Just Chevy vs Ford..... Sent from my i-Thingamajig
> On Dec 31, 2021, at 10:12 AM, Gary Sitton via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote: > > OK, I'm stupid but why Harvey Wells? I actually have an > old H.W. Z-Match Balanced Tuner which I restored and plan > to use on a big loop whenever I get one up on my small lot. > I did get an O.O. notice in the '50s of severe chirp on 20 > mtrs using a surplus ARC-5 transmitter. I just ditched the > rig and got a Heath Kit VFO which was much more stable. > Later while in CA as WB6NDY in the early '70s a nearly > Ham complained of my key click on 20 mtr CW. I fixed the > cathode keying circuit with a resistor and capacitor in my > restored old 90 watt transmitter and all was well. > > 73, Gary K5AMH > >> On 12/29/2021 10:09 AM, k5hm.ron--- via BVARC wrote: >> The Great Harvey Wells Caper >> Part 1 – The Pink Ticket >> >> It was April in New York City. I was on my way home from the regular weekly >> breakfast with the Queens County Bagel, Bowling and Spark Club. >> >> These were the halcyon days of kid-dom on the cusp of adulthood. I had my >> General Class ticket now for about two years. Got my acceptance letter from >> college and it was six months before anybody would hear of Sputnik. Life >> was good. >> >> As I walked home from the bus stop, I was thinking about getting on the air >> today and rolling up a few new states for my WAS. I needed South Dakota and >> my old buddy Ralph from the QCBB&SC said there were only three active hams >> in the whole state. I could see that South Dakota was going to be a real >> challenge. >> >> I climbed the front steps two at a time, walked through the front door and >> headed directly for my basement ham shack. I am halfway down the hall when >> I hear my old man say, “Where are you going?” >> >> Any kid who has reached the age of five, immediately recognizes the peril in >> that question. It’s not a question really, it more a combination of Red >> Alert, General Quarters and Take Cover simultaneously. >> >> I turned around to see the old man advancing toward me. He was upset. I >> tried to think of anything I did or failed to do in the last twenty-four >> hours. I aced my Physics quiz, took out the trash last night, and didn’t >> leave any wet towels in the bathroom, check, check, check. >> >> He was about two feet away when he stopped, thrust a letter in front of me >> and said, “What’s this?” His hand was shaking so much, I couldn’t read the >> envelope at first, but it looked very important. Eventually, the >> oscillation decayed enough for me to see better. It was one of those >> business window envelopes with no stamp. The top right-hand corner of the >> envelope contained the words, U.S. Government Official Business! >> >> The old man was really wound up; like a pressure cooker ready to explode. >> He’d lived his life avoiding entanglements with authority. He was 4-F for >> the draft in WWII, voted at least once in every election and was an >> associate member of the Police Benevolent Association. Any unexpected >> things that had to do with “Official Business” made him very nervous. >> >> Desperately, I tried to think of something that would get him in such a >> lather. I had gotten my draft card six weeks ago. Maybe this was the >> dreaded, “Greetings from Uncle Sam” letter. Then I noticed the return >> address, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC. >> >> I stopped breathing. The FCC! This was worse than getting >> drafted. Looking through the window of the envelope I could see the paper >> inside. A pink ticket! >> >> The envelope was torn open. At the top of the page, I could see the words, >> Notice of Violation! He’d already read it and assumed the worst; a life >> sentence for me at Leavenworth. I was doomed! >> >> Flight was the only response I had. I grabbed the letter and ran for the >> basement. I read and re-read the notice several times. Cold sweat was >> dripping off me. >> >> The letter said that my signal had been observed operating at a frequency >> out of the band at such and such time and date. It demanded I explain what >> happened. That I take immediate steps to prevent this from happening in the >> future and that I report those steps to the FCC within 30 days. No wonder >> the old man was upset. Single handedly, I had brought the wrath of the >> entire federal government down on our home. >> >> I pulled out my log and started flipping pages; hoping this was a mistake. >> Some other guy with a similar call sign, maybe. The time in the letter was >> around 2 AM. Was the FCC really awake that late? >> >> I ran my thumb down the logbook pages slowly, hoping against hope. Yikes! >> There it was. At the alleged hour, I had been on the air. What could I do? >> “The old man was right, you’re going to Leavenworth “, said the voice in my >> head. >> >> That night I’d logged several calls to DX stations who were calling CQ on >> the other side of the 20-meter band edge. The last entry in the log that >> night was a guy in VK-land that I had finally managed to work. I was so >> excited I almost woke the old man out of a sound sleep to tell him. I must >> have strayed too close to the band edge! >> >> Maybe I’ll just throw myself on the mercy of the court. “Your honor, I’m >> just a kid. I didn’t know I was committing a crime.” “I fell in with a bad >> crowd; they dared me to do it!” >> >> In a panic, I called my old buddy Ralph on the land line. Ralph was a >> charter member of the QCBB&SC. He knew everything about ham radio. He had >> been a ham so long that he said Marconi was his Elmer. >> >> After an eternity of rings, he answered. Without giving him a chance to say >> hello, I unloaded on Ralph in one single breath. When I finally finished, >> Ralph calmed me down and assured me that I was not going to Leavenworth. >> “Yeah kid (everyone was a kid to Ralph), I got my first pink ticket in ’36”, >> he said softly, as if someone were listening. >> >> What a relief! My old buddy Ralph, the greatest Elmer of all time had gotten >> at least a couple pink tickets and he was still walking around a free man. >> There was a ray of hope for me! >> >> I could swear he was grinning on the other side of the phone. The voice in >> my head said, “Yeah, they’ll probably confiscate all your radio gear >> instead.” >> >> It was only two years earlier that I went to the FCC offices in Manhattan to >> take my General exam under the watchful eye of Lurch, the examiner. I still >> remember the big bullpen where the FCC guys worked. They were all dressed >> alike too; white shirts rolled up to the elbow, black ties and black pants. >> It was the official FCC uniform. I didn’t know what would be worse; just >> quietly going off to Leavenworth or having a squad of FCC men in black show >> up at my house in front of all the neighbors! >> >> “Listen kid”, he began; his voice had a way of piercing through the QRM in >> my head. “You just need an accurate marker for the band edge. A crystal >> calibrator. You can pick one up at Harrison Radio for about ten bucks.” I >> could hear Ralph take a deep breath. He’d been a chain smoker for twenty >> years, so his inhale had a signature wheeze, just like a good CW operator’s >> fist. >> >> Then he continued, “The dial markings on your VFO ain’t worth the plastic >> they’re printed on kid. So, when you are chasing DX, don’t get any closer >> than three kc to the band edge marker, no matter what.” >> >> “Hey Ralph”, I said “What about the letter I have to write? What >> should I say?” Ralph started in again, “Listen kid, just tell them the >> truth, you’ll be fine. See you later kid.” And then there was a click. >> >> I sat for a long time; thinking. The U.S. phone band ended at 14200 KC. >> Most of the good DX was always just below that. We worked split back then, >> running full carrier double sideband AM, pushing as close to the band edge >> as we dared, calling for that rare station we needed. >> >> I wasn’t willing to give up a whole three kc of band, if I didn’t need to do >> it. Maybe I could just turn down the mike gain. Just listening to twenty >> meters some nights it was easy to see how everybody pushed the limit. >> Still, I was willing to do or say anything get back in the old man’s good >> graces and the FCC off my back! Finally, the beginnings of a diabolical >> plan began to form in my head. If I played my cards right, I would solve >> my FCC problem and then some. >> >> >> To be continued >> >> Reporting from the Dark Side, >> Ron Litt, K5HM >> >> >> >> 73, >> Ron, K5HM >> [email protected] >> www.qrz.com/db/k5hm >> <image001.jpg><image002.jpg><image003.jpg> >> Excelsior! >> >> >> >> ________________________________________________ >> Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club >> >> BVARC mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org >> Publicly available archives are available here: >> https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > > ________________________________________________ > Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club > > BVARC mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org > Publicly available archives are available here: > https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
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