So, I started out with a rock for a crystal and a safety pin for a cat whisker, a coil of dynamite wire wound on a paper oatmeal can, and some old WW-II headphones. Didn't hear much - in fact I never did till I hooked it up to 500 ft. of barbed wire fence, got one station, tried all along the fence till I found other places that other stations would come in. Hot Dog!

Well, what do you expect for a 12 or 13 year old, in this neck of the woods at that? Hams were far apart and feet were my only transportation during this time. A couple of years passed and I finally met my first ham and he gave me a diode (a what?) for my set. Now I started hearing stuff that wasn't regular radio, - strange sounds! You know, like code, and radio stations talking to each other instead of just broadcasting. I didn't know they could do that! So, I asked my only ham friend about it and he sorta explained to me what I was hearing .

He gave me a book on code and novice class ham licenses and said "Go study". Now back then I didn't have much choice except to study on my own, send myself code, etc. There were no classes, at least not around here. It took me over a year, to get that 5 wpm and the written part down pat. I went back to my ham buddy and he gave my first exam .

It was over 6 weeks before I knew that I had passed! No Internet back then!

Now I was a novice! Back then you only had one year to either upgrade or get out. It was hard for a 15 year old to learn code, technical stuff, rules and stuff - and almost totally by myself. One thing that helped me was a TV repair shop about 1/4 mile away. The owner let me have all the old chassises that I could carry off, so ever day (instead of playing ball or something) I drug home stuff out of his trash. I began to make things out those old parts.

I built my first transmitter out of those old TV parts - a simple 6V6 oscillator. I still have the power supply. I didn't work a soul with it so I got brave and hopped it up. I put in the famous 807 and worked all I could on 80 meters using only one crystal. Hot Dog!

My first receiver (of the non-crystal persuasion) was a home radio. You know - one of them great big ole radios that sat in the living room. I took it out of that big old box so it would set on the table. I even built a super regenerative receiver using two tubes (still got one of them but that's all that remains).

Well, that year came and was about gone and my only ham buddy moved away. I didn't know what to. But, in them days all you had to do was look for antennas and walk up and say howdy (not like today). So that's what I did.

I still didn't have a driver's license but I did have a bicycle and I rode it a lot the next few weeks - visiting, studying and coding., Well, I took another test and waited many more weeks (maybe months) until here it came - a new General class license! Hot Dog!

The General Ticket allowed me what I wanted more than any thing else - to be able to use a VFO. No more rocks (crystals). By this time I had 4 or 5 (and I still have 3 of 'em). Also, I added another 807, pi-net tuning and band switching - no more plug in coils for this boy!

I mowed almost ever yard in town that year, and did any thing else that I could to earn a few bucks. I saved $35 that year at 50 cents a yard (you figger it out!), and bought a used Hallicrafters SX43 receiver.

Boy, was I in high cotton now - I had dials that meant something! Then, about the 10th grade, I got a used Heathkit DX40 for $40 and I used that set-up for many years.

As the years rolled on, I used many rigs - lots of WW-II surplus stuff such as BC610s, ART13 and several others. But deep down inside I have always loved to build rigs. Now, 37+ years later, I still build things - mostly outta that proverbial "old junk". When I go to a hamfest, I always head straight to the flea market - that's where the good stuff is, not in those buildings! I am just a old home brewer of most any thing, except the drinking stuff!

FOR FREE! Some of Ole Bob's philosophies and theories: Experiment - Find out what makes it tick. Anybody can buy a hobby - why not BE a hobby! Put your hands in the thing. Don't just look at it - BE IT! "Be all that you can be - be a ham radio operator" (sorry Army). Open that sucker up and look inside. Don't be afraid! - As someone else has said, "DONT BE LIMITED BY WHAT YOU KNOW ". If you are, then what else can you ever learn? I know that I have limitations, but I ain't afraid to tear up any thing , cause that's how we learn. Heck, make a few mistakes and learn something! If you break it, fix it! If you can't, throw it in the back room - it's still parts! Keep all the old parts - they most likely will fit somewhere else. If you don't want them, give them to the new kid - he'll do something with them! I know that I would never been in this life time hobby if it wasn't for those who gave me their time and their old junk. If you think there ain't nothing to this ham radio then you're thinking about the wrong hobby, 'cause you can spend a lifetime in it and know only that there is more to be learned. Its a hobby that can never be totally mastered. It don't matter what class license you have, we all are just beginners! Jump in and have fun, and if you're already in, have more fun! And THAT is all I have to say about that.... 73 - Bob W4BCU