Paul, Thank YOU for this wonderful message.
Please accept my heartfelt congratulations! 73 de Vince, VA3VF On Thu, Jan 19, 2017 at 10:34 AM, PAUL M ELLIOTT <[email protected]> wrote: > Made it! 19 January 2017, is the 80th anniversary of my first ham license, > Class C operating privileges with W5GGV as my call. Was 14 years old at the > time. A little over a year later I upgraded to Class A. Many years later > the Extra Class (with no added privileges) came along. Upgraded. Some years > later the FCC announced that hams with an Extra Class license who had been > licensed 25 years could apply for a two -letter call, no place on the > application to request of a specific call. Was assigned W5DM. > > First rig made from junked Atwater Kent radio parts. First antenna was a > wire going out a hole in the window screen to a tree. First DX was VK2SS > on > 40 m CW, September 1937. (An aside. There were no phone privileges on 40 m > for USA hams). The VK2SS QSL card is hung on my wall. My card to him was > written on a postcard (Great Depression=no money to buy QSL cards). > > Been fairly active over the years, except, of course, for WW II. If > interested in WW II, you can do a web search on DD 792 for a small part of > my history. > > The first 20 or 30 years I built my transmitters (all low powered) and > receivers. Operated CW only until SSB came along. Then I built a low > powered > phasing rig. A BC-348H receiver was made dual conversion using 85 kcs (kcs > then= kHz now) IF transformers from a BC 453 receiver. Had a blast > working > the world with a homebuilt "cubical quad" on 20 meters. Since then mostly > CW. > > I may have made one small contribution to ham radio. In the April 1958 > issue of QST, in Technical Correspondence there was a letter from me that, > I > think, was the first mention in a ham publication that the formula for > determining the length of a "cubical quad" antenna was not correct. Since > my measurements were made using a BC 348, a grid dip oscillator, and a 100 > kcs crystal oscillator. I don't know whether I was just lucky to get as > close as I did or did a fairly good job with what I had. > > In the early 1990s started out to get 160 m WAS from a 120 x 120 foot > electrically noisy city lot (SE NM) with a long ( ~3/8 wavelength) but low > semi-inverted L antenna. Ground radials of varying length in one 90 degree > segment. Made 160 m WAS. Then started chasing DX. Now have 189 countries > confirmed on 160 m, 324 on all bands. > > Age, not surprisingly, has taken its toll. CW now down to 20-25 wpm-at one > time it was 35-40 wpm. Finger dexterity way down-has taken me over 3 hours > to type this email. Physical realities remain physical realities--I am now > a > disabled, crippled old man. But--- > > No complaints-many people are worse off than I am. > > Thanks to all who have had the knowledge and the kindness to help me over > the years. > > 73 Paul W5DM > > > > > > > > > > _________________ > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband > _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
