One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
Vito Chiarappa (W6TH)
on
August 14, 2005
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One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
The year was 1929, the year of the depression. I had to hold off on my desire to build my first vacuum tube radio. In the mean time I was getting a collection of parts for my Armstrong Regenerative detector and memorizing the Morse Code alphabet, alphabetically.
I was now at the age of nine and into something I knew nothing about. Wound my coil and the kind that I would use for the tickler coil to cause positive feedback and make the receiver oscillate for the use of copying CW...a coil, two variable 500 mmf (micro micro farad condensers,) that is what we called them back then. -- Condensers, not capacitors. The tube was a number 27 triode and the headphones were high impedance magnetic type using a diaphragm. I made my own socket for the five-prong tube. The one tuber was wired and ready to go. By the way, I did not have a soldering iron to plug into the wall outlet, but a soldering iron that I heated over the gas range. Things were different back then, that is for a school student.
Now for the power supply:
A 250-volt dc power supply at 90 milliamps or so and using a number 80 rectifier vacuum tube, a choke and filter condensers. -- These I acquired from and old RCA Victor Radiola radio. I was ready to go, copy code and start on my ham ticket.
Turned the setup on and the first station that I tuned in was KDKA from Pennsylvania. I sent them a report of their signal strength and received a QSL card in return, my very first QSL card. Talk about a 59 signal, they made my ears ring for weeks. I then played with the controls and got it to oscillate. I had to reverse the connections on the tickler coil to get it to oscillate. Heard the CW loud and clear and now after memorizing the alphabet was ready to copy code. At first I would pick a letter out of many and in time copying many hams on code, I was able to pick up my speed, along with ARRL, my Elmer of both Theory and the Code. It took me about one year to copy 13 wpm solid to co-ordinate the use of the pencil, my hand and my mind. The theory took about two to three months. It was said I have a photographic mind.
I knew a ham and he checked out my 13 words per minute, he sent by ham radio and I read it back to him on the telephone. He then told me I was ready for the FCC and my test for my class "B" ham ticket. I was taught good CW by the one and only, ARRL on the air with QSB, QRM, QRN and speeds above my ability to copy. I liked the speeds to copy over my head, a game of catch-up. It sure was fun.
I believe it was in the month of June, during vacation time from school that I went to the FCC for my test. Forty-two miles to the FCC in a 1928 Ford four-door sedan. We did not know if we passed or not, only upon receiving the ticket through the mail, "passed or failed". I found it fun, not hard work. I was 15, just two months before my sixteenth birthday. I was the only ham operator in my high school of 1,500 students, couldn't wait to get home and ragchew on CW with my ham friends.
The class "B" test took an average of one or two hours if you studied hard. -- Math, theory and drawings. The Code took about 5 minutes total, both sending and receiving, with not a single letter or character missed. It had to be solid copy old man. I took the test along with five others and one was a young girl age of 14 who also passed as I had a QSO with her a few months later. We had a lot in common and a lot to talk about. Ham radio.
The hams of yesterday were kind, generous and great teachers of electronics, many in the engineering and technician class, couldn't ask for better knowledge from these ham radio operators. Looking forward to 1939, so I may go for my class "A" ticket.
A little bird sat on my windowsill sending me CW, he said to me, "cheer up, things could get worse", so I cheered up and sure enough, things got worse.
There you have it my friends.
73, W6TH
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One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by K0BG on August 14, 2005
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Considering the times and your age, I suspect you were in the signal corps in WWII. Am I close?
One of the first hams I met had a similar story to yours, and this is where he ended up; Apparently his code was so good, and the fact he was a high school teacher, got him a commission. He ended up running a school to teach code to new recruits.
So, tell us the rest of the story.
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by RADIO123US on August 14, 2005
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Great post !!! Too bad we won't see stories like this in the future...the NCI folks have taken care of that...the NCI story will go something like this: "I was too lazy to learn anything, so I whined and complained to the FCC until they gave me a FREE license".....not quite as impressive as your story....
73
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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K0BG,
Considering the times and your age, I suspect you were in the signal corps in WWII. Am I close?
Yes, check the call search on eHAM and you will find my biog of my military life.
I was a ham operator before WW2 and served my country well. Well trained to keep America a free country.
73, W6TH
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One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W9OY on August 14, 2005
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Vito
Good story. I think it points out something that seems to get missed. NO ELMER. Ham radio is not about having an Elmer or needing an Elmer or being an Elmer. In fact I think using the word "Elmer" as a common noun is dorky. How about friend. How about old timer.
If you have fire in the belly for ham radio, you will succeed. If you have an army of "Elmers" and no fire forgetaboutit. The notion that Ham Radio is something to be "sold" is a figment of the ARRL board room who sees $ in every new ham that comes down the pike. It is the reason ham radio is in decline. It is advertized as "easy" and "simple", but it is not easy and simple to build a great radio station. It is not simple to bounce signals off the moon. It is not easy and simple to be a great operator. So why do we pretend all we have to do is buy a study course, buy a cheap little radio, buy a cheap antenna and we will be in ham radio hog heaven? This is a sure path to instant ham radio boredom, and decline. We've been making it "easier and simpler" since incentive licensing fiasco of the 70's and ham radio has been in decline ever since the ARRL decided to fool with the infrastructuer. I can't wait to see how the new proposals from the grand Poobahs in Newington work to destroy the hobby.
Vito had to solve the puzzle, how does a 9 year old with no money and few resources involve himself. Clearly he did it with gusto and has been rewarded with a long and fruitful ham career. I think there's a lesson in there somewhere, maybe its all about each of us personally involving himself. The more you make ham radio into an off the shelf experience the less people will be attracted to it.
73 W9OY
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by K8MHZ on August 14, 2005
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Vito,
I loved the story, sorry about your assessment of things getting worse.
In this house things are pretty good. I have been a ham for 10 years, my 12 year old daughter just a few months now. We both decided to get our CW tickets before there were no more, and we did. We help and are helped by hams. For instance, yesterday I spent the day with a handful of hams working on a tower for a blind ham who just passed her General Exam. Wednesday is my birthday. Koley (my 12 year old) and I will be spending the day in Cadillac, Michigan at a picnic. We were invited to the annual QCWA picnic in order to pick up some ham gear. I am being GIVEN, fee of charge, several working radios, both HF and VHF plus a bunch of other gear. The only catch is that I don't sell it. I can use it or give it to other hams. Now here is the cool part. Some of the equipment is set up for a blind ham and 'talks'. Guess where that will eventually end up!
At the picnic we will have the pleasure of meeting a 90 year old ham that was originally ticketed when you first were. They are looking forward to meeting a 12 year old licensed CW operator. (She was 11 when she passed her CW test. She spent her 12th birthday using her ham radio to work with me doing security for the Blue Angels….getting her coverage on Fox TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan.)
Around here, Vito, it is great to be a ham. I wish you were in our neck of the woods so you could share your stories of the old with me, and I would share of the new with you.
If you were my neighbor I think that you would have a different opinion of today's operators.
If you ever find yourself in Western Michigan, especially in the Muskegon area, ask the local ham talent where to find K8MHZ. I will show you our great clubhouse, our Mobile Command Vehicle, introduce you to some fine young (12 - 14 years) hams and a bunch of excellent older ones. Perhaps our Collins will be back from repair / restoration and set up in it's place at the clubhouse. We can spend the day playing with the old and the new as I love them both. You show me the tricks of days gone by and I will do my best to impress you with the bits of the new technologies that I am attempting to master.
This winter, Koley and I want to build our own QRP rig and use it.
75 years ago may have been a great time to be a ham, but around here it keeps getting better and better. We have people that see to it. They are my friends.
73 my good man,
Mark K8MHZ
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WB2WIK on August 14, 2005
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Nice story, Vito.
I started out 35 years after you did, but I was 13 and a new Novice with no income. My first transmitter was a 6V6 used as a power crystal oscillator, and it ran about 15W DC input power -- I didn't have any way to measure output, but it could light up a 25W GE Soft Light pretty good, so there was some. It also made contacts.
It also had 250V across the key (cathode keying), and reminded me of that with some regularity. A year later I learned about grid block keying, buffers and PAs. But that 6V6 made hundreds of contacts, and with a change in the plate tank circuit, could also triple to 15 meters and run a few Watts (probably) there. Made my first DX contact with that, on 15m CW: 4U1ITU in Geneva. 579. Might as well have worked the moon.
My S-38C, from a garage sale for $15, and that 6V6 transmitter built on an inverted cake pan from my mom's kitchen, with a hardware store knife switch for an antenna "relay," represented a total station investment of about $25 and made an awful lot of contacts.
I agree, this is the part that most newcomers miss.
WB2WIK/6
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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Steve,
Later on I added a #27 tube to the one tuber for a RF stage and another #27 audio amplifier, it was now a 3 tube Tuned Radio Frequency receiver (TRF). You would have enjoyed playing with this radio. That is if you like to play with inductive coils.
W6TH
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One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by KU4UV on August 14, 2005
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A little bird sat on my windowsill sending me CW, he said to me, "cheer up, things could get worse", so I cheered up and sure enough, things got worse.
Yep, 12-7-41
11-22-63
9-11-01
73,
KU4UV
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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K8MHZ
Hello Mark,
Back in 1940 there were some 50,000 ham operators. This to me shows that the FCC exams and the code tests were not that hard as so many passed.
I think it was just the fun of passing and knowing we had the ability to do so. We also had 12 year old and younger pass the same exams that I did; no big deal.
Of the 50,000 hams I have never heard of one single ham complaining to copy the code to acquire a ham ticket; at 13 wpm.
73, W6TH
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One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by KU4UV on August 14, 2005
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Yes, great story about the benefit of teaching yourself. I too am a self-taught ham. I learned pretty much all I knew about ham radio growing up by spending a lot of time in Radio Shack and the local mall bookstore reading through the various books and magazines about amateur radio. I had heard about ham radio when I was kid, just never really got interested in pursuing a lincense until I got into high school. I had the TV turned on early one morning in 1991, while I was getting ready for school. The newscaster said something like, "The FCC has decided to drop the requirement to know Morse Code in order to obtain an amateur radio license." My ears perked up at that, and I guess that sparked me to really go after a ham license. I obtained my no-code license in October of 1992, after about 4 weeks of studying the theory. I would later upgrade on up through Extra class. Now, I really enjoy the CW part of this hobby, and I am always trying to improve my code speed.
73,
KU4UV
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA6BFH on August 14, 2005
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I love these stories that bring out the commonality of “the experience” many of us shared. While the politics and names of licenses have changed, and yes the sweat equity in achieving them -- I still hope that that “fire in the belly” the other Ham spoke of can survive!
My first transmitter (oscillator) was a 50C5 -- much simpler on power supply requirements. The B+ was provided by doubling the 117 VAC house line-voltage with these new fangled things called “solid state diodes”. The filament was lighted by merely putting a large wire-wound resistor in series with the line voltage. My transmitter had 117 VAC across the key, if you plugged the line cord in the wrong way!
This little puppy had 25 Watts plate input power. Over the 8 months I used it the glass envelope of the tube became very rounded and bulb shaped; the plate literally developed a long vertical hole or crack in it as it suffered from thermal stress and was bombarded by electrons (I still have this tube). It would also light up a 25 Watt light bulb very nicely!
A friend and I each built one of these transmitters. It was fun riding our bikes to round up the few purchased items. A board from Ganahl lumber (for the “chassis”) that we had them saw in half for us -- the guy thought we were nuts! Pill bottles from the drug store to wind the “link-coupled tank coils” on --the guy at the drug store thought we were nuts as we checked various bottles diameter. He might have thought we were taking drugs -- it was also popular then!
We ran our new transmitters into our “light bulb dummy loads” and checked to see if the other could hear our rig. We lived a couple miles apart, and we could both hear each other. We were also shocked when we found that other Hams very far away, even in Arizona could also!
Very nice article Vito! I hope others will have and share such memories too!
73 OM! de WA6BFH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WB2WIK on August 14, 2005
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>RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers Reply
by W6TH on August 14, 2005 Mail this to a friend!
Steve,
Later on I added a #27 tube to the one tuber for a RF stage and another #27 audio amplifier, it was now a 3 tube Tuned Radio Frequency receiver (TRF). You would have enjoyed playing with this radio. That is if you like to play with inductive coils.<
::Are there any other kind?
-WB2WIK/6
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by K0EWS on August 14, 2005
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Great story Vito. Reminds me of my uncle, who got his ticket at age 16 in 1940. He was a ham before the war, and thought he would go to the signal corps during, but ended up in the infantry...after the war, went on to go to school, become an EE, and work at Collins. I still to this day love to hear his stories. That really was the Greatest Generation in so many ways. We of the younger generation really don't have any experiences like that in which to compare..anyway, I really enjoyed your story. Thanks for sharing, and 73
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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WA6BFH John,
The less folks know about electronics the better it is for the economy. Just send the radio back for repair and hope the bill is not over $150.00 and if so, just use it for a door stop or junk it and buy another radio. Better yet put it on eBAY and maybe some-one will have the money for the repair shop. Then buy another brand new one.
You can't win an idea by using a army.
73 my friend, W6TH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA6BFH on August 14, 2005
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Yup, you are probably right! I try not to be bitter but, it is difficult sometimes.
Oh, for me it was WN6BFH in those days (all Novices had distinctive callsigns -- WN or WV).
I like the part in the “biography page” here on e-bay uh, I mean e-ham. When I filled it out I chuckled to myself when I got to the part about “any previous callsigns”. It still throws me off when a very basic conceptual question shows up on the Elmer Forum from some guy with a callsign such as “6AA”. I keep thinking he should be teaching me this stuff!
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by K2WH on August 14, 2005
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Yup, (1) vacuum tube and no elmers. It was known as READING! 37 year ago, I built my first 1 tube transmitter and I did not even have a license yet. Got that 2 years later.
A single 50C5 pulled from a BCB radio, built it on a 2x4 using nails hammered into the wood as tie points (they do take solder BTW). Use a toilet paper tube as a coil and an old 365pf cap from a scrap BCB radio to tune it. I forget the total assembly but, I remember running my finger along the wire antenna and watched smoke come off my finger tips. That how I knew there was RF there. Later on a I got a real modern piece of test equipment to measure the output - a single NE-2 bulb. I'll bet not many people reading this know that the color of an NE-2 bulb held near a transmitting antenna, gave a (very) rough indication of your transmit frequency. Bet you didn't know that!!!!
Tuned the 2x4 radio on 1620 khz and was a local DJ for the housing project I grew up in. It FM'ed badly but, you could understand it about 5 blocks away. Used to spin Inagodadavida through it.
K2WH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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You bet. Now comes the point of those that have no code tickets and then have the nerve to say" look how hard we worked to get our license", what a laugh.
I never considered my working for a ham ticket hard work, I always said it was fun and enjoyed doing so.
I put this post on to inform many just how it was back in the old days and to compare the effort put forth for such a fun thing. Maybe it will sink in that the real hams were before the December 7, 1941. This date includes all nations licensed before December 7, 1941, including the "new Japan" now a great powerful nation, no longer our enemy, but our allies and friends.
W6TH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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K2WH
I still have one and the color is red. I can light both sides and it will follows my finger and thumb.
I have had this one for 70 years now, use it daily.
I also have the bulb type that looks like the old fashioned refrige bulbs.
W6TH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by NN6EE on August 14, 2005
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Vito,
It is really SAD that the present trend in Amateur Radio licensing is a general reflection upon the malaise that seems to be a national problem, and in some cases a global problem as well especially in Europe.
Why work for something if they're gonna give it to you free at some point down the line, or make it SO damn easy it's just like it's FREE!!!
And to digress ever so slightly I'd like to say that Morse/CW is just as relevant a communications mode as either voice or the various digital modes, and to say otherwise would be completely assine from whomever!!!
Jim/ee
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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Jim
Yes it is sad to think as all is lost now. It may be that the code is mentioned as a "weapon of mass destruction".
Those with an open mind have the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge; those that don't have an open mind, believe it to be "weapons of mass destruction".
W6TH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by NN6EE on August 14, 2005
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AH YES!!!
God-forbid that to get a Amateur Radio license nowadays that one would have to buckle down and apply one's self to get it!!!
What a HORRIBLE thought!!!
WHY that's totally un-American and it sure in the Hell isn't "politically-correct!!!"
Jim/ee
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by K2WH on August 14, 2005
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers Reply
by W6TH
I still have one and the color is red. I can light both sides and it will follows my finger and thumb.
I have had this one for 70 years now, use it daily.
I also have the bulb type that looks like the old fashioned refrige bulbs.
W6TH
Ah yes W6TH, but what color is it if using it to detect VHF or even UHF RF?
K2WH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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If I remember correctly the color was a very bright blue. This was in the days of 5 and 2 1/2 meters.
Is my brain engaged?
W6TH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WB2WIK on August 14, 2005
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You know what's fun? Take a look at the column in QST, "Old Radio" by K2TQN, August 2005 issue (page 78).
See the Sears catalogs from the 1930s and 1940s specifically aimed at ham radio operators? "Wholesale Radio Parts" and "Amateur Service" catalogs, from Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago?
GREAT STUFF. Behold the 1935 Silvertone Transmitter, $155.00 without any tubes, crystal or crystal holder. Tube set optional, $34.59.
Let's translate that to 2005 dollars. Hmmm, considering 1935 was during the Great Depression when a loaf of bread was a nickel, I'd say inflation's been about 30 to 1 since then. 30x $189.59 for a 120W (DC input power, probably 60W out) crystal-controlled transmitter. In 2005 dollars, about $5700. For less than that, today you could buy an IC-756PROIII, a 50A regulated power supply, a high-end microphone and keyer paddle, and a 1500W antenna tuner. Back then, it was a crystal-controlled transmitter in a wooden case.
Things certainly have changed. In 1935, a ham was someone people admired as being part of "the few, the willing, the trained." Today, a ham is anybody with a few bucks and some spare time, and it costs a LOT less to be a ham, today.
WB2WIK/6
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WB2WIK on August 14, 2005
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>RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers Reply
by W6TH on August 14, 2005 Mail this to a friend!
If I remember correctly the color was a very bright blue. This was in the days of 5 and 2 1/2 meters.
Is my brain engaged?
W6TH<
::Probably is. But do you fondly recall the 6E5 "magic eye" electrophosphorescent tube?
I think I still have a few...not only popularized by Central Electronics and Gonset (to name two of several) but it gave me an idea to use one as the "go-stop" indicator on a homebrew electronic reaction time tester. I did use it for that, and it worked great. Much more responsive (fast) than any kind of "meter," back in the days before LEDs and LCDs...
-WB2WIK/6
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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By the way Jim/ee, the class "B" ticket was 75 questions and the class "A" was also 75 questions... The extra was just 50 questions and 20 wpm solid copy not missing one character. My commercial for First Class Telephone was 90 questions and no code required.
The class "A" was mostly for Amplitude Modulation and quite a bit of math, antenna theory and impedance matching.. All it gave was to operate phone on the 20 meter phone band.
Before you could go for the Class "A" you had to wait for one year before being qualified to do so.
You were darn near being a engineer without a degree.
W6TH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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Steve,
But do you fondly recall the 6E5 "magic eye" electrophosphorescent tube?.
I sure do and have installed many on the Hallicrafters S-40 receivers that had no indicators of signal strength.
I have also installled one outboard on the Echophone EC-1 and the S38 series. All that is needed is filament voltage, B+ and the AVC to connect and these voltages are taken right off of the receiver. Some on the AC/DC one could parallel with another tube for the filaments.
I also did that to a few Philco short wave receivers.
W6TH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by KC8Y on August 14, 2005
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WA6BFH,
Just saw your article on the homebrew-50C5 xmtr...Think that was the same unit that 2-of my buddies & myself began our involvement in ham-radio with (we were 15-16 at the time, about 40-years ago)...we hand-wound the tank-antenna coils for 40 & 15-meters and used finishing nails for terminals ...The whole xmtr was open to all high-voltages & currents...My one buddy even got an FCC violation for a harmonic, too...We home-brewed, a 15-M 2-element quad antenna...
We taught ourselves, code & electronics...
Ham radio sure isn't like that in today's world...Today 2-of us are electrical engineers & the other one is a electronic-manager technician
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA6BFH on August 14, 2005
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Yup, I built it from an article in one of the electronics magazines of the day.
I didn't have an Elmer until a couple years later. He was horrified, and amazed that I had not electrocuted myself!
I never tried to resonate mine on 15, just 40 and 80 Meters. Uh, ypu did wind and dip out a 15 Meter tank circuit,,,,, didn't you?
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA6BFH on August 14, 2005
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That is interesting about how Sears was selling parts for Ham’s. Remember the Hugo Gernsback publications?
I wonder why the computer biz never took a similar turn or phase for home-brewers? I do remember the Big Board computers but, it soon all turned to store-bought with Sinclair’s and Commodore’s etc.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WB2WIK on August 14, 2005
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>RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers Reply
by WA6BFH on August 14, 2005 Mail this to a friend!
That is interesting about how Sears was selling parts for Ham’s. Remember the Hugo Gernsback publications?
I wonder why the computer biz never took a similar turn or phase for home-brewers? I do remember the Big Board computers but, it soon all turned to store-bought with Sinclair’s and Commodore’s etc.<
::Well, BYTE magazine in the 1970s was very much a "computer homebrewer's" magazine. It also grew to be about the size of the L.A. Yellow Pages before it was ultimately sold. Founded by dear old Wayne Green W2NSD, it's probably his crowning achievement -- at least, in my book, pardon the pun.
Today, there are millions of "homebrew" PC builders and enthusiasts, including probably millions of people building on the free LINUX platform, so there are surely some cowboys left. But probably 90% of them really have no idea why anything works, they just know how to put it together and screw around until it does. There are a fair number of hams, though, involved in *designing* computing and networking equipment -- not necessarily using it, just designing it.
John BFH, I assume you know that Jim W6JKV, a huge, lifelong 6 meter enthusiast, was president of Tandem Computer, and before Compaq bought out Tandem and Jim retired, the only way to get a phone call through to Jim's office was to say to his secretary, "Six meters." Those two magic words would let a call pass right through, immediately! Used this password, myself...
WB2WIK/6
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA6BFH on August 14, 2005
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Nope, but a 6 land call is not likely to get my attention! The only 6 land calls I relate to are the few people that are typically on 50.125 just about everyday. Guys like K6GMV, and AA6DD (WB6RIV).
Is he a DX'er, or what I might think of as "a contester"?
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WB2WIK on August 14, 2005
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Jimmy Treybig, W6JKV, is one of the most notable DXers in the history of six meters. Near the top of the 6m DXCC list, Jim lived in the Bay Area (SF/Silicon Valley) for many years and went on many e.m.e. expeditions to activate countries and islands having no previous six meter activity. Many of those expeditions were also attended by Mike Staal, K6MYC, of M2 antennas (and previously of KLM), another world-class 6m DXer from Fresno.
If it weren't for Jim and Mike, I'd have about eleven fewer DXCC countries confirmed on 50 MHz.
Jim's now retired, living in Texas, and still a huge "gun" on 6m, working DX and also "being" DX when he travels to activate smaller countries on 6m moonbounce.
WB2WIK/6
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA6BFH on August 14, 2005
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I am sure then that I must have read about his EME exploits. His call just does not ring any bells.
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One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W4SK on August 14, 2005
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Finally, something truly worthwhile on the eHam forum pages. THANK YOU very much for the posting. It should be required reading for the NCTs and for those posters who refuse to use their callsings - IF they even have one.
-W4SK
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WB2WIK on August 14, 2005
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>RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers Reply
by W6TH on August 14, 2005 Mail this to a friend!
Steve,
But do you fondly recall the 6E5 "magic eye" electrophosphorescent tube?.
I sure do and have installed many on the Hallicrafters S-40 receivers that had no indicators of signal strength.
I have also installled one outboard on the Echophone EC-1 and the S38 series. All that is needed is filament voltage, B+ and the AVC to connect and these voltages are taken right off of the receiver. Some on the AC/DC one could parallel with another tube for the filaments.
I also did that to a few Philco short wave receivers.<
::Newbies will *never* understand the pleasure of watching the "magic eye" and being able to give someone the signal report of, "You're so strong, the eye is crossed!"
-WB2WIK/6
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by KD6TQE on August 14, 2005
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I get such a kick out of these "I walked 6 miles uphill in the snow both ways to school" stories.The best part about these forums is that when someone wants to sound foolish you just get out of the way and let them have at it!
Ya know, on the bands I talk to lots of interesting people- unlike the sourpusses that propagate the electronic wasteland of the Internet on E-Ham. It seems to be the same old few malcontents ranting and raving about the "good old days". Go ahead and ignore the developments of the last half of the 20th Century. Things like the transistor,integrated circuit,SMT construction and others. Just hold a light bulb near the output to see if "she is puttin out real good".
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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KD6TQE, AE6PR
Go ahead and ignore the developments of the last half of the 20th Century.
-------------------------------------------------------
Like 40% of your wages that go for taxes. That is if you work for a living. Like a increase in the sales tax. Higher gasoline prices. Like a $300,000 homes, controlled by other countries other than the USA.
I haven't ignored the developments for the 20th century, but you have.
.:
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One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA1RNE on August 14, 2005
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My "1 Tuber" used a 50L6, which was around 4 watts output on 80 CW.
After building several Heathkits and other brands of kits, including regenerative receivers, I built the transmitter strictly as a learning experience, not because it was the best way to get on the air at that time. For cheap money, I purchased several 50-100 watt transmitters at ham fests, like Heath DX-20, DX-40, DX-60, DX-100, Viking Ranger, etc., etc. so cost wasn't really a factor. (However, I wasn't able to buy a new set of Drake Twins, at the time, my dream rig.)
As W9OY stated so eloquently:
"If you have fire in the belly for ham radio, you will succeed. If you have an army of "Elmers" and no fire forget about it."
I believe it is this mindset that is missing for many in ham radio today.
We also need to come to grips with the fact that the "spirit" and desire to learn by doing is not necessarily caused by laziness and a desire for a hand-out.
Instead of viewing the current state of ham radio as being in decline because of lax licensing incentives and dumbed-down tests, I believe it's more sensible and logical to say that ham radio has undergone an evolution of sorts that is driven by leaps in technology - best explained by Moore's Law.
On the flip-side, some individuals have been able to start new companies that serve ham radio buy taking advantage of technology which is allowing more complex designs with less components and chips for a much lower price.
Even antenna OEM's have increased in number and have come up with some ideas that many would never dream possible; the SteppIR yagi for example with remote controlled elements or EZNEC modeling software on a laptop.
In 1975, either one of these innovations would certainly have been perceived as just bizarre ideas ....
In comparison, the Space Shuttle project started in the early 70's and uses several computers that can't match the performance of today's modest laptop or desktop.
WE need to figure out how to invigorate that "Fire in the Belly" that keeps people fascinated with radio but on top of their game and continues to make ham radio unique and desirable.
I wonder how many would still take the time to build a DC power supply for your 100 watt rig, a wattmeter/SWR bridge, an audio processor, a real link coupled balanced antenna tuner??
What if these kits also included a lesson in electronics or radio with experiments and a manual?
73, Chris
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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Chris,
What is the skip zone from your QTH into NH. What is not the skip zone from your QTH to NH.
I am talking of Berlin, NH and the southern part like Keene, Manchester and Concord.
73, W6TH
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by KV7X on August 14, 2005
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Vito,
Nice story, and as a self-taught kid back in the 50's and 60's, I enjoyed reading the thread up to your "Maybe it will sink in that the real hams were before the (sic) December 7, 1941" comment.
Plenty of real hams after that date - and I've had the pleasure of knowing many of them, or reading their contributions online here, such as those from WB2WIK.
I don't understand why so many in this hobby find it necessary to polarize every issue. It was fantastic back in the 1920's, and still is, depending on the effort an individual puts into it. Like everything else in life ...
73,
Terry
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by KG6AMW on August 14, 2005
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Each generation is unique and special. Perhaps your golden age has passed, for others its just begining.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W5HTW on August 14, 2005
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My very first transmitter was a homebrew ARRL 40 meter CW rig. Ran a 6L6 final, 6AG7 oscillator. But I didn't build it. A friend did, and loaned it to me, along with two crystals in the 40 meter Novice band. When he moved away to go to college, he took his transmitter back, and I was "air-less!" A great motivator. Would my Novice ticket expire at the end of that year and leave me also "ham-less?"
A visit to the Army-Navy surplus store offered me quick solutions. There were many ARC-5s available for roughly 4 bucks each, with tubes. Over a period of a couple of months, using money I made as a soda-jerk after school, money left over after gas in the car and dating, I bought several of those ARC-5s, some for as little as a dollar, as they were incomplete or appeared damaged, or lacked tubes.
With around three months to go on the one-year Novice ticket I was back on the air on 40 and 80 CW with converted Command sets (including receivers.) They, too, had the magic eye for tuning! I built an outboard crystal oscillator for the 40 meter one, as I was afraid "Uncle Charlie" would catch me for using a VFO if I put it on the air the way it was. It worked. Built a monstruous power supply to run these radios. CW only, of course. And an end-fed wire stretched from my upstairs bedroom to a tree 130 feet or so away.
After getting the General in August 1957, I returned to the rigs' internal VFOs, which I then learned were stable enough no one would have ever known I wasn't crystal controlled! And I received a few T9X reports with them. Great radios. In that era, though, many of us believed the FCC was constantly monitoring, ready to pounce on even minor violations. We had the "fear of DC" instilled in us.
I did not actually build a complete transmitter until several years later. But those converted rigs were all conversions I created and built, including rewiring for 12 volts, changing relays, and modifying the oscillator even better stability. I was pretty darned proud of myself!
There were probably better ways to do it, but I had none of those ways available to me. It was do it and get on the air, or not do it and put another three bucks of gas in the car and forget ham radio.
Like many of man's endeavors, there are things today's society cannot touch or smell or feel. Not just in ham radio, certainly. They were the hardships of life, like fixing a flat tire beside the road, (not changing a tire - fixing it!) but they were also the good times. They built character.
Maybe that is the main thing missing in society AND ham radio today.
Ed
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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KV7X Terry,
Pass along your age and let me know the ham testing you went through and compare it to the December 7, 1941.
W6TH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by KV7X on August 14, 2005
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I'm only 55, and took my Tech exam in 1965 so am just a shadow of the ham that you must be.
Which is my point exactly - my 13 year old stepson asked me yesterday if I would help him get his radio license, and I hope he can do so without running into this "holier than thou" attitude.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 14, 2005
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KV7X
Thanks, now you see my point of view as to the real ham. Also to the point of how many never survived coming back home to rejoin their families due to the WW2.
.:
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W5ESE on August 15, 2005
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Great post, Vito. My first transmitter was a homebrew
1 tube power oscillator, a 6146, from an old Handbook
design. It used an OA2 mercury vapor voltage regulator,
and had the usual pi network output. Ran about 18
watts input to the plate, on 80 and 40 meters. Went
through alot of crystals, though the Jan crystals
seemed to survive the ordeal pretty well. I had a
nice receiver though; a Heathkit Mohawk. I got on
the air with this during the summer of 1976.
Similar fun can be found nowdays piddling with
with QRP circuits, using 2SC2074's, 2SC2116's,
2N7000 Class E amps, NE612 or NE602 gilbert cell
(or diode ring) mixers, etc. A great book is Doug
Demaw's 'QRP Notebook'. All good fun, even if it
doesn't glow in the dark. :)
73
Scott
W5ESE
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 15, 2005
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.
Scott
W5ESE
The building is going down hill the same as not growing our own vegetables any longer.
Right now I am working on the CC&R and have a flag pole going for four months now, so far I have not received any papers to take it down. I was told to, but no more wording than that.
W6TH
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by WB2WIK on August 15, 2005
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Vito, are you really moving to NH?
I know that area very well, spent about 1/4 my life there. We called it "cow Hampshire" back in the day...
Probably good for ham radio, not good for my body, which is allergic to cold, snow and ice!
73
Steve WB2WIK/6
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA1RNE on August 15, 2005
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Vito;
Berlin, NH is about 90 air miles from me. Concord or Manchester is 30-50 miles.
I tried 2FM recently and found many of the central NH repeaters were either closed or now require PL tones. http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters/
states/New-Hampshire.asp
Maybe we could both hit Concord on 147.225 in the evening or 75 meters on a weekend?
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by KA0GKT on August 15, 2005
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Nice little diatribe, Glenn. Since you hold the Extra class license, I would guess that you have actually constructed amateur gear for your station, but Hollow state is probably below you, so you etched your own multi layer printed circuit boards and used mainly SMT devices?
Yes, the transistor, Large Scale Integration and Surface Mount Technology are important innovations of the 20th century, however don't forget that the Audion tube and the advances in valve technology were equally important advances in electronic technology. As cutting edge as the ultra compact electronic technology is today, the amplifier/oscillator was for Vito and other amateurs of the 1920s and 1930s. I once knew a Ham who literally rolled his own capacitors from wax paper and tinfoil taken from the wrappers of Hershey bars.
We owe as much to Flemming and De Forrest as we do to Bardeen, Brattain and Shockley. The accomplishments of Faust Gonset, Art Collins, Bill Halligan, Leo Meyerson and Colin B. Kennedy do not pale in comparisson to those of Bill Gates. Each deserves accolades.
Are people more or less friendly on the air than in the past? That falls under the big catagory of "Depends". There have always been unfriendly operators. My Uncle Ron (WA0MQM SK) used to have a regular sked with Phil (whos call escapes me). Both were teenagers, Ron was confined to a wheelchair (This was in the day when schools wouldn't accomodate handicapped persons) and Phil was blind. Some LID came on frequency and chewed them out for not being in School. Luckily, an adult who knew both teenagers came on and told the idiot off, so, we have had unfriendly ops for some time...at least since the '60s. I regularly have enjoyable QSOs with many people, however it seems as though people on 2-meter FM aren't interested in meeting anyone new, at least on most of the repeaters I have tried while traveling. Small towns, places like Dalhart Texas, Fremont, Nebraska, Salina Kansas I can usually have a nice QSO and meet someone new. Cities the size of Tucson, Omaha, DesMoines and larger, it is sometimes difficult to strike up a conversation.
So, Glenn, enjoy building and repairing your surface mount technology equipment. It sounds like fun. When I started in the electronics biz, everything was large enough for me to see...now I need glasses and a magnifier, but yes, I have experimented with SMT construction techniques. I think it's just as much fun as troubleshooting my old boatanchors, but then I'm into that kind of thing.
OBTW, if you are an equipment operator, never built a single thing, that's okay too. There should be room for all kinds in Amateur radio...well perhaps we ought to get rid of the LIDs...
73 DE KAØGKT/7
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 15, 2005
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.
Chris
I don't work 2 meters or phone and just 100% CW. The skip distance is terrific and we can make a good QSO on both 75 and 40 SSB. I will keep in touch and if you have a regular sked frequency, I could just monitor for you until I get settled.
Many thanks Chris.
73 W6TH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by NB3O on August 15, 2005
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Hi Vito, looking forward to working you on 80 and 40 once you get settled on the East Coast. Will have to dust off the 6CL6 TX and 6AU6 Regen breadboard for the occasion.
73,
Steve
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA6BFH on August 15, 2005
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Chris WA1RNE, I am pretty certain that there has been an actual social trend that negates or at least limits that “fire in the belly” characteristic that impelled Hams of earlier times.
I think the two prominent reasons for this sort of malaise are:
1) The generally degraded education available in the last several decades.
2) The outgrowth of generally liberal “entitlement” value systems.
I know I will get flamed for that second comment but, for those that think I am trolling, I am not. I consider both of these points historic fact, and I could sight many examples from history to clarify my point.
The good news is some today, even of younger generations, bypass the pitfall of these problems because they have the motivation to do what their dad or maybe granddad did. I even got a direct e-mail from a chap who would like me to assist him in building a 50C5 oscillator like the one I used. I will assist him in building something more worth the effort, and I’m glad he has that fire in the belly to do it!
73! John
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 15, 2005
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NB3O Steve
Will bookmark your call Steve and keep an ear out for you.
When the snow comes on the east coast, you will know where I will be; next to the heater, sitting on top of my Heathkit SB 200.
73, Vito W6TH.
.:
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by N3AIU on August 15, 2005
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I am a big admirer of the "iron men and wooden radios" of the beginning of the last century. I was first licensed relatively recently (31 years ago hi hi) and in spite of my interest and passion in ham radio I don't think that I could have gotten my license without my elmer. It makes me admire W6TH even more.
73 de Nick, N3AIU
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 15, 2005
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WA6BFH John
1) The generally degraded education available in the last several decades.
-----------------------------------------------------
This is what happens when the govt takes control of public schools.
I would rather see the home study or private schools and get rid of these school taxes which do no good.
73, W6TH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 15, 2005
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N3AIU Nick
All it took was to read, read and read. The amount of time I copied the code was about the same amount of time I spend on the computer.
I used all of ARRL handbooks for my theory and the math, which also I had in school.
Every bit of the FCC tests came right out of the ARRL handbooks. All I had to do was piece them together.
73, W6TH
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by WA6BFH on August 15, 2005
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Vito, have you looked at an ARRL handbook of the last two or thee decades? The errors are glaring and ghastly! I’m not just talking about typo’s either. I mean errors in theory and concept.
I tell newer Ham’s to get Bill Orr’s “Radio Handbook”, and maybe also “Electronic Communication” by Shrader.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 15, 2005
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.
John, I was very deep into the ARRL handbooks. I stopped buying because I had so many and just had to donate some. I have not checked the ARRL books for many years, probably a year or so after 1940. Just checked and my last book was in 1965. Don't keep up with them any longer since I have the use of my computer as I get enough information to comfort and satisfy myself.
Like our government, it gets bigger and bigger and so powerful that it eventually destroys itself.
73, Vito
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA6BFH on August 15, 2005
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Ok, I think I have a gap in the various ARRL Handbooks that I have between 1963 and 1970. Certainly 1965 does not fall into the category I was thinking of.
My post was primarily as a warning for newer Ham’s that might go out and buy one of recent publications, when they could have had better information from another source, and can otherwise avoid the harmful and errant concepts.
I am not all that sanguine about information on the Internet either. There is much good information by this means but, there is also quite a bit of garbage!
73! John
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by KD6TQE on August 15, 2005
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I thought the name of the game is to actually communicate with other hams on the airwaves-not fixing broken equipment.I do not repair my smt equipment because it DOS NOT BREAK!
As far as I can tell, people made their own stuff because the equipment was not available(and/or affordable) at the time. Why on earth would I want to wind my own caps when I can get them for a few bucks.My time is worth more than that!
Times have changed-young hams are working with microwaves and 802 wireless stuff.They have the same curiosity as anyone licensed.
The good old days,separate drinking fountains for Blacks,dangerous cars,drinking and smoking.... I can go on and on.Remember, the older you get-the better you were!
P.S. I got my first ticket because I was restoring my dads WW2 tube radio equipment and it sparked my interest(BC611/659).I know tubes.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 15, 2005
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.
am not all that sanguine about information on the Internet either. There is much good information by this means but, there is also quite a bit of garbage!
------------------------------------------------------
Also feel the same and so many that sort of bluff their way through a description. I don't think they realize that there are others that know as much or maybe more.
Use a little bit of trig or geometry or calculus and compare to the EZ-NEC, this will entertain you. Later on that.
.:
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by W6TH on August 15, 2005
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KD6TQE Glenn
Put your age in the QRZ.Com and then we will know how to talk to you; as man to man or boy to boy.
.:
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WA6BFH on August 15, 2005
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TQE, your point would be better valid if you kept it to yourself! What I mean is, you responded before in a very brash and foolish way. We may be OF’s but, I don’t think we would too often be that rash.
You are welcome to your opinion and ideas. Myself, I still appreciate the dynamic range of vacuum tubes, even while I build equipment with discreet transistors and IC’s. I don’t believe any Surface Mount electronics that I am aware of is an improvement in terms of dynamic range, sensitivity, transient noise etc.
I design with FET’s, both MOS and J-types, as well as other electronics covering the last 60 or 70 years, right up to present day technology. I do not prefer surface mount because it serves no need in what I do, it is easier to work on “through-hole” boards. It is for other reasons though that I might consider a 6146, 4CX400, or even a 6CW4 as perhaps a better way to go.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 15, 2005
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Glenn TQE
We must get together and chat awhile on our math and how the functions of a antenna work.
How much knowledge of vacuum tubes do you know and give me some pointers and I will give you some on:
Analytic geometry.
Can we now talk man to man?
.:
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by WB2WIK on August 15, 2005
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>One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers Reply
by N3AIU on August 15, 2005 Mail this to a friend!
I am a big admirer of the "iron men and wooden radios" of the beginning of the last century. I was first licensed relatively recently (31 years ago hi hi) and in spite of my interest and passion in ham radio I don't think that I could have gotten my license without my elmer. It makes me admire W6TH even more.
73 de Nick, N3AIU<
::Nice to work you on the bands the other night, Nick. 73 de Steve WB2WIK/6
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by KD6TQE on August 15, 2005
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Like I said in my 1st post, let me step out of the way.
You guys have the floor now.
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One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by G3RZP on August 16, 2005
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How many of us still design and build 'new' stuff with tubes?
OK, I'm 58. I took the exam in 1961 on my 14th birthday, and got my call while I was 15. My amplifier has a screen grid series regulator using a 6L6G that my father bought in 1936 - I want his money's worth out of it. I still build stuff with tubes, I don't use surface mount unless I really have to. I like operating CW.
So do I count as old fashioned and not keeping up with the technology?
I hope not. Professionally, I do international standards work as well as advanced systems design on ultra low power radios for applications such as wireless endoscopes and heart pacemakers. Mainly using CMOS. I find it very interesting how alike the RF CMOS and tube circuits can get in areas like induced grid (gate) noise, and how many of my younger colleagues can understand what's happening whee they are guided to look up 'input impedance of triodes' in a 1951 edition of Terman, and so on. Many of us OFs aren't quite ready to be written off yet: we use applicable technology and a lot of recycling (old germanium PNP power transistors to increase the current capability of 3 terminal regulator for instance - because we have them!).
Whether today's ham can end up as the technician his forefather was without doing some of these things is doubtful. It's already noticeable that many engineers are totally lost in a lab, and get into trouble because they fail to understand the difference between resolution and accuracy, and the errors lying in wait in RF measurements. To me, it's the capability to understand what's happening that differentiates the 'radio amateur' from the 'radio operator'.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 16, 2005
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G3RZP
To me, it's the capability to understand what's happening that differentiates the 'radio amateur' from the 'radio operator'--------
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How true and who am I to disagree.
Theory is the key word for ham radio, math is also the key word to ham radio.
Here is my example for thought:
It all started off with the Coherer detector, it then went to the Galena, then to the filament and plate called the diode vacuum tube, then added the grid and is the triode, then the pentode, then the tetrode and so forth into the transistor.
This is called string theory.
For math? I can tell you a page and more of different kinds that are also called the string math.
Ask a student today a question of math, like the different in a persons age and they need a calculator to figure this out. Pencil and paper won't work for them any longer. How about doing it in your head? Nope that won't work either.
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One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by N3AIU on August 16, 2005
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WB2WIK/6:
Nice to work you too, Steve. I'm relatively new to 6m (only since last summer). I've managed to work 130+ grids since then. I think it's a lot of fun. Most of the time I'm on HF CW.
73, Nick N3AIU
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by K2WH on August 16, 2005
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers Reply
by W6TH on August 14, 2005 Mail this to a friend!
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If I remember correctly the color was a very bright blue. This was in the days of 5 and 2 1/2 meters.
Is my brain engaged?
W6TH
Correct! YOu get a gold star. Brigth blue or close to purple.
k2WH
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by NB3O on August 16, 2005
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"Why on earth would I want to wind my own caps when I can get them for a few bucks.My time is worth more than that! "
I know why I do. I design and work with SMT 0402 / 0201 size RF components all day under the ole' Cambridge Stereo Zoom with 0.015" wire solder, and 0.020" soldering tips. Other days its modeling the circuitry on the workstation. It earns good money. But sometimes it's a real chore.
Rolling caps, winding coils on pill bottles, digging through garbage to scrounge old tubes is a change of pace and like finding pieces of a puzzle. But the big payoff is when you put the cans on the ears and work some guy over the pond using a "classic junkyard dog".
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One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by KI4LHR on August 17, 2005
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I always love the stories about the "good old days" of radio, and I am always inspired by the ingenuity of early operators.
As for myself, I got my ticket issued on 9 August. Amateur radio has been my life for the past four years, since I was 13 years of age. Living with my mother, I never got the study guides and things like that - she hated Amateur Radio simply because it was my father that got me interested in it. I learned my operating practices and electrical theory from thousands of Internet sites. When I finally moved out and could take the test, I did so - I now have my Technician license and General CSCE. Regardless of the FCC's decision, I am still learning the code.
I've had it easier than most hams, but I was prepared to do anything for my ticket. I've always had the "fire".
KI4LHR
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by AK2B on August 17, 2005
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Vito,
I like ham radio stories of the past. I really liked yours as well. The internet is a great place to share the history of ham radio.
Since I’m approaching old fart-ism myself (59) I feel I’m allowed to speak to you as a peer without danger of insulting my elders.
Your pessimism and the pessimism of some others here, is disturbing. At what point did the “good old days” end and the “bad old days” begin? Was the Depression the good old days? Was it WWII? I don’t think so. Or, is it just fond memories trying to recapture a few fleeting moments of childhood? Tell me a time in history when ham radio was any “better” than it is now? Different, yes, of course, but I don’t think better. There is no shortage of kind hams today as there is no shortage of fools.
A ham radio “ticket” allows entry into this hobby. It doesn’t guarantee your enjoyment or prove your knowledge. Your desire to learn will ultimately determine your experience. This will always be the case. I don’t see that the youth of today are any different than the youth of my youth. I see some hardworking, extremely intelligent kids around these days. I also see some idiots. So, what’s new?
There are still plenty of hams who build their own equipment and plenty of great companies around to accommodate them. Cheap test equipment is available to the experimenter like never before (I mean “really” good stuff). The opportunity to try almost anything today is available to everyone. I just worked the ISS(when the shuttle was attached) for the first time a few weeks ago. Think of it – kids today can work a space ship! Great fun!
There are some really brilliant hams among us (some here on e-Ham); most of them are available on the internet and more than willing to give you their knowledge.
Vito, as long as you are alive, THESE ARE THE GOOD OLD DAYS!!!! Despite your cynicism, you are a making them that way by sharing your own stories.
Tom
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 17, 2005
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AK2B
TOMMY
You are the typical New Yorker, your mouth goes on and on and on.
You will never know when to shut up. How's that for cynicism?
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by AK2B on August 17, 2005
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"You are the typical New Yorker, your mouth goes on and on and on."
I was born and raised in California.
Tom
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 17, 2005
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AK2B
TOMMY
It's a fool who makes the same mistake twice.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by K1DA on August 19, 2005
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And a great fool who blows his own horn ad infinitum.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by K1DA on August 19, 2005
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And a great fool who blows his own horn ad infinitum.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by W6TH on August 19, 2005
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KD1A
You seem stressed out. An applied force or system of forces that tends to strain or deform a body.
Why not move from JAMESTOWN, RI and move to the Free State of New Hampshire. Some 20 moved a short while ago and they don't seem stressed out.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by K1DA on August 20, 2005
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TH answer the question Do you have a CIB or not.
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RE: One Vacuum Tube and No Elmers
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by K1DA on August 24, 2005
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TH when you hear a voice at night telling you that "20 have moved to NH" and such is there a Doppler shift on it or does it seem to originate from something in a geostationary orbit?
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