Author: Chuck Gerttula

I was reading through some of the amateur radio feeds I have on Facebook.  Yes, I have a FB account, mostly because of the grand kids but as time has passed I have subscribed to some of the amateur radio pages.

          As I read, something struck me about many of the posts.  These posts are asking for someone to tell them about various subjects.  Isn’t that what these pages are all about?  What bothered me was many of these requests were expecting someone to do the researching and experimenting for them.  I realize that some things can be beyond our capabilities and we hope others will provide insight for us.  Explaining the difference between two electronic designs is probably beyond most of us.  Finding out the requirements for an amateur license shouldn’t be beyond our abilities. Google “how to get a ham license” and you have it.

          One of the qualities many hams have is an avid curiosity.  The desire to find the “why” or “how” to a problem or piece of equipment.  Modern technology has tended to stunt the development of an avid curiosity.  Why put your mind to explain a question when the computer is so close and so easy?  Just “Google” it.  One of reason to “put your mind to it” is that exercising your mind is like exercising your muscles, use builds the mind like reps builds the muscle.  Satisfaction is another motivator, the feeling of accomplishment is incredible!

          Some things are going to be different for different cases.  For instance, one ham was asking which configuration works best for a G5RV antenna.  Should he install it horizontally or as an inverted V.  When you think about it, there are so many variables that may not work for your installation.  The W8 station with an inverted V that works very well for that station but following the installation at a W3 station’s horizontal configuration may be best for you.   Yes, it is a lot of work to try different configurations; but, experimenting has been a fundamental premise of amateur radio and is the only true way to find out which works best for you!

          Another post was from a disappointed ham who had taken the recommendations of numerous hams and purchased a specific  transceiver.  Now he is not happy with the layout of the controls!  Ergonomics, the science of efficient operation within a work environment, has been the reason why some people love their Toyota and others trade in the  Toyota for a Buick.  One works well and fits that driver while the other seems clumsy.  The ham who wanted to buy a new transceiver should try-out the possible choices.  A number of ham radio stores have models on display and often “on the air”.  Or at a ham fest, other local hams may have the unit you are interested in and would be glad for you to give it a test drive at their QTH.

          An example of this sort of thing in Icom came out with the IC-7300 and many reviews raved as to it’s qualities.  The unit has been a best seller for some time.  But, check out the used ads such as QRZ and you will find many IC-7300 radios for sale.  Obviously it was not the “perfect radio” for many hams.  Or as a friend of mine often says, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

          Develop a “ham curiosity” and do the work yourself.  Sure advice, be it online or over pie and coffee, is valuable and can be very time saving.  However, our society needs to work at developing self-sufficiency.  That’s why it is so valuable to practice programming your handheld.  It is entirely conceivable that your could be in a situation when no computer is available and you need to establish communication with a repeater you have never  used.

          In the 1970’s and 80’s EMP was something hams and others in electronics thought about and took preventative measures for.  You may ask what is EMP?  Electromagnetic Pulse is a sudden huge burst of electromagnetic energy.  Why would we be concerned?  It could wipe out most modern day electronics destroying the transistors and chips.  No computers, cellphones, and many modern day appliances such as toasters and refrigerators would be non functional.  Any thing using a transistor or microchip would cease to function.

          Is it something to worry about?  Many preppers think so and have electronic devices protected and stored in such things as metal garbage cans or Faraday cages.  The USSR built a modern fighter that had all tube electronics.  EMP has little or no effect on electron tubes.  Therefore, that plane would continue to be functional should an EMP from either nuclear or solar storm flux strike the earth.

          So there are many reasons for becoming self-sufficient.  Ask for help and advice but, first continue to seek your own answers and solutions.

73, Chuck W7CRG

By W7CRG

          Sometimes my mind has lots of ideas and other times it is fairly empty as I am sure my wife will attest.  As I searched for a topic this month I didn’t find one that really resonated with me. 

          I thought about my first QSO but since that  consisted of dots and dashes and was the product of an overly excited 16 year old I quickly discarded that idea.

          But the idea of beginning anew stuck with me.  My novice license expired without me upgrading and KN7ORZ fell by the wayside.  The interest never faded.  Work, family and life took the forefront.  Retirement found me and provided less conflict so when my wife told me about a class in Newport to get a ham license I decided to renew an old interest.  Took the class, passed the test and KF7WZV was born!

          I found an excuse to go to Salem and stopped at a dual purpose store which sold ham gear as part of the dual purpose.  I bought a Wouxun HT for 2 meters and 70 cm.  I was ready to get on the air again!  I carried it with me, listened and occasionally responded.  I showed up at the Lincoln County Amateur Radio Club and paid my dues.  I was accepted into the group and was eager to participate.  I met new friends and put voices on the airwaves to the faces at the meeting.

          VHF communication was great but I wanted more.  I knew how far my Novice CW signal traveled with 75 watts and decided I needed to get on HF.  I didn’t want to use CW as I was never very good at CW.  So, I started to study for my General and I started to search eBay for ham radio bargains.  The first “bargain” that fit my needs and my pocketbook was a TS-140 by Kenwood.  It arrived in the mail encased in a briefcase with foam padding inside and complete with a wire dipole antenna.  Perhaps someone’s radio for going on Field Day.

          Thus began my friendship with eBay “ham radio”.  I looked at all kinds of items offered for sale and learned the value of equipment.  I found items I had no knowledge of and researched them.  Most often I determined I had no use or interest in the item but I now knew what it was.

          The Kenwood TS-140 gave me many interesting contacts and I learned what “100 watts and a wire” could accomplish.  I also improved my technical skills when it suddenly developed a problem.  Joe Joncas, who has forgotten more than many hams will ever know about electronics, came to my rescue.  Joe insisted that “we” could troubleshoot and hopefully fix the problem.  I stood behind him in his crowded workshop/ham shack as he poured over the schematic of the TS-140 and he showed me what various sections did what. 

          I have some technical skills but I would never have been able to determine the problem was part of a large integrated circuit (IC).  The IC was functional for everything but this one small section.  “What do we do Joe?  Can we buy a new IC?”  Joe informed me that the likelihood of that was smaller than small.  But we could build a replacement for that section.  Wow, I wanted to see how Joe did that!

          Once again the term “we” was used.  Joe dug around through the vast supply of electronic components in his workshop and showed me that all the necessary parts to replace that section were on the desk.  Then I was told to sit down and start soldering the parts together on the small perforated board.  Once I had done that and Joe accepted my solder job, he showed me where to solder the leads thus replacing the bad section of the IC.

          We connected everything, hooked up an antenna and tested it!  Voila it worked!  So I learned a number of lessons.  I learned that a segment of an IC could be replaced.  I learned that my soldering skills weren’t as bad as I thought.  And I learned how an “Elmer” worked, taught and passed on skills to other hams.

          Did I think I could do that?  No, I didn’t until Joe helped me to do it.  I have tried to pass that kind of “Elmering” on.  It is a valuable experience to learn what we are capable of and that often flows over to other things in our lives.  I’m pretty sure I still could not identify which section of an IC was the problem.  But I grew one step closer to being technically proficient.

          Later at one of the meetings, Joe asked if anyone would like to try an Icom IC-746pro that had come to the club collection.  Since no one was using the radio, I thought I would give it a whirl.  I was satisfied with my Kenwood but this 746pro was so much more radio.  I soon was in love with it and constantly amazed at what it offered me.

          A couple of months later Joe asked me at a club meeting when I was going to return the Icom 746pro.  Did someone else need to use it?  No, and l, I realized that it was not mine to keep using for free.  I dug down and found the money to purchase it and the club treasury grew.  The capabilities of my ham shack grew far more than the club treasury.  That radio is still my primary radio.  I have come to depend on it so much, that when I started to experience some problems with it I found a backup at a very good price (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)  I could send the radio out for repairs and still have the familiar radio to operate with.

          What I’m trying to convey is that one does not need to obtain an expensive bunch of equipment.  Be aware of bargains and if the bargain appears at the same time as the means to purchase the bargain, go for it.  Try to avoid creating a situation where the significant other is asking “So just how many radios do you need?”  (This has been a failure on my part and a response of “Just one more” is not a recommended.)

          Moving to new and different factions of the hobby involve more than changing radios.  If you are going to operate on HF you need bigger antennas.  Now depending where you live this may be a big or a not so big problem.  Wire antennas tend to be the cheapest and easiest to put up.  I’ve talked to hams using everything from pieces of wire strung together to speaker wire or just some wire they found along the side of the road.  Hams have used drain pipes and gutters, slinkys and coax to create high frequency antennas.

          But having the space to string it up and not get complaints from the HOA, neighbors or the other resident in the household can be another matter completely.  It can also be difficult or downright dangerous getting the wire up high enough to suit you.

          Back when I was younger and far more agile than I am now I owned a climbing belt and spurs.  Was I an experienced and trained climber?  Do I really have to answer that question?  My parents had owned a logging company at one time.  I had watched climbers top and rig spar poles to bring the logs up to the landing and then load them onto log trucks.  Far better than watching a You Tube video wouldn’t you say?  (I know the internet wasn’t even a dream back then.)  Besides, I was a Lieutenant in the Toledo Fire Department and we had done rope training which I had also done in the Army.  What more did I need to learn?

          I was up early one Saturday, my wife was pregnant so I let her sleep in.  I donned my climbing gear and started up one of the 80 foot tall trees in my back yard.  Our yard slopes in the rear and the house has a daylight basement at the rear.  Imagine the surprise my wife got when she walked out into the living room and looked out the large window and saw her husband slightly above her in a large fir tree.  He was affixing a rope to the tree as he hung there in his climbing belt.

          A very loud, familiar and angry voice directed me to get out of that tree!  I started to comply and luckily I was out of her line of sight when the lack of experience thing got me.  Spurs are meant to allow you to support yourself as you climb, work or descend the tree.  They are strapped to your leg and foot.  You must be sure the spur is well into the tree or pole before you put all of your weight on it.  One should never hurry setting your spur.  I’ll claim the demanding voice over ruled the never hurry part of that advise.

          I put my left spur down lower but it was not solidly into the tree.  When I put weight on it my leg just slid down the tree.  My climbing belt held me to the tree and my right spur was still well anchored at the original height.  So there was Charlie, right leg bent as tightly as possible and held firmly against the tree by the climbing belt, and left leg connecting mostly to air.

          A possible headline flashed through my mind.  “Fire Department Officer trapped in tree and must be rescued by his own Department.”  Frantically I tried to anchor my left spur.  A lot of the tree’s bark had been ruined as the spur slid down the tree.  By moving slightly to the right and lifting with my right leg and my arms grasping the climbing belt I was able to get the left spur to set about 6 or 8 inches higher.  I rested, recouped my strength, and was able to gain another few inches allowing me to reset the belt’s rope and get into a more advantageous position.

          The familiar voice called out again.  “I’m almost down I’ll be up to the house in a couple of minutes.” I assured her.

          The belt and spurs hung in the garage for a long, long time.  There are some things better left to the professionals.  There are all kinds of devices to keep us out of trees.  Slingshots and air guns which trail fishing line that is then used to pull heavier line up into the tree are popular and much safer than spurs and climbing belts.

          “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” is not just a Ricky Nelson song from the sixties.

Chuck Gerttula  W7CRG

By W7CRG

          It was called a Big Ben alarm clock made by Westclox I believe.  As I remember it was about 4 inches in diameter and came in white or black.  Mine was black.  I’m not sure but I think it had a luminous dial so when I woke at 2:00 a.m. I could know it was not time to wake up.  I would like to be able to say it quit telling the time; but, in the 1950’s that was seldom the case.  Planned obsolescence was a concept of the 1980’s -90’s.  Things broke but it was not the common occurrence.

          I think I can blame it on curiosity. How did all those cogs and gears fit together and create a machine that circled the dial in one hour?  And it continued to do so for a day or two after which you wound it for the next period of time.

          I could have just removed the back and marveled at how that little machine worked.  I didn’t.  I disassembled it.  Why, you ask?  Why does a ten year old do most dumb things.  I assured my mother that I could put it back together again.  Alas, like Humpty Dumpty, I couldn’t put Westclox back together again and I didn’t get another alarm clock until my birthday. 

          Yeah, just what every kid wants for his birthday!  I think it was more that Mom was tired of having to wake me in time for school and to teach me a lesson, which happened more than once as I grew up.  At any rate I was one year older and the proud owner of  a new and functioning alarm clock.

          This was a portent to my life of building and working on things.  Most turned out better than the Westclox but there were drawers and cardboard boxes scattered through my parents house with “projects” that were not completed.  Some may have been for lack of parts.  Some for loss of interest or lack of time.  But some actually were finished and …. wait for it … worked!

          I may have mentioned my uncle Bob was an electrical engineer for Boeing and got me interested in electronics and radio.  I got a crystal radio kit for Christmas from uncle Bob and aunt Maxine, I’m relatively sure aunt Maxine had little to do with choosing the gift.  Christmas day I found the time to follow the directions and assemble the kit.

          That led to my first real lesson with electronics!  Was it the concept of radio waves coming through the atmosphere and the thrill of hearing a station on a radio I had built?  No, it was not.  It was the shocking reality that the antenna picks up a current and when you hook the bare ground wire to a water pipe you might feel the wonder of electricity!  Shocking!  I was much more careful connecting wires in the future and have succeeded in have relatively few similar experiences.  Keeping one hand in your pocket insures that you don’t form a circuit and experience the shocking affects of electricity.

          Being partially colorblind has been a hindrance in my electronics development.  I would often times have to bother my wife asking if the band on the resister was red, green or brown.  She was generally cooperative and willing to help the handicapped until the “Transformer Incident”.

          We were always on a budget as a young family and therefore most of the parts for my electronic builds were salvaged out of defunct radios, TVs or electrical devices.  Color coding was used for parts and certain wiring.  Transformers had a multitude of wires blossoming out of holes and you were supposed to be able to determine what they did by the color of the insulation.  So the primary power leads were black.  Good I can tell black unless the lead has become discolored due to heat, dirt and dust.  High voltage is red and the center tap is red and yellow (I know, for many of us this is getting rather technical, but bear with me).  The filament winding, these are lower voltage and are what “heats” the vacuum tube, the colors are green, brown, slate and usually really discolored from heat and dust.

          As I said before most all of my parts were salvage.  I was in my workshop trying to figure out which wire was what, when my loving wife brought me a cup of coffee.  She set the coffee on the bench (lucky for me) and asked, “What are you doing?”

          “You can help me, I’m trying to identify two green and two brown wires.”

           She picked up two wires and said, “These two are the closest to green that I can tell.”

          Now here is where the infamous “Transformer Incident” went awry.  I asked without thinking, “Oh, do you feel anything?”  It only took her a millisecond to realize that she could have been shocked!

          In defense of my actions I was thinking which wire was which, it was very low voltage as I was working with a Variac, she was holding the insulation and I had a very stupid sense of humor!  I was also lucky she was no longer holding a cup of hot coffee.  Needless to say, color identification help was not as forthcoming in the future and it was quite awhile before I got a nice cup of coffee in my workshop.

          This meandering diatribe has wandered from windup alarm clocks to electronic projects and gone a little far afield.  I apologize to the reader but the point to be gleaned from it all is the satisfaction one can get from putting something together and having it work!  It might be setting up your radio station or installing a mobile rig in your car. It could be building a simple kit on Wilson’s Wednesdays Workshop or constructing an antenna.  The satisfaction of making that purchase from the swap meet work or learning to use a new mode such as digital.  These are a few of the things that can bring a grin to an operator’s face.

          One of the best things I’ve received from my dalliance in amateur radio is the satisfaction of achievement.  That was why I pushed to upgrade my license.  That is the feeling I got when I built a buddipole from the inventor’s instructions.  That is the hit I got when the broken VTVM (Vacuum Tube Volt Meter) worked.  Did I really need it?  No, but it is nice to have and makes me feel special when I use it.  A sense of achievement can give a real boost to an otherwise bad day.

          Am I an avid DX’er?  No.  But you should have seen the grin on my face when I made my first contact with a station in Finland!  My father was the product of a Finnish family so it was the same feeling as my first contact from Germany as my maternal Grandmother sailed around the Horn to become an indentured servant in the Hawaiian sugar fields.  Ham radio was relating to my heritage.

          Are you stuck on a problem with your radio?  Ask at a club meeting or call in on the Noontime Net. Go to the 2:00 Wednesday Pie and Coffee or call one of the members.  I can’t tell you how many times Joe Joncas NJ7OK has helped me with a problem.  He always does it in such a way that I’m the one fixing the radio and learning new skills and information.  We have a vast array of experience, ability and talent in the Lincoln County Amateur Radio Club, don’t be afraid to tap into it!

          Hope to hear you on the air!

          Chuck Gerttula  W7CRG

Get On the Air!

I remember my first bicycle. It was blue. It was small enough that my feet could touch the ground. It was new and beautiful! My brother and I had a very special Christmas that year ! His was normal sized and red while mine was smaller, blue and had training wheels. TRAINING WHEELS??? I assured my dad that I didn’t need TRAINING WHEELS! Then I got on the bike and proved myself wrong. But within a day (or two) I pretty well mastered the art of bicycling. That is if the art of bicycling was riding in circles on the smooth street in front of our house.

In the 1950s most of the side streets in Taft were gravel. Some were well compacted and relatively smooth; others not so much. A decent road for the big tires of a 1949 Ford; a real challenge for bicycle wheels. If the road was a sloping one, stopping before reaching the bottom was usually due more to a crash than successful braking. On one trip down that steep road behind our house the lever fastened to the bike frame that allowed the brake to work when the rider pressed the pedals in reverse came loose. I tried to slow the bike and all that happened was I was repeatedly lifted up in the air as the lever allowed the wheel to rotate the pedals in reverse! My only choice, more fate than choice, was a crash into the ditch which bent my front wheel as well as a few of my body parts.

How does this relate to getting on the air with your brand new shiny radio? Well, new experiences can be daunting and sometimes you need training wheels, sometimes you need to have a harrowing episode to teach you the things you need to know to successfully practice your new hobby. In my case training wheels allowed me to learn the balance necessary to ride a bike. The crashes were painful lessons to teach maintaining a bike meant to periodically tightening screws and bolts. We all had to learn to walk before we could run. Some did so easily and somewhat naturally … others took a more circuitous and painful route.

I’m hoping to inspire new hams to turn on their radio (after connecting it to power and an antenna), pick up the mike, listen for an opening and press the PTT. Oh, yeah, and to speak … “This is K7XYZ checking into the Noon Time Net” A great way to start is on 145.370 Mhz. When net control welcomes you onto the net you are hamming! Don’t be afraid to let everyone listening know that it is your first time. If you need help with a particular problem with your radio or radio station … ask.

Most new hams start with a small VHF hand held transceiver. Programming these little wonders is often a daunting and confusing task. There are numerous videos on the internet some are helpful and some are just more confusing. But what is confusing to one may be enlightening to another. Check the programs until one seems to be right for you. Ask for help. If you can’t get on the air to ask, come to the meeting either in person or by zoom. Chances are someone can help you out of the confusion and onto the airwaves!

The Technician class license is meant to be the introduction and pathway to amateur radio. Many think it is a great way to get into the hobby and a quick way to operate on the air with relatively inexpensive radios. It is. But it provides opportunities that many overlook. I offer the following to consider diving deeper into your new hobby.

As an interesting experiment, I put 28.300 MHz on my transceiver and began to slowly turn the dial until I reached 29.700 MHz. Why slowly? Because my radio covers more of the spectrum the faster you spin the dial and I wanted to simulate a normal search for a station. Also, if you tune too fast you can pass over signals without knowing they are there. In this instance “slow and steady wins the race.”

This is the 10 meter band and a part of it is available to Technician class for HF phone operation. From 28.300 Mhz to 28.500 Mhz is the portion of the band open for Technician operation Many Technicians don’t take advantage of the privilege and equate HF High Frequency phone with the General and higher license. Not only is the band a decent slice of the spectrum; when conditions are right one can communicate all over the world! And right now conditions are right and getting better as part of the sun spot cycle improves the band.

Tune, listen, make sure you are on frequency and respond with your call sign after the station finishes calling CQ. Tune along the band to find a station that is coming in strong and clear. Why? Chances are good that if the station is strong coming to your receiver your return signal will do its best getting to them. Listen how the station operates. Some call CQ for a long period of time; some for a very short period of time. It would seem that some want to broadcast a CQ more than answer a CQ because they pause for such a brief time before calling CQ again.

If the station doesn’t answer, keep trying. Sometimes the conditions at a station are very heavy with static or noise. Keep trying and if you are lucky your call will hit a clear spot and the station will hear you and return your call. If you don’t connect within a reasonable time move on and keep trying. Patience is an important quality for a ham!

Many times it is band conditions. Sometimes it is something with your station. Your fingers have touched or moved a control (how could that have happened with my banana fingers?). I have found that the mike gain on my transceiver got turned down; the RF power was way low; or that I was a little off frequency. These things can all drastically affect your signal and success in making a contact. Patience and perseverance often times win out. Keep trying and the thrill of making that contact will be a real reward!

What do I talk about? That depends on you. What sort of conversation do you have over a cup of coffee or tea? Possibly the comment about Starbucks or your preference for Earl Gray tea would not be appropriate in this case; but the idea is not without value. You can ask about the weather, or what it is like where they are. Do they have other interests besides ham radio? Whatever you do when you are trying to get to know a new acquaintance is good advice. Maybe creating a “script” of questions to ask would up your comfort level.

Try to stay away from religion and politics and don’t get too personal is good advice. I was listening to a female operator and this male asked if she was married. I was so astounded, I wanted to contact him and tell him this is amateur radio not a dating service! The young woman handled it very well by answering him with the question if hams asked HIM if he was married and what did her martial status have to do with ham radio. Ask about their station; their experience in radio; their contact that was the most interesting or the most distant.

The important thing is to pick up your microphone and depress the Push To Talk. Get on the air! There are no “contact police” until the operator begins to use foul language or disrupts other amateurs contacts in a purposeful and damaging manner. If the contact is a “Rag Chew” the topics are pretty much open to whatever the parties want to discuss that is not considered inappropriate.

Climb on that “bicycle” and start riding. The reward will be worth the possible bumps in the road and hopefully any “crashes” will be minor!

73, Chuck Gerttula W7CRG 

I’ve always been a fan of music.  When I was a kid, long long ago, music was listened to on the radio, on a phonograph, or live.  I think it was 1959 or so that I got my first transistor radio.  It was about the size of a pack of cigarettes but much heavier.  Mine had a brown leather case and could pick up AM radio stations and it also had a band for shortwave stations which was mostly useless except at night.  But I could take it almost anywhere and listen to a myriad of songs, programs or shortwave broadcasts.

          On AM I would tune to KBCH “The voice of the Twenty Miracle Miles” (my friends and I spent some time trying to figure out what was just one miracle mile, let alone twenty).  As I listened, if I was lucky, they would actually play a song or two that was popular with teens.  Why did I listen to all the schmaltzy Perry Como and Doris Day songs mixed in with commercials for Jones Colonial Bakery, Kenny’s IGA or the Rexall Drugstore?  Because it was the only station I could receive!  OK, if I pulled the antenna out to the full 14 inches and held the radio just right, I could get Newport’s KNPT which wasn’t any better program-wise.

          At home my radio picked up stations in Portland that played music a teenager wanted to hear.  Stations like KISN and KGON and even KEX knew teenagers liked a certain kind of music and played songs by artists such as Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, The Teddy Bears, Etta James,  The Del Vikings or Connie Stevens to name a few.

          The home radio was a Halicrafters S-38C with four bands to choose from.  White paint along side of the dial marked where my brother liked to listen.  We would listen to the fishing boats, tugboats and Coast Guard on the shortwave bands.  When Dad went back to sea we would listen for his tug as it went by Taft.  “WC3839 the tug Daring calling the charter boat “Jimco”  are you on Freddy?  I’m just off of Cape Foul Weather and if you come along side I’ve got an item for my wife.”

          I remember Freddy Robison retelling that story and how the passengers on his “Jimco” were thrilled to come along side  a 130 foot tug with spray soaking everyone as the 50 foot “Jimco” got close enough to pass the items from tug to charter boat.  Then the two skippers raced to the respective helms and the 3,000 horse power tug raced the swifter charter boat for a few drenching minutes of fun!

          So I drifted into shortwave listening and found a fascinating array of stations from the BBC to Asian broadcasts.  But the ones that really grabbed me were the 75 meter rag chewing hams.  Their broadcasts came booming in with powerful AM signals as they yakked back and forth drinking copious cups of coffee (so they said) and discussing everything from the best radio to some thing new to their ham shack or the fact that they really needed to mow the lawn but the radio was more fun.

          To me, they were just having a great conversation with friends just like people I saw at the local cafe … but across the table of ham’s coffee cups was miles and miles of air.  Of course, they couldn’t see their round table friends but that didn’t bother anyone.

          I guess we were brought up in a more aural society than the children of today.  As those hams talked I could “see” the radio gear with glowing dials and tubes and a big chrome microphone on the desk.  It was amateur radio and it sounded good, but if wasn’t the polished sound of commercial radio stations it was amateur radio.  I could “see” the ham with his cup of coffee in front of the microphone just like when I listened to “The Whistler” I could “see”  a shadowy figure in the fog and gloom tracking the bad guy.

          One on the hams who was a regular on the net had a stutter and I was amazed that he was treated no differently by the group.  That was not how my friend Larry was treated by his teenage peers.  So subconsciously hams grew in my mind as accepting and cordial people.  I’ve since learned that although we hobbyists are generally understanding and empathetic people, we are a slice of society and have the good, the bad and the ugly within the ranks of our hobby.  Although to be honest, it is seldom that I have heard a ham criticize another ham’s operating skills.  More often I have heard them try to help a ham improve their skills.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from Chuck Gerttula W7CRG

          This is hopefully the last effort for this month’s Blog.  I’ve started and tossed numerous efforts and thought I had a finished product when I fact checked something and the result caused me to toss the “finished product”.

          The coming of Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of the year.  Growing up in Taft (now part of Lincoln City) I remember greetings and Christmas scenes painted  on store windows.  Bernie’s Sports and Fishing Tackle store had a big speaker hanging outside his door playing Christmas carols.  Even today when I hear “Silver Bells” I think of Bernie’s.  Even with LP records having ten to twelve songs on them it was a constant chore for Bernie or his wife to change records.

          Another more current reminder that “Tis the Season” is the appearance on TV of Ralphie in “A Christmas Story” hoping to find a Red Ryder lever action BB rifle under the tree.  His story, along with all the family drama of a post WWII mid west snowy quirky holiday is so entertaining.  The story is a favorite of many and most certainly one of mine.  It was written by a fellow amateur radio operator Jean Shepherd who coincidentally was also a radio personality on station WOR doing a nightly show without phone calls and guests, just the host’s monologue.

          There are remastered recordings of his show on the internet if you google him.  The show I enjoyed was describing getting his amateur license in 1935 at the Chicago FCC office when he was 14 years old.  It starts with two minutes of music which made me wonder if I had the right tape but that was  the style back in the 1950’s and ’60’s.  If you think it is difficult to obtain an amateur license in 2023 you will be amazed what it took to get one in 1935!

          In many ways I look at our hobby in the same way I viewed my family.  We, as a hobby, tend to stick together.  We have our differences and some have talents others don’t but for the most part we like and appreciate each other much like many families.  There are those of us who jump in to help when one needs assistance.  There are those of us who provide comfort and understanding when a member experiences disappointments such as failing the test to upgrade their license, or a tragedy within their life.  There are those who anger us as my brother did me so many times, but we persevere and most often forgive and forget.

           Within any community there are the generous and the not so generous.  Hams often are generous with their time, experience , expertise, equipment, help, information and many other things.  I know hams who consistently give equipment away and expect nothing in return but the satisfaction of a ham on the air.  I also know hams who are happy to get equipment to those in need but view the action more like a businessman.  But the thing many hams are generous with is their time; time to work with emergency operations, time to help get an antenna up and connected, time to teach a class, time to teach an operator to use a specific piece of equipment.

          Time is something we cannot get more of.  Time is one of the most valuable resources.  It is one of our most often donated and valued things.  If and when you have the time to help our hobby ….  here’s to you!  Thank you! 

We don’t always acknowledge our appreciation but it’s there.

Chuck Gerttula  W7CRG

Just sitting here and monitoring the 20 meter band and a thought
came to me about Go Bags. I have put together a few of these and I’ve
never been satisfied with the final result.

As I see it there are three basic types of “Go Bags”. A very small one
you can carry with you all the time, grab it going out the door or keep
it in the car. Next would be a larger one, perhaps a backpack or some
kind of briefcase/pilot’s map case. Finally the big one that you are
moving a major amount of ham radio gear out the door with you.
For my “big one” I used a carpenter’s tool box about the size of a
medium suitcase on wheels. I have this baby loaded with a power
supply, batteries, HF radio, VHF radio, computer, antennas, antenna
tuning unit, parts and tools to put the parts into whatever is broken (I
know that was the king of run-on sentences!). The only thing missing
is a donkey to pull the thing to the set up position. Once I replaced the
lead-acid batteries with LiFePo batteries I found I could substitute a
St. Bernard for the donkey as the new batteries totaled only 5 to 6
pounds for two 12 v 10Ah batteries.

The backpack version has been used more often. Not surprising as I
could actually get it out of the house. The backpack was the result of
winning the raffle at the ham club meeting years ago. It is light
durable and has more zippers that a pair of parachute pants. I counted
once and I think I came up with ten pockets or compartments
including one on the shoulder straps. It is the product of Dell so I can
only imagine some computer guy of long-ago hauling everything from
his huge laptop to the modem and boxes of floppy disks, CDs and all
kinds of jumper cables.

I have loaded this with enough to last me a day or so and still be able
to carry it out the door. I soon found that my memory as to what I had
and which of the ten compartments contained the item was a real
problem. I had to embarrass myself as I searched for the multi-tool
pliers as I pulled item after item out of the bag (thank God there was
no dirty laundry in there) looking for that elusive item. There on the
grass before me lay: an ACS shirt; a bright yellow vest; water; MRE;

First- Aid kit; ACS ID; pens and pencils; multiple coax adapters; a
VHF ground-plane antenna, VHF/UHF HT, ziploc bag of batteries;
flashlight; shortwave/broadcast band receiver; notebook; matches;
candles; heat source tabs (not C-4 as in the Army days); handi wipes;
poncho; para cord; Swiss Army knife; carabiner; whistle and finally
that multi-tool!

To prevent a recurrence of such an event I taped lists to each
compartment. It helps but sometimes numerous items need to come
out so the desired item can be accessed. I also learned that due to the
load of items, buttons could be depressed which were not meant to be
depressed thereby turning on items like radios and flashlights. This
can cause two major problems. The first is that radio or flashlight is
not working when you need it. The second is that when the batteries
are depleted they begin to corrode themselves and everything around
them. So, even if you have replacement batteries the radio will not
function until and unless you can clean the battery compartment. It is
a pain but I have learned to remove the batteries and install them when
I need to use the radio or flashlight.

Another hint, the list states flashlight. I have found those great little
lights you strap to your head are a great improvement. Nothing like
having both hands free to do whatever the emergency dictates and the
light is pointed where ever you are looking!

Perhaps we should have a “Bring your Go-Bag to the meeting” night.
We could share all kinds of good ideas as to what to do and what to
NOT do. It might inspire those “bagless” hams to put one together or
provide ideas as how to improve their bag for those with a “Go-Bag”.
The “Go-Bag” is useful for things other than an earthquake or tidal
wave (I would have used Tsunami but I couldn’t spell it). Activities
like POTA (Parks On The Air), SOTA (Summits On The Air), support
of special events such as the Barrel to Keg or Gravel Classic might
find having that “bag” with you very handy.

73 Chuck W7CRG