[AMRadio] Shelby NC hamfest

Mon Sep 13 20:13:12 EDT 2010

I started radio with one of those CB boxes radio shack used to sell.
It was tunable receive, ch 14 transmit, 100mw output, with built in code 
key!

I added a light behind the tuning dial, and worked some friends with walkie 
talkies a block away.

Not knowing anything, we all thought the trick setup was a coat hanger 
hanging from the gutter fed by a wire. SWR?
It was a long time till I got something better, a 6 channel 5 watt Lafayette 
rig that was very poor.

CB was civilized, and I enjoyed working some of the older guys around the 
hood.
I lusted after the tube rigs, teabury (copy of something else?) with meters 
and mic gain and everything!

I still have an attraction to the rigs, and in some parts of the country, 
its still nice, around here its all CB jive talk.
Other then something like wifi/4g, radio is a dead wasteland besides ham AM 
and CW.

Brett
N2DTS

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Lawson" <w4rl at bellsouth.net>
To: <amradio at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2010 9:28 PM
Subject: Re: [AMRadio] Shelby NC hamfest

>  And when a pre-teen Boy Scout, there was a lot more advertising about
> CB than ham radio.  I read an ad in Boy's Life magazine about CB radio
> and getting into electronics, and I went for it like a bear on honey.
> It was my entry into wireless communications in 1962 with my father
> applying for the FCC CB license.  From such in 1964 and the Popular
> Electronics "Novice Column" I obtained my Novice license WN4VDZ on my
> own studying the Ameco Novice Study Guide text.  The rest is history.
> So yes, I do enjoy plying over the old tube CB rigs at hamfest.  Such
> good memories.  And yes, I've converted some to 10 meters.   It was a
> different (radio) world back then.
>
> And add to the fact that lots of us ol'timers have scarfed off the face
> of the Earth in recent years the supply of Ham Radio boatanchors now
> piled in storage awaiting our bench projects.  The prices for them now
> has soared with same collectors realizing they ain't gonna get to'em all
> on the bench at their age and also the gear's weight.  And now with some
> of the misconceived thought that they're as priceless as gold bars
> begrudgingly attempt to sell them off at sky high prices thus preserving
> their image as smart investors in the hobby.
>
> For me, all I want to attempt to do in selling off my stash is to come
> close to breaking even and call it a happy ending day, and then go
> fishing with my grandson.   Things change you know regardless.
>
> Ham Radio for most of us is not a for profit hobby.  It's just a hobby
> with the chance to provide public service.  Think of it as a non-profit
> hobby venture and enjoy the chance in having discovered it.   Don't
> allow it to be a stubborn load carried upon your back.  Share your
> initial thrill of Ham Radio and it's so important history.
>
> Regards,
>
> Robert W4RL Pensacola FL
>
>
>
> On 9/12/2010 7:57 PM, crawfish at surfmore.net wrote:
>> The tube type CB's can be improved by converting them to 10m AM phone.
>> Ditto on what Rob said.
>>                                                      Joe W4AAB
>>
>>> The CB rigs from the 60s and earlier that had xtal pairs for every
>>> channel and glowed in the dark are kind of interesting to look at.
>>> The solid state PLL stuff can stay at home.
>>>
>>> Rob
>>> K5UJ
>>>
>>> On Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 12:29 PM,<W4AWM at aol.com>  wrote:
>>>> Shuckins, worsh it wusn't so dern fer!  Do the food venders sell Moon
>>>>   Pies
>>>> and RCs?
>>>>
>>>> 73,
>>>>
>>>> John,  W4AWM
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In a message dated 9/12/2010 9:24:54 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
>>>> ka1kaq at gmail.com writes:
>>>>
>>>> On Sat,  Sep 11, 2010 at 7:15 PM, CL in NC<mjcal77 at yahoo.com>  wrote:
>>>>> Not  to be an old grouch about this, but I have been attending Shelby
>>>>> NC,
>>>> for many  years now and I have never seen so much CB stuff at a
>>>>   hamfest.
>>>>
>>>> Considering you're in the heart of Good Buddy country, it  should come
>>>> as no surprise. At least it's radio-related and some of it  can
>>>> actually be used or adapted for 10m and other use. I'd much  rather
>>>> wade through CB gear than computer slag, jewelry, clothing, or  tables
>>>> of cheap Chinese garbage with stuffed toys (there were a number  of
>>>> those vendors, too). I found the lazy folks in the golf carts far  more
>>>> annoying. Some of those good buddies end up bringing along some  nice
>>>> boatanchors, too. One of them had a Halli SR-160, some Galaxy  gear,
>>>> and a number of National, Halli, and other receivers.
>>>>
>>>> If you  want to attend a good 'fest with minimal junk and a lot of good
>>>> gear, head  north next month for NEAR-Fest in Deerfield, NH. We make it
>>>> a point to keep  out the junk vendors for the most part. When the do
>>>> sneak in, we make sure  they don't come back. And no vehicles are
>>>> allowed on the ground after set  up except for the handicapped or
>>>> hamfest personnel. It's at least as big as  Shelby but not as many
>>>> gaps, with a lot less 11m gear.  (o:
>>>>
>>>> ~  Todd,   KA1KAQ/4
>>>> ______________________________________________________________
>>>>
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