Ham Radio

I got interested in Amateur (Ham) Radio about 1957 (I was 15 years old) and when our family moved to Rochester, MN in 1958,  I set up a "Ham radio station" in my bedroom.  I bought a Model S-85 Hallicrafters Communications receiver which could receive frequencies all the way from 538 kilocycles to 34 megacycles (now kilo and mega hertz respectively).  I also bought a Heathkit DX-20 transmitter kit which needed to be soldered and assembled.  It was capable of transmitting  50 watts of continuous wave energy (meaning Morse code only, no voice transmissions).   I felt so proud and surprised really, when the transmitter worked the first time I turned it on!

The next step was to learn Morse code and a bit of radio theory to earn a "Novice" license and get issued a  "call sign" by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). For the "Novice" license, I needed to be able communicate by Morse Code at least 5 words a minute (5 characters per word). I took the test locally and received my license and call sign by mail from the FCC. 

My "Novice" license issued September 25, 1958 is shown below. I was assigned call sign KN0RRR  (the 0 being a zero with an angular slash through it to differentiate it from an alphabetic "O" and "N" meaning "Novice" which would disappear when I had upgraded to a "General" license) .  Depending where one lived, the numeric component of the call sign changed from 0 to 9 in the US.  Outside the US there were different letter and number combinations.  As a Novice, I was limited to Morse Code only and 50 watts output power. 

 I made quite a few "contacts" with my Novice license. Mostly on the 40 meter  (7 MHz) and 80 meter (3 MHz)  but also on the 2 meter (144 MHz) radio bands. I needed to string long inverted V horizontal antennas in the back yard for the 40 and 80 meter bands and I built a short 2 meter antenna which I could orient from my bedroom window. Radio traffic was so crowded that once a radio contact was established, it was easy to lose the contact.  Therefore conversations were short and simple: name, location, weather, equipment.

In the photo below, cousin Rick is on the left and humble blogger on the right.   The bulletin board on the left is covered with "QSL" i.e. postcards, each with a ham radio operator's unique call sign printed on it. These were exchanged through the mail after a radio contact. The map on the right has a scattering of red-tipped pins stuck into town and cities in the US whose ham radio operators I  had contacted.  Clicking on the photo will blow it up enough to see the QSL cards and Map.

My first QSL cards were as shown in the photo below and I'm inserting it in this post 7.30.2017.  It's had quite a history.  I sent it to a Father Ploof (KN0SAL) February 25,1959 after hearing him on my radio receiver December 20, 1958.  He was the resident priest at the Assisi Heights "Mother house" for the Sisters of St. Francis in Rochester, MN which was on top of a hill.  Since I and my family also lived in Rochester and near the Mother house his signal was very strong.  Somehow my QSL card made its way from Father Ploof''s Rectory to Canada into a woman's home who sold it to my son John (pictured in this Post) via eBay in April 2010 and he and his wife Mary  gave it to me for my Birthday in April 2010!!

QSL Card mailed to KN0SAL in 1959 and back again in 2010!

Front of QSL Card

My S-85 receiver is shown on the desk at the left and the DX-20 transmitter is shown next it it on the right.

Cousin Rick on left and humble blogger at Ham radio station in bedroom

In summer of 1959 I learned more radio theory and improved my Morse Code skills so I could communicate at 13 words a minute. On the appointed day, I drove to St. Paul, MN to take a code proficiency and written test for my "General" class license.   With this I would be able to use code and voice contacts up to 1000 watt output if I wanted to do so. I passed the test and the FCC issued me a new license K0RRR without the "N" classification.   Below is a renewal license for 1974.  The licenses typically needed to be renewed every 5 years.  Renewal frequency is longer today.

The photo below shows 3-year old son John taking a listen on my headphones in 1967.

Humble Blogger and son John in 1967

I  never pursued ham radio much after the 1960's. I moved to St. Paul in 1962 to work at 3M and rented a room in a house for a year before I got married.  I couldn't erect my antennas at the house. Then when I married, had children, attended college and continued to work at 3M,  I was just too busy to pursue the hobby. Later on, I had lost interest.  I still keep an active license however. I worked too hard for K0RRR to give it up! 

I have a friend John, who has been faithful to ham radio for many years and maintains a home base and mobile capability.  Even with the proliferation of  cell phones and computers, ham radio is essential if those forms of communication go down in some disaster. It is then that the ham radio operator shines, keeping emergency communication open via mobile and generator powered transmitters and receivers.