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I didn’t get my first ham license until 2003,
at the age of 63, but my interest goes back over
55 years to my childhood, when I found my first
Elmer (ham radio mentor). My uncle Manuel, an
engineer, pilot, ham radio operator and amateur
astronomer, was my role model as a child. I was
an inquisitive kid always asking questions, and
he usually had scientific explanations for them.
He instilled into me the notion that “science is
the metric by which the universe around us must
be measured”. I can still hear my uncle Manuel
calling CQ CQ CQ, this is W6CCW, W Six Cool
Clear Water, W Six Charlie Charlie William
calling CQ. For a young boy of eight, it was
magic to hear a voice rising above the noise and
returning the call from some far off and exotic
place. Uncle Manuel, or Manny as the hams called
him, was an electrical engineer, and had worked
in the reconstruction of Hickam Field in Hawaii
just after the attack on Peril Harbor. He had
been a ham since the 1920’s and Ham radio was
his passion, though he was an avid aviator
having owned several airplanes over the years.
After the war he abandoned his profession to
work in Quement's Electronics store, where he
managed the ham radio department for the next 30
years or so. He influenced me greatly, always
encouraging me to get my ham ticket, but I was
always too busy with family, school and career.
In his footsteps though, I too became an
electrical engineer and a pilot, leaving ham
radio still an important “to do” on my long list
of hobbies. I worked at the SLAC National
Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA for 38
years, and I retired from my position as Project
Manager and Head of the Instrumentation and
Controls Section in 2003. My time had finally
arrived, and I obtained my Technician Class
license, with call sign KG6SMZ. Those magic
times of long ago still haunted me. The CQs
traveling around the world to, or from, faraway
places were still out of my reach. So, in 2007,
I obtained my General Class license followed by
my Extra Class license just 3 weeks later.
Unfortunately, Uncle Manny did not live to see
this. I checked QRZ to see if W6CCW was
available as a vanity call sign, but I was too
late, someone else had claimed Uncle Manny's
call sign. It was a disappointment, but I was
able to get a vanity call sign with my initials.
Now I was ready, with a minor exception. I
didn’t have a HF rig, nor did I have enough
knowledge to balance performance with my budget.
I remembered the call sign of an old acquaintance from many years ago. On a whim, I called KI6JD on 156.52 MHz. I nearly fell out of my chair when James came back almost instantly. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had found my new Elmer. James eagerly and patiently brought me up to speed in operating procedure and etiquette as well as providing valuable technical insight. With the help of my new Elmer and after a few months of study, I settled on a Yaesu FT-950. Now I find myself reminiscing to those days long ago, whilst calling CQ. My first Elmer had finally succeeded in passing on the legacy of ham radio to me. My second Elmer got me on the air and has become a good friend. This is the stuff that Ham Radio is made of! My meager equipment has been sufficient to get me on the air and I am enjoying 2 meter FM, 40, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 meter SSB and PSK31. I am currently running: IC-8000V 2 meters Antenna design is my main interest at the
moment and should provide all the fun, and
frustration, that I can stand for a long time to
come. An amplifier will most likely be the next
major addition to my station, if and when an
appropriate deal presents itself. 73, Gene K6ELC |