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  • Bryan Lord, NE0V
    (formerly WN5CTC, 1963) I was 13 at the time of the Novice Roundup and to my knowledge I was the only Novice at Fort Sill.  The post MARS station was 2 blocks from my house and I would sometimes go there and hang out or operate under their station's license.…

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  • John Shidler, NS5Z
    John thats a great story. I didn't realize you were so much older than me LOL.. glad to call you my Ham Pal. Where have the years gone.. we are old fat and gray now, but still tearing up the airwaves.... More...
    17.04.13 07:53
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Mid-1970s 1976 Marcel Livesay, N5VU

Marcel Livesay, N5VU

(Formerly WN5VSS, 1976)

My Novice period started out exciting and only got better. I received WN5VSS in August 1976. I retained this call for almost 2 weeks (never even getting on the air yet) before the FCC sent me WB5VSS.

My first rig was a Swan Three Drifty. That rig was great. It allowed me to get an "Official Notice of Violation" from the FCC. I even got a QSL card from the station that I was talking to. I remember it all too well! I thought, "Man, what a short lived hobby." I had 10 days to reply to the FCC as to why I was @ 7.098 MHz talking to W3AKD. In effect, I got two QSL's for that one contact; Maryland W3AKD and Florida’s FCC Field Office. (Stupid 3-drifty) I apologized and life was good ever since.

I knew right then that I needed to upgrade.  I upgraded in 1978 to General and then to Extra. Being a Novice was wonderful! The Novice license can be explained like this, "You get the experience first and the lesson later."

73, Marcel N5VU

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I never got to use the (bicentennial) special call. I was scared enough to use my own!

I remember my log book where I logged every transmission, littered with "No contact." My Elmer lived 50 miles away and he explained to me after a couple of weeks that I did not have to log every contact. Hi! What a blessing! When I did finally start chatting with other Novices I started receiving all of the QSL's that were still printed with WN#&&&. I even purchased my own QSL cards with WN5VSS, and of course, two weeks later they came in as well as my WB5VSS call sign. Man!

Another thing I learned on CW: If you name is Marcel, people automatically think that you are a girl. I have a QSL that came to me with, "To the young lady ham operator of the house,..." I quickly changed my CW name to Mark. These new folks, God Bless them, they just don't know what they missed!

After the Swan, I upgraded to a rock bound Drake 2NT & 2C. It was the bomb!

73 for now, Marcel (DBA: Mark)

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