MY DRAKE TR-4

A few months ago, Paul, WB0CJB contacted me on the local repeater and offered to help me restore my Drake TR-4 to working order! Paul is a very enthusiastic Drake owner. He has a TR-4C but without the noise banker. He has really had a lot of fun working on my radio. Several Saturday afternoons I went to his home to work on the radio. After just a little work, I knew that I had a great chance of getting back on HF. The most expensive part of the project was parts for the power supply. Paul made many contacts to check things out. I had 1 QSO with a man in Canada. When I got home, I signed up for eCards and got my first card in a very long time.

Today, I got my TR-4 home! I am the proud owner of a functioning Drake TR-4!! I will have to wait until mid January to host an antenna party to figure out the best setup for my situation. I am so excited! It will be hard to wait.

PADUCAH DAYS

In 1990, I moved to Paducah, KY. For a couple of years, I did not have time for Amateur Radio. The exception was the time I was in Officer's Basic Training. I was stationed first at Fort Monmouth and then Fort Dix, both in New Jersey. While there I worked in their MARS stations every weekend. We placed thousands of phone patch call for our troops stationed in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War.

Back in Paducah, I finally had a large yard but small house. With 3 kids, room was very limited. I finally installed the station in an un-insulated, un-air conditioned, and un-heated detached garage. I had enough room for a half-wave 80 meter antenna. I used a balanced feed-line into an MFJ tuner. I also had a great ground system. I dug a square hole about 1 foot deep, drove in 9 ground rods, and interconnected them with copper strap.

The only issue was that my power supply was already old and the oil filled capacitors had deteriorated. There was so much AC noise that it was next to impossible to hear anyone. Over the next 8 years, I did make a lot of contacts. However, I did not take any pictures or save the few QSL cards I received. Although I did join the local club, I did not get involved. I lived too far from the repeated and my HT could not get into it so did not operate on 2 meters.

HOUSTON

After Seminary, my family and I moved to Houston, Texas. We first lived in a very small apartment and then in a rented house. I did have a 2 meter radio. I joined the Brazos River Amateur Radio Club but was not able to become very involved. Trying to start a new career and having a young family did not leave much time for anything else. The club met at a local fire station and had a station set up there. The only operating I did from 1987 to 1990 was with the club's equipment. I did not receive any QSL cards there.

IN LOUISVILLE, KY

In 1983, I moved to Louisville to go the Seminary. As busy as that time in my life was, I actually was able to do a lot of "hamming." I met a couple of other hams and we formed the SBTS Radio Club. Since none of us had room in out apartments for stations, we approached the Dean of Student Affairs and asked for help. He found a room for us and got the permits we needed for use of electricity and to put up antennas. I was the only one of us actually had any equipment (me with my Drake). The room was in the basement of the building that house other general student activity rooms. The Dean also help us to get access to the outside for antenna cable. The building was a U shaped building with a grassy but unused space in the middle. We put a wire up about 40 ft that went around the U with each leg being a 4th of an 80 meter antenna. I don't know if it was the best way to use the space but it worked. I could tune the antenna of the 80, 40, and 10 meter bands with a medium-low SWR. I worked 10 meters enough to get my 10-10 number. We always wanted to get a phone patch in order to help missionaries contact their State-side families. However, limited money and no phone prevented that.

OHIO PERIOD

By October of 1980, I received my General Class license... KA8CDB (can do boy). A local ham had a Drake TR-4 he wanted to sell. This was my first real station: TR-4, 5 band vertical, good RF ground, antenna tuner, dummy load.... I still operated mostly with CW but was starting to also use SSB. I found CW easier to make contacts because of lower QRM; it was much easier to deal with other QSOs since the tones were always slightly different. However, I still had very little time and did on send or receive QSL. During this period, the furthest QSO I had was a contact with a Ham in Columbia on 40 meters. The only QSL card I received was from KA3GGH, Jon  in Pittsburgh, on October 25, 1980 at 14247  UTC,  on 80 meters using CW.

NOVICE

During the late 70's-early 80's, I worked in Ashland, Ohio. For most of the 70's I was too busy with education and young family to do anything with Ham Radio. I did get a small, inexpensive general coverage shortwave radio in 1974 but it burned out during an electrical storm within 3 months of its purchase. However, in Ashland things started to change. A co-worker told me about the local Amateur Radio club: Ashland (Ohio) Area Radio Club. What a great group of Amateurs! I soon became an un-licensed but active member. The club conducted Novice classes every Saturday. I joined the next class available during the Fall of 1979. That was before the advent of the VE system... except for the Novice Class. Some time before April 1980, I think November 1979, I was licensed as KA8IMF.

I was still not able to afford my own radio. However, one of the guys in the club loaned me one in the late Spring of 1980. I was able to purchase from another ham a vertical antenna. I think it covered all HF bands and was a fairly good one. It was an old, crystal controlled Hallicrafter. I have not been able to identify the model. Maybe someone else can help. It was un-usual (for me) in that it has a strange tuning system. I do not know how to describe it nor do I remember exactly how it worked. As I remember it, it had something that looked like an eye or light that either brightened or went off or became more narrow when the radio was in tune. I had 4 crystals: 2 in the Novice portion of the 80 meter band and 2 in the 40 meter band. I also borrowed a 2 meter radio and was active in the Mansfield Ohio ARES group. They were extremely active and were the center of activity in all of the central, northwestern part of Ohio following weather fronts from the far west of Ohio to East of Mansfield using 2 meters and 80 meters.

Unfortunately, during one of my many movies I lost my logbook so cannot remember my first contact. Since I was so limited in terms for useful frequencies I did not have that many. The first QSL card I have was dated 22 APR 1980, 0108 UTC, 599 RST, 8.707 MHz, A1-CW with Don, KA8FCC, a fellow AARC member and the friend that reintroduced me to the Amateur world. Don was an Extra class ham but with the suffix FCC who would want to get it changed?

 Most of the member of the AARC were exclusive CW operators so I too turned in that direction. I was only a Novice for a few months. By October of 1980, I had gone to Detroit to take my General Class test. I passed it easily. Since the code requirement was the same, I also too the test for an Advanced license. I missed it by one questions!

FIRST ENCOUNTERS

My first encounter with DXing was not on a Ham Radio. In the 60's my family lived in a small town in the interior of Brazil. With no TV, we got most of your news via shortwave radios. I began by getting QSLs from radio stations around the world. I did hear some ham radio (CW and distorted SSB) but initially really was more interested in shortwave radio stations. Nevertheless, after a few years I began to wish I could also talk and not just listen. At the time, my father was not an amateur but we did know others in the city who were. We contacted family members in the USA via phone patches. In 1969, my father became interested in getting his own license. While on furlow in the USA during 1970, he got his Novice license and his first Heathkit. He brought the unembarrassed kit back to Brazil with him and spent what seemed like months putting it together.

Because of the reciprocal agreement between the USA and Brazil, Dad was able to get a Brazilian Amateur Radio license without further tests. Even although he only had a Novice license in the USA, since Brazil only had one license class, he actually could operate as an Extra! Nevertheless, Dad mostly used his radio to talk with family. He really did not think of Amateur Radio as a hobby. However, I used his radio to listen just wishing I could talk.

PY1ZBX

After I returned to the USA in 1972, my parents moved to Rio de Janeiro. That is when he purchase many more Heathkits (see about picture). In Rio, his license was PY1ZBX. Nevertheless, again he mostly used it to contact people in the USA for himself and for other Americans who lived in Rio. He was on a Missionary phone patch net most evenings. Since I was no longer there, I missed out on this part of his Ham experience.