At the age of 12 I discovered the magic of radio. I had the bug for several years then lost interest. 35 years later I picked up the hobby thanks to my good friend Mark, KM6HB. My 1st radio was a Johnson Ranger and a Hammarlund HQ170 back in the mid 70's.
I have lived in Colorado, on and off, since 1984. My XYL Kim is supportive of the hobby. Kim suffered a stroke in 2004 and I now take care of her full time. This gives me a good opportunity to spend time with her as well as playing radio!
The Story: Well, it all started around the age of 11 with a set of walkie-talkies. I used to listen to a lot of chatter and it seemed interesting. When I was 12 I met a neighbor who had a CB station. I found that this was the chatter I heard before. I got the bug and had a station as a kid. My first "real" radio was a Johnson Ranger and a Hammerland HQ-170. It seemed to work VERY WELL back then!
In 2006, after retiring to care for Kim full time, I reconnected with my good friend Mark, KM6HB. We had not seen each other for almost 30 years! We had become good friends in Junior High School and both had radios. We both played drums together in a local youth band. Most of the drummers had CB radios in our cars and we all watched each others backs. It was fun back then, before cell phones, to be able to communicate all around the Long Beach, California area. I was involved with the local R.E.A.C.T. group. I even had friends at the local Fire Department who took emergancy calls from me on a regular basis. When the CB boom hit in the late 70's I sold all my gear because of all the abuse but always had a mobile rig laying around for those long road-trips.
Fast forward about 30 years..... Mark, KM6HB sent me a book to study. I did and passed the Technician test! A few months later I passed the General test! I was in tears all the way home because I had acheived my life-long dream! I still have tears today when the bill comes for all the gear I buy! *hi
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