December 7th is a special day to me. It is of course, a memorial to the Pearl Harbor attack, but it always reminds me of the day my novice license arrived in the mail! I had taken my test with Don, my Elmer, and waited what seemed like an eternity for the paper license to arrive in the mail so I could make that first QSO! Mowing lawns, working at a small restaurant washing dishes and other odd jobs helped me make enough money to put together my first station. A Globe Scout 65 watt xmtr and a Hallicrafters SX-140 receiver with a custom ceramic knife switch for the antenna. No QSK for me, just a knife switch to switch the antenna between the xmtr and rcvr! Once in a while, I’d forget to throw that switch, and wonder why I couldn’t hear the other station any more. hi hi
Memory Lane...The First Rig
Magic days… many memories and lots of fun!
I taught my mom how to turn the rig on and she had instructions to turn it on so it would be warmed up and stable by the time I got off the school bus! What a neat day it was when I got home and found my rig turned on and the license propped up next to the key! YAHOO… 80m, 40m and 15m novice rocks and I was hooked. The magic of amateur radio had addicted another young-un! It is still magic for me 45 years later! The gear has changed, we have new bands and modes, but the magic is still there. Shooting electrons and communication through mid-air is still fun. How about you?
What’s your story? How was your first day on the air? What was your first rig? Leave a comment and let’s remember those glorious days…
Almost time for another Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event! Grrrrrrrrr! This coming weekend, Saturday 14 Nov 2009, Polar Bears will be clamoring for position in the ice field and slammin pawerful signals into the air. Bring a rig and join us.
K4UPG Bear pounding brass and gittin' ready for the PBMME!
K4UPG Bear #173 is excited because some other bears is gonna be gathering with the Central Florida QRP Group which is scheduled to meet that same day! So come on out to the Cracker Barrel in Sanford, FL for some sammin pancakes or sumpin else at 0730 EDT breakfast time. If you cannot make the feeding, then meet up with the rest of us bears at Sylvan Lake Park in the A Pavillion area at around 0900 EDT. Ya’ll come, hear??? Grrrrrrrrr!
72,
Kelly K4UPG
Sylvan Lake Park CFL QRP Group getting setup
The Central Florida QRP Group meeting will be at The Cracker Barrel, Saturday, September 12th at 7:30 AM on Hickman Drive, Sanford. The Cracker Barrel is very close to the I4 and Hwy 46 junction, 1 light to the east (toward Sanford and turn East(left), down about a block on the left).
MAP to Cracker Barrel Click Here
Please bring your “Show and Tell” if you like. At approximately 9:00 AM we will reconvene at The Sylvan Lake Park, Picnic area “A” to setup our QRP rigs and operate a bit. The Sylvan Lake park is on Lake Markham Road off Hwy 46 approximately 4 miles West of the I4/Hwy 46 Junction.
MAP to Sylvan Lake Park Click Here
If you can’t make the breakfast come join us at the Sylvan Lake Park. We will plan future activities of the CFQG. We look forward to seeing you there.
72
Jim Diggs K4AHO
