[CQ-Contest] First License

[Tom W8JI]

> 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.

I like low bands because of my start. I had to drag radios and TV sets home 
from the dump and gut them for parts to build Ham gear, including receivers. 
My first transmitter was on aluminum foil lined peg board.

Even though 15 meters was probably a good band, I was lucky to have anything 
actually work above 40 meters.

My first receiver was a 1940's Zenith shortwave receiver from the dump, with 
an AC/DC table radio modified to act like extra IF stages and a BFO. The 
plug always had to be in the outlet the right direction or it would blow a 
fuse in the fuse box. I really was forced to learn how radios worked or I 
just never would have gotten on the air.