Have you visited the Houston Amateur Radio Museum? What museum, you say?
Pasted at bottom is a lengthy QRZ bio posted by Roger W5EGS. I did his
"tour" last week. Very interesting and highly recommended — especially for
those more familiar than me with classic Collins, etc., equipment. Only 2
or 3 at most should go together; there's not room among all the stuff for a
big group.
There's a lagniappe if you're into flying (or scouting). And you'll have
lots to talk about if you've spent time in West Texas. (He's from
McCamey.) Or worked in the oilfield. (Roger grew up in a pumper's lease
house.)
Or remember Mad Cow Disease. (His son is an expert on such at TAMU.)
Roger and I worked together in Shell's engineering department for 10 years
starting in 1956 in Odessa, so much of our afternoon was filled with
"Whatever happened to ________?" questions. The late wife he mentions had
been
the Shell radio operator in Midland office. (He looked after Shell's 48.64
MHz radio network.)
He reminded me that the last time he had seen Jane & me was at the
unofficial B-VARC sidewalk sale in Stafford that got raided by the Sales Tax
Police. And I reminded him that my first DX contact (somebody in Michigan)
was
made from his ham shack in Midland.
My advice is NOT to mention B-VARC when contacting Roger. (It's OK to
drop my name.) In his only visit to a club meeting, some years ago, he found
the attendees UNFRIENDLY. He's very affable, but must have decided to wait
for club members to initiate conversations during the rag-chew before. Few
did; mostly he stood around alone. Later he told me that it would be his
first and last B-VARC meeting.
That was in an earlier era, and I remember Harold ND5F, a former club
president now SK, chiding the membership around then for that very thing —
spending too much time talking among themselves (albeit sometimes doing club
business) rather than welcoming visitors. I trust such behavior is all past
history, and really should attend a monthly meeting myself to meet some of
the new members.
And I'll try to bring Roger to the 2017 Hamfest. He's already got one of
everything but might want more. For example, he has 7 scopes. Did I
mention that he has the manuals for just about all apparatus? Also various
radio magazines for decades back.
PS: at Paragon Engineering Roger worked with Charlie KG5KV.
73 de Irv KK5QQ
++++++++++++++++++++
W5EGS USA
Roger D Hoestenbach, Sr, W5EGS
13914 Wickersham Lane
Houston, TX 77077-5322
USA
Email: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected])
I am an 85-yr. old retired Consultant and Electrical/Electronics/Petroleum
Engineer/Manager from Shell Oil Co. and Paragon Engineering Services.
Many years ago I attended Tarleton State Univ & West Point. I also recently
completed 8 years of online graduate courses, leading to a minor in Quantum
Physics, with which I consult a little {very little} in Plasma Generation
and Its Use in the Oil Industry. I was also an FAA Aviation Safety
Counselor-at-Large for over 30 years, presenting Safety Programs for the FAA
to
Pilots all over the U.S. I have flown/tested/ferried over 60 different types
of
airplanes in my years. In 1999 I was inducted into the Intl. Forest of
Friendship/Intl. Aviation Walk of Fame, in Atchison, KS. I have received 3
Lifetime Achievement Awards from various aviation organizations. I have the
first Phase 22 FAA Flight Proficiency (Wings) Award in the U.S. I am a
Life/Member of the QB, EAA, CAF, UFO, ARRL, and NESA. I have been in the Boy
Scouts of America for 73 years, am an Eagle Scout with 6 Silver Palms (111
Merit Badges). I was once recognized as one of the highest ranking Boy Scouts
in
the U.S. I also hold the Air Scout Ace and Explorer Silver Awards, among
others. I can usually be found on 20 mtr. SSB or 40 mtr. CW ragchewing. (My
arthritis and shaking have me slowed to less than 20 WPM; sorry - it's
sometimes worse than others, so I'll often go to a straight key or keyboard -
Please bear with me!!) I QSL 100% on received cards! I really enjoy
restoring Collins, Drake, Hallicrafters, EICO, & Heathkit equipment, and have
21
(that's right - 21 operating positions) of these fully restored complete
Vintage Stations on the air, plus 25 more in ready-to-go standby (Yes, I do
live alone; my wife died in 1997; she was a beauty; but, no sane woman would
put up with a 3000+ sq. ft. Hamshack/Museum, plus a new wife would have to
sleep either with the radios or in the bathtub!!) I also have a fairly
complete Antique Telegraph Museum (keys, keyers, paddles, sounders, relays,
books, unusual artifacts, etc). I also have an exhibit of well over 300
antique vacuum tubes, dating back to 1900, plus a unique Ultraviolet-Lighted
(Black Light) exhibit of power tubes utilizing "Uranium-Glass" seals that
glow bright lime-green - (For more info - Google, "Uranium-Glass"). This
exhibit uses several large antique power tubes simulating trees in a forest,
with many small glowing Uranium-Glass animals at their base on the "forest
floor" - (Yes, this concentration of Uranium-Glass does register on a Geiger
Counter, but within a tolerable low range {Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Rays}). I
have the DXCC, A-1 Operator, Commercial First Class Phone, QCWA, ROWH,
CCA, OTC, OOTC, CP-30, and many others. I have been associated with Ham Radio
since Apr 1941. I now have 55 years on the air as W5EGS, and 55 yrs. ARRL.
I'm here most of the time - You're welcome to drop in anytime and see all
this, including the documentation for all of it. [It represents the end of
the classic 50's & 60's tube-type (and high-voltage power supply Ham Radio
Gear [I've plugged myself into 800VDC more than once - it hurts!!!! ] the
early post-WW II SSB, AM, and CW days), plus tons of associated period
tube-type restored test equipment, plus the 100 yr. old telegraph and tube
collections]. {No charge; nothing for sale; no sales pitches. Please come and
just enjoy the history. It normally takes about 2 hrs. for the tour - I will
vary according to your schedule.} [Please call me first, just to be sure I'm
here (and still alive {@85? - Hi!!!}, at #281-496-6681] .
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