By Alan Gilchrist ZL4PZ
The First Seeds
I recall in the early years, from around the time I was at secondary school, starting to build various radio receivers. The first was typical of the era, a crystal set.
Parts in those days were bought from Ted Reid at Eclipse Radio in Stuart Street or by mail order from Lamphouse in Wellington. Lamphouse was well known for its radio catalogue "The Lamphouse Annual" which carried just about everything one needed from parts to complete kits for radio sets. Everything was priced and there were pictures of most things. In those early years I followed the usual progression from crystal set, through the "Hikers' One" which was a single valve battery operated receiver, and its big brother the "Hikers' Two". The next to be constructed was a 5 valve electric set using octal valves if I recall correctly. A stereo amplifier was one of the new innovations in those days and I built one of them, adding a Garrard turntable to play records on and a microphone which produced great amounts of feedback if the volume control was turned up too far. Things such as transistors, as individual components, had not become available for the general public until the mid fifties as I recall buying my first "OC71" from Eclipse Radio for about one pound ten shillings (thirty shillings) which equates to $3.00. However, at that time top wages were about forty pounds ($40.00) per week, so a single transistor was not cheap, AND, being new to us they generally suffered a quick demise when first connected to power due to little understanding of how they worked.
On leaving school I had started an apprenticeship as an automotive electrician at Woof & Salvesen (Dn) Ltd who were the Lucas agents in Cumberland Street, Dunedin. It was there that I met Wilf Govan ZL4MX, also employed with this firm. He was licensed in 1951. I recall visiting Wilf's home at some stage when he lived Granville Street. At that time he was using an ex services transceiver "21 set" for which he had tendered and got for two pounds ($4.00). In those days it was a requirement that you had a suitable means of checking your transmit frequency. Wilf used an AWA Class 'D' wavemeter. My workshop foreman of that time was Alf Garry who also found an urge to become an amateur, doing so in 1987 as ZL4TCH, then ZL4TP in 1989.
My entry into the amateur fraternity was due in the main to Phil Harnett ZL4GP who I met at a CBer's picnic back in 1977. I was briefly involved with Citizens' Band Radio (CB) after having taken a couple of "Airlane Mk 3" base/mobile CB sets as part payment for some TV test equipment and service parts after selling my business in Cromwell and moving back to Dunedin. Incidentally, I operated out of a building owned by John Bilton of Cromwell who in the early years of broadcast radio (1933) started his own station 4ZC which transmitted daily for two hours 7-9.00pm on 1280kc with a power output of 20 watts. John was not a ham. He passed away on 25 November 1993 and features in the publication Southern People published in 1998 to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Otago and Southland.
Getting back to the CB picnic, I had noticed that Phil had a Pye Cambridge radio telephone in his car but it had an 'S' meter fitted to it. It transpired that this in fact had been converted to run on the 2 metre amateur band (144-148 MHz) FM (Frequency Modulated). At this time I was employed by Group Rentals as a television serviceman and Phil endeavoured to draw me to the fold of amateur radio with words to the effect that I would find it "no trouble to do the exam". I was not to be convinced so easily and made mention of the need to do a morse code examination to be an amateur. Phil's response was typical of him, "it only took me 3 months from start to finish to get my 12 words per minute", adding, "it shouldn't take you any longer!" I was still a bit unsure of all this but eventually agreed to attend meetings at the Otago Branch of NZART (The New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters).
The club ran classes to instil the knowledge required to pass the technical exam for the amateur radio operators certificate. The exam was run by the NZ Post Office as was the test for the morse code sending and receiving. Having decided on jumping in boots and all I attended the classes and the tutor at the time was Peter Johnson ZL4LV. I didn't want to embarrass myself by failing such an exam, so attended these classes even though Phil said "you should pass no trouble 'cause you're in the trade". Phil offered to teach me the required morse code and after teaching myself the individual characters and listening to some cassette tapes he commenced putting me through my paces. This was done by him sending morse, at a slower speed at first, over the 80 metre band. At this stage I was living in Eglinton Road, Mornington and Phil was living in Fairfield. I would listen to his sending by using a Trio communications receiver and respond in return via CB radio. This system worked extremely well and true enough, I had reached competency at 12 to 15 words per minute by the 3 months Phil had predicted. This coincided with the September examinations. In those days the morse examinations were done in the morning and the theory/regulations exam was in the afternoon of the same day. The morse test was in the radio inspectors' office in the Chief Post Office and as with most others who sat this test I was somewhat nervous, I mean, after all, your life really does depend on passing, doesn't it! However, passing first time up was not to be, nervousness prevailed and I made one too many blemishes (running two words together or breaking one in the middle). Really, 12 words a minute for three minutes, that's only 36 words, each averaging 5 characters, that's actually 180 characters AND you're only allowed 3 errors. That's about 98% required for a pass! I didn't really think about, or want to have another try even if the inspector had offered. I was sweating and wanted to be back out on the street.
The theory exam in the afternoon went off OK and in those days it was a waiting game for the results. Weeks went by and eventually the results came, about 8 weeks after the exam. I'd passed OK, whew! I obtained the callsign ZL4TIM and was able to 'get on the air' before the end of November 1978 [24/11/78].
