— April 27, 1973. Novice Ticket becomes effective. WN2QHL. Age 14.
— July 19, 1973. First contact (with Elmer WN2NEC). Age 14.
— February 1 and 2 1973. A grumpy old-timer calls — during the Novice Roundup! — to tell me that I’m putting harmonics onto the 20 meter band. I get scared and go off the air. Geez! I probably just needed to retune the tank circuit. Age 15.
— February 23, 1974. I go back on the air with a DX-100. Age 15.
— March 5, 1974. I take the General Class exam at the FCC office in New York City. I pass. Age 15.
— April 11, 1974. I buy the Drake 2-B from WN2NEC. This revolutionizes my radio life. Fifteen meter contacts become possible. Age 15.
— April 13, 1974. I work ZL2ACP on 15 meter CW. I wake up my parents to tell them. Age 15.
— April 21, 1974. END OF NOVICE OPERATION. Apparently we were still working under a one year limitation on Novice operation. Could the expiration date have been marked on the license?
At this point the FCC screwed up and sent me a Technician License instead of a General Class License. My father got on the phone to Gettysburg and straightened this out. Thanks Dad. So I was only a Technician for a few weeks.
— April 9, 1974. General Class License effective. I become WB2QHL, a man of substance. Age 15.
— May-June 1974. I acquire a Heathkit HW-32A 20 meter SSB transceiver from the Crystal Radio Club. But I have to build the power supply from an old TV. Somehow, I survive. Age 15.
— June 11, 1974. First contact with the HW-32A. Age 15.
— November 9, 1974. Last contact with the HW-32A . Age 16.
— March 15, 1975. First contact with my Hallicrafters HT-37. Age 16.
There is someone else who needs honorable mention here: My sister Trish. Here she is, next to me at the Thanksgiving table in 1973. Trish helped me keep my ham radio log book. Thanks Trish!
Awesome, thanks for sharing
I love it! âWB2QHL, a man of substance.â Exactly the teenage feeling when my General Ticket arrived!
Great Story, Bill! Yes, tearing up the ham bands!! I believe per FCC we couldn’t hold both Novice and Tech licenses when I started (1970). So with the local RACES group on 6 and 2 AM, that meant Tech. Later (1976), the FCC change the rules, allowing Novice privleges for Techs.
Similar memories of that magical time…thanks!
I was a few years ahead of you. Got my Novice WN4SBE in August of 1970. I remember it came in the mail on the 50th anniversary of the first commercial radio broadcast. I thought that very auspicious. My Novice station consisted of a borrowed Knight Kit T-60, and an SX-99U with a Heath Q-Multiplier. I had a ‘horizontal’ inverted vee in the attic of my parent’s L-shaped ranch house, and used it on 40M and 15M. I used a Dow Key relay for receive/transmit switching. Very fancy, that. I remember my fist DX contact was on 15M with LU2DAW (still have his QSL card). I recall he was a railroad telegrapher, which I thought was pretty neat. I upgraded to Advanced, WB4SBE, the following spring by passing my 13 WPM code test and having studied only for the General written, the FCC examiner asked me if I wanted to take the Advanced written since it wouldn’t cost any more, and somehow I managed to pass. I built an HW-101 that summer from lawn mowing money and used it until upgrading to a SB-104 in 1975, which turned out to be a horrible mistake. I got rid of that POS and for the next few years operated only on 2M while in college. We had a club station which I used for the occasional HF contact during that time. Left college in 1979 and for a short while had a Drake 4-B line, since some high school friends had them, I was always lusting after those babies. I eventually ended up with an IC-735 when they first came out in the early 80’s and held on to that until I upgraded to an Elecraft K3 in 2009. I had previously upgraded to Extra in 2005, just before they dropped the code speed to 5 WPM. Then I changed my callsign to N8SBE, a vanity call, since I had been living in Ann Arbor since 1982. I now have a collection of QRP radios, both kit and commercial, and having upgraded first to a K3S and now K4D for the home QRO station. I’ve been licensed for 53 years, and will retire the end of this year, so I can spend more time hamming and camping with my wife 49 years.
Great story & I could identify with most everything u said! For me, Novice in 1973, using Heathkit HR-10B rx, DX-60B tx & HG-10B ext VFO & a dipole, just a bit younger at age 12 (thanks to my Elmer, W4CNW (SK)âšī¸; General in 1975 (I think, so wasn’t Novice for 2 yrs?); Advanced in next yr or two, using a Drake TR4-C, remote VFO & a 3-ele (everything provided, thanks to my understanding, wonderful parents!); boy, what great memories & thanx for posting, 73 de WA4ELW in TN đēđ¸ dit dit đ
Speaking of Holidays and Amateur Radio as a kid…. When I was even younger I had hoped for “something radio” for a Christmas gift. Well, that didn’t happen until my Aunt Amelia who worked at Emeloid gave me a Smith Chart Calculator. That was in 8th grade. How she knew what to get me- I have no idea! It still works just fine.