The WPE1GAC Rocket (Circa 1963)
WA1LBG
Amateur Radio • My Radio History

WA1LBG in the Shack (2001)
AMATEUR RADIO...

What a great hobby! The hobby of kings, senators, and astronauts... of doctors and lawyers... of office and factory workers... of people from all walks of life be they man, woman, or child. I've been a "ham" since 1965 and I've lost count of the people, places, and events I've enjoyed as a result of Amateur Radio. It's been quite a ride! Take a walk through those years as you read through...

MY RADIO HISTORY

My interest in radio began as a little boy in the early 1950s. Dad was an electronics buff and was always tinkering with something... radios, TVs, even some home brew equipment. My fondest memory of his experimenting was the 10 Meter regenerative receiver he constructed on a used aluminum chassis. With a piece of wire strung across the bedroom, he listened to the world. Sunspots were high then and the band was hopping. Dad never got his ticket but continued to "play" with radio until life got too busy.

He had many stories, too. Dad had a friend whose own dad had been a ham for nearly twenty years previous. I was told numerous times of how lights dimmed whenever W1CAE went on CW with his kilowatt transmitter. Each tap of the key caused the neighborhood lights to blink in unison as he talked to the world. I didn't know it then, but I was hooked.

My first chance to "play" with radio came during a visit to the home of an aunt. In a spare room, I discovered a Zenith TransOceanic portable and asked if I might tune around a bit. Well, that was it for me! From then on, I couldn't wait to visit my aunt. Sorry, Auntie, but show me to the radio! For the next few years I was content to tune around on the TransOceanic whenever we visited Auntie but thoughts of a radio of my own were becoming hard to ignore.

To be continued...

ARTHUR S. MARSHALL, W1FJI, SK

The recent passing of my "Elmer," Art Marshall, W1FJI has caused me to reflect on how I got into Amateur Radio and my most memorable Amateur Radio story involves Art.

One Saturday – in the spring of 1965 – there was some cleanup and painting going on of the old SEMARA Quonsett hut clubhouse. Art was on top of the building with a bucket of paint – brush in hand – and I was on the ground talking with him. I was a kid of 14 and had been an SWL for a few years and a club member for a year or so. He asked me if I knew any Morse code. I grinned and said "Yes," like the smart-ass little kid I was. The conversation then went something like this: "What's A?"... "di-dah"... "What's S?"... "di-di-dit"... "What's L?"... "di-dah-di-dit"... "What's Q?"... "dah-dah-di-dah." Art's reply to all that was "Sh**!" as he dropped the brush into the paint bucket.

He climbed down off the building and brought me into the clubhouse to the old military surplus, paper-tape code practice machine where we discovered that I was already copying the required (back then, anyway) 5 WPM code speed. Art and Bill Miller, K1IBR worked with me on the theory and in June 1965 I took and passed the Novice test, never thinking I was even eligible to become a "ham."

People like Art make Amateur Radio arguably the best hobby in the world and I am grateful to him, SEMARA, and everyone else who has helped me along the way through my 52 years (and counting) of Amateur Radio. This hobby is all about giving back and anyone who has Elmered anyone along the way deserves a big "Thank You!"

R.I.P. Art Marshall and "Thank You," too.


Last Update: 15 November 2017 • Webmaster: WA1LBG • wa1lbg at qsl dot net