59. Novice in 1959 (12), general 1960 (13), FCC first with CW endorsement 1961.

Grew up in NJ, with monthly trips down to NYC's "Radio Row" on Cortlandt Street,
and the many surplus electronics stores along US 1 in northern NJ. Hauled many a
BC-348 and BC-454 home on the train, to my Dad's dismay. (Although he did even
help me put up a 50-foot telescoping steel mast in our back yard. 8 )

Worked through high schools repairing tv's in a local shop, and operating mostly
from the local high school station (WA2GVV, with a DX-160 and HQ-170A), YMCA
(K2YNT), and local Civil Defense office.

Drafted out of college in 1966, so went down and emlisted as an MOS 05 radio
operator, but wound up in OCS instead of Ft. Monmouth.

Gave up operating around 1992, when I figured new call sign policies, incentive
licensing and USEnet had killed ham radio, but still keep my cw skills up by
listening on a 2C and an R-8500.

-- Larry (ex WA2QCM)