01/10/10

Long, long, long ago --- almost in a past lifetime, there was the CB radio craze brought on by a song sung by C. W. McCall.  I got caught up in CB Radio, and began experimenting with radios and antennas.  I suppose that this period only stirred up memories from building the Knight Kit Star Roamer that I had purchased from my paper route money years before.

While stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, a local ham kept bugging me about amateur radio, and how I should "take the test".  It seemed that back then there was always a HeathKit catalog lying around, so I ordered the Amateur Radio General Class Course and began studying.  A few short months later, I was on my way to the FCC field office in Beaumont, Texas (3.5 hours away) to "take the test"!

Needless to say --- I passed!!!  HeathKit and I did it!!  I walked into the testing session as a CBer, and walked out with paperwork saying that I had passed the general class exam.  I was a ham --- now for that six week wait for the license!

The license FINALLY did come as promised, it was dated June 1980.  The callsign --- N5CEC.  The only callsign that I have ever had!!!

Several years ago, I did manage to upgrade to Extra Class.  Yes --- back when the code requirement was still 20 words per minute.  After getting the Extra Class License, I participated in an 80 meter gathering called the GERATOL Net.  That stands for "Greetings Extra (class) Radio Amateurs Tired of Operating Lately".  I earned the Worked All States Award for 80 meters.

I have not been active for several years now.  There is over 100 feet of tower out in the yard, and at one time, I even had the hole dug out for it.  Someday, I'll get the tower and a couple of antennas up, find some of that rare "spare" time, and get back on the air.

To many of the folks that have been bugging me about getting back on the air --- I now own a new Kenwood mobile rig.  It's a VHF/UHF model, so when you hear me on the air again --- it is your fault!!  You know who you are!!!