Hamming it up

Many of you "tuning in" have probably heard of amateur (ham) radio.  Perhaps you associate it with relaying messages during natural disasters or with scouting.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will introduce you to the hobby. I'll tell you about my history and practice in amateur radio. Maybe we'll informally call it: Tubes Tuesday (or these days, more likely, our blog will be tubeless!). This will be part of the Coach Jeff structure I mentioned in yesterday's post.

Back to me and my history: I didn't get into the hobby through either of those avenues. My dad was a radio operator in the U.S. Army in the late 1950s. He learned morse code and sent messages using a traditional telegraph key. 

Fast-forward 17 years to the mid-1970s. He taught me how to copy and send morse code. I studied and passed my exam and was licensed in 1975.

I operated for a few years and, then, as I got older, I fell out of the hobby as life got more complicated. But, recently (during the COVID shutdown), I got back into the hobby.

But don't take it from Coach Jeff. Here's what K4KYN says in his/my official bio on the QRZ.com website:

Bio Text:
My story is an interesting one, I think. Or at least a little unusual. 

I was licensed as a ham radio operator (novice) at age 12 in the 1970s under the tutelage of my dad, who was our family's original K4KYN.

I operated a station at my parents' house with my original call sign WA4ZJW through my high school years. I only wish someone had taken a picture of me operating the rig as a teenager!

Anyway, I grew up, went off to college, got married, got a job, had kids and, as life progressed, I drifted further and further away from the world of ham radio. But, I always renewed my license when the time was right.

Over the years, my childhood best friend, also a licensed operator, encouraged me to get back involved in radio. Finally, in late 2020. I learned about local Volunteer Examination sites and signed up for a session. I studied and passed the Technician exam one month, General the next and, finally, my Amateur Extra in January of 2021.

About the same time, I noticed that my father had let his license expire. When his old callsign was about to be available, I applied for a vanity license and it was granted. I was thrilled to carry on the legacy and tradition of K4KYN while making new contacts and exploring the modern world of amateur radio.

In some ways, as I've told my friend, I am the personification of Rip van Winkle. While I was away from the world of ham radio for more than 30 years, there have been so many advances. We didn't have a computer in the original ham shack - just a very large, tube-powered Heathkit transmitter (an Apache TX-1) and an accompanying Hammerlund HQ 170A receiver.

I still have the Hammerlund. It sits off to the side of my tiny, sleek, modern ICOM IC 7300 in the new ham shack.

My 27-foot multi-band, ground-mounted vertical helps connect me to the world. Since I've been back on the air, I've been enjoying quick DX contacts and longer domestic ragchews.

Most importantly, I'm having fun. Will always QSL via mail if you reach out and by LoTW otherwise.

73 Jeff K4KYN

jg