[Hallicrafters] "Looking Back"

[John King]

In keeping with Glenn Zooks reflections I am amazed
that I survived my Novice and early General days.

I had no VOM or VTVM. I built an AC pwr supply for my
AM modulator (pair of 6L6s) with a Navy Surplus pwr
xfrmer purchased from Barry electronics and choke from
same source shipped from NY to my rural Louisiana
home. The caps were a large box of canned
electrolytics given to me by someone. I had no
knowledge of the amount of voltage the supply was
producing so I just tacked in caps and used them until
they gave off that sickening putrid chemical smell and
if I was lucky I got them out before they EXPLODED!!!

I had NO SWR bridge. I learned very well about RF
burns and ARCs from a JT 30 microphone to the tender
lip of an 18 year old country boy. I learned that RF
burns to the fingers smelled like burning flesh (not
barbecue) and left a curious WHITE spot on fingers.

I learned the hard way that when you break the HV lead
to the finals of a Globe Chief transmitter and run it
through the secondary of a modulation transformer,
that you SHOULD ground the chassis of the modulator to
that of the Globe Chief with a wire. I grounded them
together but..............with one hand on the
modulator and one on the transmitter.

I also learned to never reach over the transmitter and
let the tender underside of your arm touch the the
plate caps of a pair of 807s. I lost the screwdriver
that I had in my hand and it has not been found in 47
years. 

My NC 125 received fairly well but an old ham W5YC
(now SK) visited my shack and exclaimed "John, how do
you hear anything"? Iasked him what he meant and he
replied " you have S9 plus 20 db of line noise" to
which I replied "what is line noise and is that a
lot"? I learned quickly when the power co-op came out
and fixed the problem and I could hear things I had
never heard before.

My antennas were folded dipole antennas made out of
and fed with 300 ohm twin lead. I would hang them
between Pine trees. My brother, Verne, KN5QDA, age 13
shared the tree climbing duties with me. The problem
was that every time I "hacked him off" he would climb
up 50 or 60 feet in the Pine tree and drop my/our
antenna to the ground and I would then have to climb
the trees and put the antenna back up before I could
get back on the AIR. I learned not to "hack him off",
if I wanted to make contacts!!!!

It is a miracle that we survived the almost daily tree
climbs using the stubbs of broken off limbs for
climbing steps as high as 60 feet. I also learned the
value of ropes that stretch and springs on antennas
between swaying Pine trees in the wind.

I am truly THANKFUL for my survival and all the
knowledge learned in the school of "hard knocks" that
amateur radio in the 1950s taught me. These lessons
among others will never be forgotten.

Most of what I have accomplished can be directly
credited to the hobby of Amateur Radio. Starting in
stark ignorance and ending up with a First Class
Radiotelephone license that enabled me to work in the
Engineering Dept of Channel Two TV while attending LSU
LAW School is an example of what Amateur Radio has
done for me. I had a wife and three children while
attending Law School and had it not been for my Radio
background and ham friends WHO OPENED DOORS, it would
have been "next to impossible" to have achieved what I
did and in the manner I did.

Amateur Radio is next to sacred to me and my LOVE for
the hobby has never wained. I am as excited about Ham
Radio as I ever was and enjoy it every day!!!  

My apologies, if I bored you with my history, and if I
took up too much bandwith. Maybe you will get a
chuckle as you ponder how this parallels your early
years as a "HAM". 73, John, K5PGW    


		
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