This is Terry about 8 or 9 months ago. The young man to the left
was headed off to the military, Terry’s bonus grandson.
I was licensed in Nampa Idaho sometime in 1977, I cannot remember the name of the fellow who gave me my novice cw test, but it was done kind of on the spot. I had entered his garage another ham friend of his had turned into a ham radio store and was looking around as this fellow was sitting at a desk with a code oscillator tapping out letters that I started saying what they were. He stopped and asked what my call sign was. I then told him I had been interested in amateur radio since I was 9 or 10 but never found a ham capable of giving me the tests for the Novice class and at that age, it was impossible to ask mom or dad to drive me to San Francisco to take a test and I now was married and had been in the military already and had not studied in probably 4 or 5 years at that time. I was going on 22 years of age by then. He told me to sit down and write what I could copy then started sending cw again. After a few minutes, he stopped and asked me to see the piece of paper. He looked up with a grin a minute later and said “Well, you have passed the CW portion, so now let us fill out the paperwork and get it sent to the FCC to get the written test on its way here”. About two months later the FCC sent me a letter with my new call sign of WN7WVG. I Used that callsign as a novice, then as a tech for many years before moving to Oklahoma, where I finally upgraded to the General class license after the CW portion of the test was removed and had passed the general ticket. I finally hit the books just last year and got my Extra Class and have had a lot of fun, and served not only Oklahoma communities for Weather Spotting, but when I was in California I and a few other hams in our little group did some Motor cross communications for the events they held as well as operated the EOC station in Sacramento after Mount Saint Helens in Washington state erupted. I have had many a radio since my first license that have gone by the wayside as I moved several times and had some marital issues, I am now married for over 25 years to the same gal here in Oklahoma and I often can be found checking into the Moonies on either my Yaesu Ft-847 “earth Station” or the newer FTDX10. I also have tried many digital modes in the last few years after retiring from the trucking industry which I operated as an 18-wheeled mobile for many of those years checking in to the Moonlighters since 1992.
—
73s
K5TGM Terrell (Terry) Martin