How I got Started

By Duane WA6EIK

"I credit a FCC Field Engineer that visited me one evening when I was 13 years old that inspired me to pursue the Amateur Radio hobby".

My first exposure to radio was during the sixties when my neighborhood friend Tommy received a pair of Walkie Talkies for Christmas and let me use one so we could talk to each other. I remember I was so impressed that I could actually talk to him from my house to his, I knew I was hooked.

I later figured out that we were on channel 14, the standard frequency for Walkie Talkies back then, and I remember asking my Mom if she could buy me my own radio, well, I believe it wasn't until the next Christmas that I received my own. My other neighborhood friend Stephen had received a radio marketed by Sears called "The Sears CB Base Station". This rig was better than a Walkie Talkie because it not only transmitted on channel 14, it had a dial that tuned all 23 CB channels, a Morse Code Key, it also received AM radio, but the down side was it took a whole bunch a D size batteries to operate but I didn't care, so guess what I asked for from Santa. 

When I received my radio, I remember spending hours listening to other stations all over the country and often tried to communicate with them but to no avail, I then decided that I needed to do more, make this radio talk further. I remember taking an old broken TV antenna and attempting to manufacture my own base antenna using speaker wire as coax cable, well it didn't help much, I knew that I had to do better. 

Circa early 1960's, left photo shows my first real CB, a Craig 6-channel mobile unit, I later purchased a Hallicrafters base unit, notice the Turner +2 amplified microphone connected to a Cobra speech compressor on the CB, wow a little overkill.  

Right photo shows the Realistic X-23A base unit, a vacuum tube radio that had a chrome plated case! with a Turner +2 base microphone. Also in the photo was a Fieldmaster mobile radio and a Realistic dual-band tuneable receiver, and a Fanon Courier handheld VHF receiver.

Later, by working with my uncle selling stereo equipment on weekends at the local Swapmeet, I was able to purchase a real 6 channel CB radio, at that time my CB career started to grow, I purchased a 1/4 wave ground plane, some RG-58 and I was off and running. My Dad who didn't live with us then found out that I was interested in radio and gave me his radio that he wasn't using, a Realistic TRC-X23A base station full of vacuum tubes, boy  was this a neat radio, it even had an extra channel between channel 22 and 23 which was very quiet where I found a home to hang out on. Little did I realize that this channel called channel 22A was illegal to use, but hey, the radio worked there and I didn't know any better but now I was set. I started making friends in my neighborhood, and found other stations that had this special channel, so we setup routine schedules and had regular contacts. Then I saved more money, bought better antennas and eventually got hooked in talking to far away stations during skip conditions. 

I convinced my Mom to purchase a RF Amplifier, referred to as a "linear amplifier" for a later combination Birthday/Christmas present convincing her that it was OK to use and also learned that if I got a directional antenna, it would enhance my long distance contacts, boy did it work coupled with the amplifier, I had a respectable signal on the band. 

In the meantime, I was also tearing up TV's and Stereo's in my neighborhood and ignored complaints from neighbors, then after some time had gone by, and one night just after dinner, I had just finished a QSO with a friend on Ch. 22A, someone had knocked on our front door, it was two gentleman dressed in suits and my Mom said that they wanted to talk to me, boy was I scared. 

They introduced themselves flashing their badges at me and said they were with the Federal Communications Commission and wanted to inspect my radio station, so I lead them into my room where they proceeded to tell me that they recorded me on tape and were going to confiscate my equipment, that I was operating illegally and I was in big trouble.  They had even taken photographs and identified four violations that I had committed. My Mom started to talk to them and explained to them that she felt it was alright for me to do this and besides I was only in the ninth grade, and it was keeping me "off the streets".

 

 

I guess by now they started to feel sympathetic and advised my Mom to write a letter appealing the four counts against me, (or really against my Mom because back then you had to be eighteen years old to get a CB license and she was technically responsible for my CB station), and that there was a chance that my fine would be reduced, back then it was $100.00 per violation. (It was later reduced to two violations)

 

 

The Field Engineers parting words were to me that if I'm so interested in radio that I should study and get my Amateur Radio License and I could "do all this legally". I laid low for a while, trying to decide if I would take a chance and get back on CB or take the FCC's advice.....

Well, it's 1971, it took another three years before I finally got my Technician License, it took a lot of studying, learning the Morse Code and theory but I owe it to the Field Engineers that one evening.

Because of my childhood memories and experiences of radio, Amateur Radio is my primary hobby, and will probably always be.

Duane WA6EIK