95 A HAM I AM

Yep, an unusual Thursday Post! Don't forget to read Wednesday's post first if  you haven't read it yet!

Going back through the list of QSL cards I have, brings back a lot of memories. Talking to people all over the world, from morning till the wife screamed to come to bed.

The day I got my call sign in the mail from the FCC, I ran down and fired up my old tube type radio, being careful to let the tubes warm up before trying to transmit. I scanned the band (10 Meters) and when I didn't hear anyone, my heart dropped a bit, but then I sent out my own message "CQ, CQ, CQ this is KA1TBE calling CQ and listening" (CQ = SEEK YOU).

The person that came back to me was CO7KR. I was so excited, I had no clue at that moment where CO (first letters denote what country the HAM is from). I called back to him, and he said his name was John, and he lived in Cuba. Cuba. It then struck me, I wasn't talking to someone across town, I was talking to Cuba! I introduced myself and told John that I was from Bristol, CT USA, and that he was my very first contact. He was very excited to hear that, and we talked for quite some time.

 

At right is his QSL card. The information (if you click on it to 'embiggen it") is as follows:

Confirming QSO (Contact) with KA1TBE on 1/20/89 at 21:15 UTC time on the frequency of 28MHz (10 meters), my signal was 5/9 which is like the person is in the same room, and SSB means single side band. Of course, he also asks "PSE QSL" meaning please send him back a QSL.

The back of the card, shown at left says "Dear Dave, Very happy to be your 1st QSO! Congratulations, John, CO7KR.

The stamp at right is the Cuba DX Group, a club he belongs to. DX means talking outside your own country. He also sent me a card from his club, and 3 post cards from Cuba. I too, sent him  a card, and quite a few cards from my hometown, and a very big thank you!

At that time, we used to have to look up where the call was from by looking it up on a large chart that we got from the ARRL (American Radio Relay League), the head place for HAM radio in the US which just happens to be located here in Connecticut, about 5 miles from me.

Now, in the first 5 years of being a HAM, here's a list of the countries I contacted. If you don't recognize a place, google it and find where it is. (back then, there was no google)

Cuba, Estonia, Ukraine, Italy, Japan, Moscow USSR, Elba Island, Hungary, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Peru, Malta, The Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Costa Rica, France, Aland Islands, Liechtenstein, Columbia, Morocco, Antigua, Kure Island, England,Canada, Ivory Coast, Geneva Switzerland, Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, and the Canary Islands.

Mixed in there are some very special event stations, some school Ham Radio Clubs and other special contacts.

Well, I've bored you enough with HAM Radio.. so on to something else after this!