Retired American Airlines captain, retired ANG (I was only a major, I had some enlisted time in the late 70¡¯s). ?Worked as a physicist/project engineer at Hughes Aircraft Co in the Space and Comm division. ?Now I tinker with boat anchors and some hybrids. ?Airplanes, boats and yes, I have both the tube powered and the inline 6 powered TR-6¡¯s! ?
My Elmer, an SK long ago, sold me his SP-600 receiver to pay for his new 1970¡¯s Yeasu. ?I got it at a steep discount, but I had to promise to keep it running. ?I still have it, it still runs, had to get rid of all the Sprague capacitors, etc! ?Hence my fascination with all things that glow in the dark.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Jan 11, 2024, at 5:34 PM, Steve Wedge, W1ES/4 via < w1es@...> wrote:
David, are you Acadian?
Steve Wedge, W1ES/4
Time flies like an arrow.? Fruit flies like a banana.
Sent with secure email.
On Thursday, January 11th, 2024 at 4:58 PM, Bob Coffman via < 2drestoration@...> wrote:
David, Fascinating personal history! ?I flew F-4¡¯s and F-15¡¯s in the Louisiana Air National Guard (NAS New Orleans) from 1980-1996, BS Physics, minored in math and geology, University of Denver. ?Novice license was WN7VTF in 1970-ish, I was 12. ?Dad¡¯s old regenerative receiver and matching 2 tube x-tal transmitter was about all I could afford in grade school/jr high!
Michael Smith:
I wish to thank you for your well crafted response.? I am sorry to you and to all if I overreacted.? I was in the Mechanical?and electrical?consultant?field for 45 years and it is hard for me to see blatant opposition for logic and order.? I apologize?to you and to the like minded others.
Some background may help?to soften?the automatic critical answers?I get: I started dabbling with radios before I was a ham.? I think it started when one of the family radios went out.? I was a freshman?in high school then.? My summer jobs varied, but with the newfound interest, I directed it toward radio.? My very first job was to deliver the New Orleans Item afternoon newspaper.? I was 9 years old.? The summers were spent with this.? My first year of college (1964) I was astounded?at the cost of the education.? It was at Loyola Univ in New Orleans and it was $770 a semester!
I had worked at?a radio and tv repair shop for two summers.? Used this to augment the radio repair hobby.? After high school I went to work (again, summer time vacation fill in work) at WDSU TV in New Orleans.? I did that for three years. ? Cutting those years short:? I graduated in 1967 with a degree in Physics and minors in Math and Chemistry.? It was at Loyola that in a search for a quiet place to study, I found W5LJY, the?Loyola HAm Radio Station.? It was there that members?of the club got me interested in Ham Radio.? I was licensed in Dec 1964.??
After Loyola and after a few divergent course?maneuvers, I started LSU in Baton Rouge for graduate school in Electrical engineering.? The summer after my first?year I was drafted.? The Army recruiter?told me that I wouldn't be?going to Vietnam as I would likely think before I pulled the trigger (a quote) and they wanted someone who would just pull the trigger, so I ended up in the air force?fixing radios and radar in fighter aircraft.
In 1969, I married and moved to Baton Rouge to continue my education.? Since I was then married, I got a job at WAFB TV in Baton Rouge essentially in the same role as before.? Except this one was how I financed my family.? With work and with National Guard Service, I finally graduated from LSU with a Masters?in Electrical?Engineering.? My growing family, work and a career?start in the Consulting Engineering field kept me busy.? A typical day while still in school:? First was a class either at LSU or Southern where I taught either Lab work at LSU or at Southern, teaching communications using my experience in the TV industry.? Then I attended classes/ studied and at 5 PM or so, when the late night shift started at the TV station, I went there and worked till sign off.? Home, rest and repeat.
When I got the fortunate opportunity to enter into the Consulting field (I designed HVAC, lighting, plumbing, fire protection and alarm?systems for buildings:? my work was from coast to coast, from Aruba to Canada).? THis job allowed me to give up the?work of teaching and TV work.? While I tried to continue with a PhD program, I could not find?a University that would?hire me for teaching while working toward a degree, so I was most fortunate to be given an opportunity to change paths.
All of this meant I had to give up HAm Radio for a while and I was off the air for 19 years.? When I was more or less settled?(in Baton Rouge), I erected a small 40 ft. tower, a tribander and pulled out my original radios, a Drake R4B, Heathkit SB400 and a homebrew linear using a pair of 4-400 tubes.? I was on the air.
I attended a Dayton hamvention in the mid 1990's for the specific?reason to find a Sherwood modified R4C and T4XC.? At the convention I found 2 of them, bought one and then (in those days) hand carried both boxes on board the airplane and brought them home.? I completely restored both boxes and for the next WWDX?CW contest, put them on the air, barefoot with the tribander.? That weekend I worked DXCC (all CW) and took advantage of the wonderful band conditions.
To shorten further, this rewarding restoring experience caused me to start a collection of various ham stuff, mostly Drake.? Now the Drake pieces number around 35, most needing restoration, with several Johnson and Central Electronics boxes in the mix.? The peak of this menagerie?is the TR7B (my nomenclature?for the TR8 proof of concept radio), a TR8 (perhaps one of several) and the only L85 amplifier.? I plan to get these working but am severely?hampered with a zero count of any documentation.? I have the radios, they appear complete, but have no paperwork.? The radios that I restore are then "loaned " to new hams to get them started.? None of these have ever come back, but they have served to launch several hams.? And so, it will continue.
So, thank you for your patience but I had hoped that with my love of teaching, the experience?of restoring old radios and the willingness to share that experience would have been rewarded with a more open and friendly atmosphere.? Simply put, I have been there and for the most part done that.? If what I have to say does not fit the formula and the wording that is acceptable to those with the questions, then my teaching?skills have withered.? Again, Sorry.? But I will continue to monitor, but will likely?limit my participation in these realms.
Thank?you again for your kind?comments and for your patience.? I feel better already.
David Assaf III W5XU, VP8RXU ? On Sat, Jan 6, 2024 at 2:21?PM Michael Smith via ??<tw8kcabpilot= [email protected]> wrote: David,
Consider everyone¡¯s response, so not to be offended ¡ª?no one?ignored you; it may seem that way, though. ? We all learn from all the posts, no matter how much experience we have or training, etc.? My estimate, one way or another, most on this group are very knowledgeable, but keep in mind that no one is perfect, and sometimes circumstances get in the way of complete communication.? Expressions to the nth degree (as n goes to infinity) that Steve mentioned sums to form a well-bounded series: in other words, the composite is a well defined meaningful answer.? I am planning on starting restoration/repair or restart of some Drake tube radios I have, and have been contemplating just how to go about this.? The composite of this topic posting, including your comments, have helped me to conclude on a process or plan to bring up radios that have sitting dormant a long time.? So, the only part about your message that is erroneous from my perspective is as follows: your experience appears to be high, your knowledge is significant, and for the ¡°baloney¡± quotient, as the baloney increases in the denominator without bound (goes to infinity) in the limit, the quotient goes to zero.
Secondary, many of us have been in this situation, saying ¡°I¡¯ve tried everything.? What is wrong?¡± ?My entire day working as a medical-imaging systems field engineer for many years as a young man was spent with, ¡°What is wrong?¡± ?Sometimes the problem was baffling, sometimes just irritating.? I say this because it is refreshing for me to get a good chuckle (as intended) from introductory comments like Steve¡¯s, amidst dealing with a frustrating problem.? As I have a good laugh at the comment, because I¡¯ve been there, my pride factor diminishes greatly ¡ª a good thing.
Accept my suggestion, and of others, to keep reading and contributing when you can.
Peace,
73, Michael, N4KZO
|
