give me $18 for a new power supply transformer. Joe and I soldered it in and I was up and running.
The Gonset wasn't very good at 15 meters, but I didn't have a very good antenna for up there and no rocks (crystals) so that was ok - I hung out on 40 meters, looking for contacts after school. Those were the days!! I still go back and look up the results from the 1975 Novice Roundup to see that yes, I really did make 60 contacts in 29 sections, filling them all in on a paper log.
Ok, so enough on my siderail - I will revisit the ol' days ever so often, but mostly want to blog about what Ham Radio is now, and what's going on in the world.
73 for now,
Pete
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Greetings and Salutations
Hi everyone, Pete here.
Or if you like NS0D.
I think since this is the first post here, introductions are in order.
Everyone calls me "Pete", although my real name is Robert. I still answer to Robert, since that's my legal name, but there were/are a lot of Roberts in my family. I've been called Pete since I can remember, I'm told it is my older sister's fault that I have that moniker, for the same reason Theodore Cleaver was called "Beaver" - she couldn't pronounce "Robert". I think I made out better than Beaver did though.
I'm in my 50's and live in the middle-western suburb of Independence, Missouri.
The topic here will mostly be centered around Amateur or "Ham" Radio. Mostly about my interests, and current doings, although we may take a siderail or two.
I've been a "Ham" for over 40 years now. My ham career started in 1972 when my Junior High School teacher decided to start a Radio Club. In those days I was big into clubs - I was in Chess Club, and Science Club, so why not Radio Club too, I thought?
But why Radio? Well the story involves the end of a team and the start of another.
I had been interested in Radio since 1969, when the Kansas City Royals started. My Dad (another Robert) had taken me to A's games in the 60's, still remember how green Municipal Stadium was in the middle of a concrete city, how the people around the park would rent out their yards to people parking for the game and sell memorabilia on the sidewalks around the park.
By 1968 Charlie O. Finley, the owner of the A's, had demanded a new stadium for years. Although it still seemed possible, he had decided to take his team and leave town. I guess it was appropriate, its not like Kansas City was where the A's started - they have been in Philadelphia before, so they moved on. But thanks for the influence of some prominent Missourians, Kansas City was dealt another team, to be name the "Royals".
In 1969 they started and I listened to almost all of those games. I had a clock radio - a tube type - that would glow and project the tube filaments on the ceiling as I listened every night before bed. Its funny that I can still remember individual games from that season, 45 years later. The day Mo Drabowsky pitched a 1-hitter. The night the Twins and Royals played an 18 inning game that ended with Lou Piniella playing first base.
But I also listened to that radio after the games and found that on Sunday nights the big flamethrower stations would go off the air for testing, and stations from other places would come in. I was hooked!!
I got a kit for Christmas in 1971 - a crystal radio set. Was able to listen without my Dad being able to say I was wasting electricity. Later I found that my parents had a radio that had shortwave bands on it. Soon the BBC, Radio Moscow, the Happy Station and HCJB were playing and I was requesting QSL cards. The FBI probably has a file on me since I regularly corresponded with Moscow and Havana.
So anyway back to 1972-1973 and the Radio Club. In those days people starting in Ham Radio had to get the Novice license. It was good for 2 years and non-renewable. We called that era "upgrade or else" because you had to take the test again if you didn't upgrade so you could keep a Novice license. But it wasn't that bad - a few years before that the law used to say you couldn't hold any license for 2 years after your Novice ticket expired!
The Novice test had to be proctored by a licensed ham, and I was ready by 1973. My mentor (Joe, K0DMN) sent away for the test materials and I was able to pass the mandatory 5 wpm code test and took the written. Joe couldn't tell if I had passed or not - well he probably could tell, but he didn't grade the test and couldn't indicate to me one way or another.
A glorious day in late 1973 came and I was licensed as Novice License WN0LCW. I had two years to get upgraded.
To be continued......
Or if you like NS0D.
I think since this is the first post here, introductions are in order.
Everyone calls me "Pete", although my real name is Robert. I still answer to Robert, since that's my legal name, but there were/are a lot of Roberts in my family. I've been called Pete since I can remember, I'm told it is my older sister's fault that I have that moniker, for the same reason Theodore Cleaver was called "Beaver" - she couldn't pronounce "Robert". I think I made out better than Beaver did though.
I'm in my 50's and live in the middle-western suburb of Independence, Missouri.
The topic here will mostly be centered around Amateur or "Ham" Radio. Mostly about my interests, and current doings, although we may take a siderail or two.
I've been a "Ham" for over 40 years now. My ham career started in 1972 when my Junior High School teacher decided to start a Radio Club. In those days I was big into clubs - I was in Chess Club, and Science Club, so why not Radio Club too, I thought?
But why Radio? Well the story involves the end of a team and the start of another.
I had been interested in Radio since 1969, when the Kansas City Royals started. My Dad (another Robert) had taken me to A's games in the 60's, still remember how green Municipal Stadium was in the middle of a concrete city, how the people around the park would rent out their yards to people parking for the game and sell memorabilia on the sidewalks around the park.
By 1968 Charlie O. Finley, the owner of the A's, had demanded a new stadium for years. Although it still seemed possible, he had decided to take his team and leave town. I guess it was appropriate, its not like Kansas City was where the A's started - they have been in Philadelphia before, so they moved on. But thanks for the influence of some prominent Missourians, Kansas City was dealt another team, to be name the "Royals".
In 1969 they started and I listened to almost all of those games. I had a clock radio - a tube type - that would glow and project the tube filaments on the ceiling as I listened every night before bed. Its funny that I can still remember individual games from that season, 45 years later. The day Mo Drabowsky pitched a 1-hitter. The night the Twins and Royals played an 18 inning game that ended with Lou Piniella playing first base.
But I also listened to that radio after the games and found that on Sunday nights the big flamethrower stations would go off the air for testing, and stations from other places would come in. I was hooked!!
I got a kit for Christmas in 1971 - a crystal radio set. Was able to listen without my Dad being able to say I was wasting electricity. Later I found that my parents had a radio that had shortwave bands on it. Soon the BBC, Radio Moscow, the Happy Station and HCJB were playing and I was requesting QSL cards. The FBI probably has a file on me since I regularly corresponded with Moscow and Havana.
So anyway back to 1972-1973 and the Radio Club. In those days people starting in Ham Radio had to get the Novice license. It was good for 2 years and non-renewable. We called that era "upgrade or else" because you had to take the test again if you didn't upgrade so you could keep a Novice license. But it wasn't that bad - a few years before that the law used to say you couldn't hold any license for 2 years after your Novice ticket expired!
The Novice test had to be proctored by a licensed ham, and I was ready by 1973. My mentor (Joe, K0DMN) sent away for the test materials and I was able to pass the mandatory 5 wpm code test and took the written. Joe couldn't tell if I had passed or not - well he probably could tell, but he didn't grade the test and couldn't indicate to me one way or another.
A glorious day in late 1973 came and I was licensed as Novice License WN0LCW. I had two years to get upgraded.
To be continued......
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