[CVCC] CVCC - 70's 80's de W4PM

[H. M. Motley Jr.]

Just some scattered memories about the early years.  Perhaps we can gather a few of these and someone can put it all together.  My apologies to the guys whose calls I can't remember like Bob Ladd and Charlie and others but my memory is going.   I don't remember who the charter members were but probably the first six mentioned below.

CVCC Early Years – 70’s – 80’s

Early Members:

K4AUL -Lance Strickland or maybe he was K4AUN
K4AUN – Can’t remember the name (big Dxer and county hunter – lived near Lance) 
W4HJ  Monk Bullington
K4JM - Tom Jones
W4QCW, W4DR – Bob Eschleman
W4XR – Bill Nighman
W4MYA – Bob Morris
K4ZRX, N4ND, W4PM – Puck Motley
WB4?, N4? – Tom Ogburn
KB4GX – Glen Duke
KX4S – Bill ?
KG4W – Ed Hughes
K4HOT – Dave Jewett
?            - Charlie Taylor
?            - Bob (our current treasurer)
?             - The guy with the farm in Goochland (field day site) Can’t remember his name
N4HB – Henry Boze
W4FEG – Ralph
WU4G - Ronnie
   ?        - an N4 who was a big time contest op from 8 land- Tom has that call now I think.  Kevin I think.
Others I’m sure but memory fails me.

I remember everyone getting 1x2 calls in 1974-76 except for W4MYA.  Bob got that call when he moved to VA from WVA and upgraded from  novice KN8NNC  to General W4MYA.  I always envied him and that call.  It took me till 1996 to finally get a W4 call! 

I remember the multi-multi’s from W4DR, KX4S, and later W4MYA in the DX tests and a two man multi single from KB4GX.

>From W4DR I remember a two rig set up MYA and I had  - Two Drake C-Lines rigged so whoever keyed the mike first got the got the L4B amp. While one was running the other was looking for multipliers.

At KB4GX we has a five element 80M sloping dipole array.  It commanded the frequency!  It snowed like crazy Saturday night and we had to load his P/U truck with cinder blocks to get out of the driveway.  I don’t know how I got home?

I remember we were trying to get the call of some 9M for a multiplier on 15M at Sugar's QTH.  No one could get it until Bill came over and reeled off the call.  This was my first experience observing  ESP - long before DSP!

One field day MYA and I set up near the saw mill on the farm in Goochland.  It was hot as blazes and the swarms of bugs kept flying into our pair of 3-500z in our active antenna tuner. It sounded like a bug zapper!

I remember a field day when Tom Jones was asleep and someone was trying to copy a CW station who was a bit too fast for him.  Tom Jones hollered out from his sleep the right call.  Tom could copy in his sleep better than most of us when we were awake!  This may be more fable that true but I believe it to be absolutely true!

I remember Bill Nighman’s comment whenever we’d mentioned that  we had worked a new country, 
“Who needs it!” I guess he had already worked them all!  

One field day we used W4XR’s call.  I was in charge of mailing the logs.  I took them to work and forgot to mail them in time.  Bill never forgave me for that!

We had a club project to build a WB4VVF Accu-Memory keyer.  I built a least three of them, two for other guys -.  Tom Jones, and  K4AUN I think.  MYA built one and others also who I don’t remember.  

I used to enjoy the meetings because we met at members’ homes rotating monthly.  That was FUN!

We used to be a local club and won a few gavels in that category.  Too bad those days are gone.

Puck