QTH.COM Swap Chat

Just wanted to share the time when first got my ticket. Think it must have been about fall of 1979 or 1978. Made first contact with ham on 40 meters cw, his name was Travis from Golita, Ca. Don't remember his call. Soon after my Elmer helped me build a home brew transmitter from an old television, it put out 30 watts. Worked a lot of 40 meters cw, my call was KA6HSG, age was 12 years old. First real dx was Midway Island.

-

I useually just read and dont reply to topics but ..couldnt resist this time ..
As of last week .. I have been enjoying ham radio for 50 years ...
And it seems like only yesterday as a young boy ...I kept checking the mail box every day after i got home from school to see if my ticket had arrived in the mail ...

Finally there it was ...my own call letters K3KHG in bold letters, offically stamped and everything ....
Dx-35 and S-85 was the first novice rig and I had a ball on cw allmost every morning b4 I left for school and as soon as I got home ..
The station was located in the unfinshed basement of my parents house and the only way to get there was to go out side , around the house, and through the storm celler doors ..
IN the winter that was a dark and cold walk to get to the basement b4 school ..but the old funance was down there , so it was plenty warm once I was in the shack ..
A small desk lamp and the S-85 dial lights sure made a nice glow ............great memories ...
Still have that old equipment ...( look up my call ) ..
73,s and thanks for listening ... and hope I can do this again after the next 50

Second phone, Chicago FCC office , about sept '58.
Passed first try. Stuff you could take into the test was several pencils and a slide rule.
all tests were super secret, you could take only once every thirty days.Everyone in the room ,theoretically had a different test.

Ham tests after that were easy..
Second phone was opproximately a step above Extra class at that time.