Biography

/Mobile HF Radio was my Best Times in HAM Radio with plenty of time for it while traveling Coast to Coast in the 80's. //Safety & Information// But back to mostly 2 meters on the road in the 90's on untill I retired in 2010 /

CALHOUN HAULING ..MC243487 ..Reefer, Flatbed, Tanker - Lease Operator Basin Western -Terminal Manager UW Freight - Terminal Manager Dats Trucking..

There was a console Airline radio with short wave band in the house when I was a kid in the 50s and I would often listen to short wave broadcast when i could. I would sometimes listen in to Rex Howell, the owner of the local radio station as he talked with Barry Goldwater nearly daily on the 41 meter short wave band. I continued to enjoy listening to Hams on the radio as a SWL when I could and picked up a lot of the knowledge of radio threw the years. I am still more of a listener than talking on the radio to this day and still listening and learning.. There is always more to learn in Ham Radio...

.. There were also some in my class in the 50's who were really into electronics with a desire to build their own radio and some were also licensed Hams in my class at school and they encouraged me to take the ham radio class back then and did start to learn code a couple of times but I missed out on the fun and enjoyment i should have had back them and threw the years, but with the country lifestyle there just wasn't the time and I doubt that i would have had the time to upgrade from the one year Novice license to General with the 13 wpm code test to stay active. My mother bought me a Boys Life subscription that i enjoyed and it had a lot of Ham information and advertisements of the rigs they used then. My mother did encourage me also.. But some of us kids thought that we were getting rich bucking bales of hay and farm work in the summer besides of the regular chores to do and because of the country lifestyle and making a living became the most important and I was already married with three kids in the late 70's before I was encouraged by a guy I worked with to get into it. By then we had went from hand signals out on the road when meeting another truck on the road to the CB radio which was much, much better for close in communication. So my reasons have always been for communication with safety and information for my livelihood than just a hobby or entertainment.. At that time I had a wide area route with some remote sections. So I would check into CB base stations and ranches regularly in route as a way of contact or help if needed and a few times they would have a message for me on my way threw. I met a lot of good folks on CB Back then. So, for me.... Two Meters would give me use of wide area repeaters and the extended communication for more safety , needed information and survival in my travels and the learning code for a Novice license was just a way to get there at the time. Many times I have came up on accidents or help situations and 2 meters was very useful in getting help and emergency communication back then before cell phones became popular where often 2 meters was the only service available from the location. So if I were to get a license back then without the needing code requirement and unfamiliar with HF operations, I would probably still be a lifetime Novice/Teck because there is much more that can be done with a Teck license today? My boss then was a former world war II Fighter pilot that had been shot down over the Mediterranean and he encouraged me to keep up code also. . So because i started with HF I was familiar with HF threw CW operations from the original procedures that all HF operations and most of ham radio are based on and I then desired to continue to gain phone capability of HF also and so very glad i did. But i was still a Novice /Teck for quite a while using 2 meters on the road and CW at home when i had the chance. Actually i did enjoy making the HF contacts as a Novice then.. Finally I got the chance to make the 300 mile trip to the FCC testing event in spring of 1984 and went on from Novice/Teck and took 2 code test and 3 written test all in a day. By then I was able to do the 20 wpm then but missed on making the Extra written test. Oh, a 1x2 call would have been nice but, Hey, I have most of the frequencies and those I need. So that was good enough for me and I sat the keyer on the shelf and haven’t been on CW since..But i listed to cw at times and my old boss was right "Once you have it , it may get slower but you will always have it". Once in a while i still listen in and copy code at times but it will be a while before i get back on the air with CW though. ...

..When I ran coast to coast in the 80’s I was glad I had the HF privilege and ran mostly 40 meters and would occasionally check into road & weather nets and get a phone patch home to family..But especially in the wee hours and there were usually someone in the world somewhere still awake to keep me alert. A guy in New Jersey would chase me across a lot and a Australian would join in fairly regularly back then. It was Lotsa Fun for me out on the road.. I think I really enjoyed mobile HF the most and probably most of my contacts were while mobile and mostly went clear across so i sure had plenty of time for it while out on the big road back then.. I had a HR2510 in the truck and worked a lot of 10 DX and also worked all the FM 10 meter repeaters across the country i could..I made a lot of regular contacts when going threw.

I changed to several state area wide operation as a Lease Operator Hauling Petroleum products In the 90's and mostly just went back to 2 meters and only occasionally on HF at home.

Later on me an my oldest son had our own operating authority in the 11 western states mostly flat bed and Reefer. Being gone all the time was not working well with family so we sold out and he went to work for a fright company. I was hauling Frozen fries, Beer, Potatoes and onions down and Produce back out the Rio Grande Valley of TX for city market for quite a while. I sold the truck to be home more with shorter runs pulling triple trailers and Rocky Mountain Doubles. After a couple of years i was a Terminal Manager for a couple of freight companies then and would often listen in out of habit to HF conversations while doing computer and paperwork at night. If I heard something interesting or someone I knew I would sometimes jump in and still listen in usually while often doing other things.. I have always listened in a lot threw the years and the repeaters are still in scan in the radio room here 24/7 out of habit from the days when someone may need help i guess.

…. But now I am parked at the end of the road and have been a full time caregiver for 15 years for my wife who unexpectedly had become disabled. But Now My Wife has fell asleep and gone on. It takes a special woman to be a truckers wife and a Hams wife also and not all can do it. Because she was so physically disabled i was half her body but she was half my mind, always reminding me of important things and always up on things and i sure do miss her here. So I am more of an old codger out in the country with plenty to do outside and you may hear me on the radio occasionally. Because she would need assistance at times i used digital modes like FT8 that i could jump out quickly that worked the best here. But i always enjoyed good conversation the most and may be on voice more now. . ..I never heard another Ham i didn't like... 73.. Charlie...

My habit from Novice days it that the contact isn't done until I confirm the contact. As a courtesy for others, I Use Instant Conformation of LoTW, eQSL Club Log & QRZ and try to upload to some other popular services as soon as i can. I still keep money in the QSL Bureau but i really prefer eQSL. 73 from Western Colorado... Charlie..

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