Biography

My interest in amateur radio started one day in 1963 while I was mowing the lawn of Harold Holland. I was 16 years old and needed funds to keep my 1954 Buick Special in gas and oil. I worked several part time jobs, including TV repair shop gopher, gas stations, life guard and lawn mowing. Mr. Holland invited me in to his den to pay for the lawn work. While there, I heard this sound coming from a radio on the desk. Asking him about the sound, he told me it was morse code and stated that he had retired from the railroad where he was a telegraph operator for many years. He told me about ham radio and all the fun he was having with the hobby. Well all this looked pretty interesting to me and I wanted to find out more about it. Mr. Holland invited me to come by anytime and he would help me get started in "HAM RADIO". I did come by many times and soon I was learning the morse code. I helped put up antennas and run cables to the house and anything else he needed help with around his radio room. I studied morse code for about 6 months under the guidance of my new mentor. I tested for the Novice license, I would have to pass a 5 word-per-minute Morse code test (send and receive) and a 25 question multiple-choice test. Under incentive licensing in 1963, the term of the Novice class was for two years and you had to upgrade or the license would expire. I received my license and call sign "WA4AWG" in November 1964. I put together a station with a Lafayette HA 500 shortwave receiver and a great Knight kit T-60 crystal controlled transmitter. Mr. Holland gave me an old railway straight key which I had been training on. The key was solid brass and mounted on a block of walnut. I never new its brand, but it worked great for me. My first contact was my Elmer and great friend "Harold Holland". After leaving Macon to attend college and later while I was in the USAF, Harold Holland became a silent key, but not for me. I'll never forget his contribution to my life and the sound of his vibroplex sending

Equipment

1. FTDX 3000 is member of the long line of top performing YAESU FT DX Series of transceivers.
2. FT-991A ALL-BAND, MULTIMODE PORTABLE TRANSCIEVER
3. IC-9100 HF/VHF/UHF Transceiver