[CQ-Contest] First License

[Joe]

I love these stories about the first QSO's also.

Sadly when I got started all we had was 80 and 40,  1975 the sunspots 
were like,  whats a sunspot?  And you would tune those two bands and 
never hear anything. So it was a 80 & 40.  My first QSO was on 40 a 
saturday morning to a guy in Wsconsin,

A year later I did hear some signals on 15 one weekend afternoon.  So I 
threw out a CQ.  After several times someone was coming back.  I was 
estatic a contact on 15.  but i was thinking of the excitement I wasn't 
understanding his call.  it to me was a mess I must have wasted 30 
minutes trying to understand his call.  It was yes on CW still of 
course.  but it wasn't making any sence to me at all. Finally after 
copying it the same way many times I must have thought that OK thats his 
call.  It's making no sense to me but I copied what he was sending at 
least ten times the same way. So it must be correct.

Finally once we got into th QSO and he sent his QTH,  then it was OH 
WOW!!!  New Zealand! A ZL station!

The call was what was messing me up.  before then I have easily 
contacted by now at least 1000 other stations, but 90% or more of them 
started with a w or a k.
Every now and then was a VE in there.  but thats all there was on this 
amateur radio, K, W, And VE's  so when that ZL came through it made no 
sense at all.

But then the Bug for DXing was bit and I lived on those bands all the time.

Joe WB9SBD

The Original Rolling Ball Clock
Idle Tyme
Idle-Tyme.com
http://www.idle-tyme.com

On 11/11/2011 9:24 PM, Martin Durham wrote:
> I was 15 years old.  January 13, 1980.  My mom called from work to say she had picked up an envelope from the FCC at the post office...I said open it!  I guess my first QSO as KA1EEF was technically illegal since my mom had the paper three miles from home. :))
>
> Worked WD0CEP on 15m for my first qso.  Will never forget as my radio shack straight key fell apart and had to finish with the shorting bar...first DX was G3AWR about two weeks later on 15m.
>
> Some things you just never forget. Still have all my paper logs from that first qso on..
>
> Good memories.
>
> W1MD
>
>
>
> Martin Durham
> System Engineer, Harris corp.
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Nov 11, 2011, at 8:36 PM, "rob beaudoin"<wa1fcn at charter.net>  wrote:
>
>> First thanks BoB K0RC and Joe ex wn9sbd now wb9sd for sharing you old memories with us.
>> As for me I do not remember getting my general or advanced or extra, but I sure as heck
>> remember getting my novice wn1fcn sept 1965. my mother took me to evans radio in Concord N. H.
>> i got a national nc300 and Ranger 1. I had a part time job, but my parents paid for most of it.
>> I was 17 years old then.  Like Bob K0RC my first qso was on 15. i remeber writing down on paper
>> what I was supposed to say before my first qso ever. Boy was I nervous. I bet many of you out
>> there can remeber the same trype of stories.  Be glad to read all about it.
>> 73 BoB WA1FCN
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