"Brian Kelly" wrote in message
om...
Mike Coslo wrote in message
...
If I had turn the clock back and "do" ham radio like we
had in those days my ticket would have landed in the dumpster three
decades ago.

'Twas the Medieval Age of radio, a one notch improvement beyond the
Dark Age of radio.


- Mike KB3EIA -

w3rv



Now, now, it wasn't all THAT bad! I take advantage of
whatever ham radio offers me NOW, and remember what it was like back in
1967. Yes, we had tube trans-
mitters and a trunkload of cables, relays, dynamotors, and back breaking
sets that I couldn't even heft now, but
it was still fun. That's because we didn't KNOW any better. Had you told
me in '68 that we would have radios
the likes of the 706, I'd have chortled "no way". There were none of the
Analyzers and we used grid dip meters,
amp meters (to measure antenna current), and even florescent light bulbs for
"instruments". We still had fun!
I was a CAP member in those days, not a ham yet. Ever
since I was a kid, I listened to my Dad's 1940s Philco
shortwave set--Mom used to say it made a great babysitter because I would
sit for hours and try to tune
in those "Donald Duck" sounds, and not understanding why I could not tune it
in. I didn't know what a BFO was, but I was still fascinated with it. I
got the crap
shocked out of me with capacitors and plate current and
dynamotors (and survived), And I had fun. The license
was not quite convenient when in high school because my
family tended to live out in the boonies and Dad had no interest in taking
me to a Field Office to take the test. There were no hams around in the
middle of nowhere where we lived. Still, I learned, made mistakes, and
and had fun. Got a lot of "education" with CAP, and
eventually got my ticket in '89 after I was grown and married. I had a lot
of good elmers in later life and learned also how NOT to shock the stuffings
outta me. And I
am still having fun! The goofballs I encounter I just ignore
and don't get dragged into cuss fights and infantile behav-
ior. Because I was trained as a CAP radio operator before I got into ham
radio (I was very aware of it, BTW), I tend to operate in a more structured
manner. I can have a ball chatting with friends and experimenting with
projects. Suffering a fool with a radio that gets his
jollies kerchunking repeaters and QRMing HF QSOs is
not for me!

I just enjoy what I have now, marvel at the tech advantages that seemed
impossible in the '60s and remember fondly those old glow-in-the-dark rigs
that seemed so "right" way back when........ But it wasn't THAT bad! LOL!


73

Jerry
K4KWH