[QCWA] First encounter with ham radio

[Mike Sturm]

Funny thing, my first and last (figuratively speaking) encounter with Ham Radio wasn't Ham Radio at all.  As kids in the sixties, my New Jersey cousins and I were always trying to communicate without long-distance charges and I got interested in "Ham Radio".  Not knowing anything about "Ham Radio" I thought it was CB and got my Lafayette HB-115A in the late sixties.

I graduated to a COMSTAT 25A in High School and a Hammarlund HQ 145AC SW receiver where I discovered real hams.  What finally made me get my ticket was the Staten Island Community College station, WB2BAZ and a fellow named Jerry who put me on the air one day.  One QSO with a UK station did it.  A few months of study followed and in 1972 I got my General and WB2KBG - yes, KBG - the FCC permanently marked me as a former CB'er.  I upgraded to Extra and KA2E in 1979 - I've regretted checking the callsign change box ever since that day - KA2E is really difficult to understand in a CW pileup and I'm one of those nuts that doesn't believe in getting a vanity call :)

I speak about my "Last Encounter" with Ham Radio because at the same time I got licensed, I began reading about these gadgets called microprocessors in Ham Radio magazines.  That led me to my career in Information Technology and ultimately to the Internet.  My New Jersey cousins and I now communicate regularly through Email.

Retirement is only a few years away and after that, I finally should get around to putting up another HF antenna and getting back on the air - who knows, maybe I'll be able to convince one of my New Jersey cousins' grandkids to become a ham!


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73
Mike  KA2E
http://www.mikesturm.com