Topband: Topband Digest, Vol 169, Issue 14

Mon Jan 23 05:13:25 EST 2017

Congratulations Paul W5DM !

Thanks for telling us about your history. Truly an inspiration. Your 160m accomplishments from a RF noisy lot gives me incentive to stop complaining about my  S 20 over RFI and get to trying for 160m contacts.....thanks again for your contribution and many more years
Greg

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On Sun, 1/22/17, topband-request at contesting.com <topband-request at contesting.com> wrote:

 Subject: Topband Digest, Vol 169, Issue 14
 To: topband at contesting.com
 Date: Sunday, January 22, 2017, 12:00 PM

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    1. Re: Made it! 80 Years a Ham (Gary
 Smith)

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 Message: 1
 Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2017 12:05:12 -0500
 From: "Gary Smith" <Gary at doctorgary.net>
 To: Topband at contesting.com
 Subject: Re: Topband: Made it! 80 Years a Ham
 Message-ID: <588394C8.11430.28A38F76 at Gary.doctorgary.net>
 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

 Paul,

 You are a hero. What a wonderful 
 experience Ham Radio has been for you. 

 My father, Earl, passed in 2014 but was 
 active on the air to the last. He was 
 first licensed in 37 as W8QXF, then to 
 Hawaii during WWII & became KH6RD for two 
 years after the war. Back in PA and after 
 the districts changed he became W3QXF. 
 With a move to CT in 62 he became W1BML. 
 He too was highly involved in the greatest 
 parts of Ham Radio, perhaps you had met, 
 you would have both enjoyed that.

 Thank you for sharing your story and thank 
 you for your service.

 73,

 Gary
 KA1J

 > 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
 > 

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 End of Topband Digest, Vol 169, Issue 14
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