It was early in 2013 a fellow I knew at church was called to be scout master. It turned out that he was a Ham radio operator and was going to hold a class and teach his troop about amateur radio. When parents heard about this, they wanted to attend also. So he decided to open it up to anyone who wanted to attend. Soon many people wanted to sign up to attend. On the day of the class there were about 80 people there. I took the class and on August 3, 2013 I took the test and got my technician license and my first call sign, KG7EVL. Later I studied for and passed the test for my General license. Shortly thereafter one of my neighbors who was also a Ham and a VEC asked me to apply to became a VE so I could help him with testing. I did that and became a VE for ARRL. About a year later he was going to give another test and asked me to help him again. As we were parting he stopped and said “You know as long as you are going to be there anyway, why don’t you test for your Amateur Extra license.” The test was going to be in about 3 days and I had never studied for that class of license. But I thought I might as well give it a try. By the day of the test I had only been able to pass the practice test about 75% of the time. After all of the people testing for Technician and General had finished, there were only a couple of us remaining. So I took the test. I don’t know what my score was but I suspect that I missed the maximum that you can miss and still pass. After that I updated my VE certificate so that I could help with testing all the classes of licenses. Last year I applied for and got a vanity call sign, WK8G. This made it a lot easier for people to understand on the radio, KG7EVL just had too many “E” sounding letters. I also applied for and became a VE for W5YI-VEC. This poem gives a very short history of Amateur Radio and a few of my feelings about the hobby.
Gale L. Wolfenbarger
15 January 2021
It started they say with Marconi one day when he sent a spark through the sky.
Though others had tried it can't be denied, his box was the first you could buy.
Soon “Ham” stations appeared with their own type of gear and soon after congress stepped in.
Their transmissions were said, too wide were now spread, over 200 meters a sin.
Then war put a stop, and Hams had to swap devices of peace for a gun.
Instead of good will, they now had to kill, and pray for war to be done.
After the war, soon Hams once more began to practice their trade
With friends over the pond, with which they were fond, on devices they cunningly made.
When the country once more, was drawn into war, Ham radio again had to cease.
Communities then were licensed so when air raids began to increase,
They could sound the alarm from village or farm with radios built from spare parts.
A service called WERS helped calm our great fears for loved ones so close to our hearts.
Though Ham's ages have ranged and requirements changed, the hobby still has its allure.
Whether only for fun or to show what you've done, Ham radio is sure to endure.
So study your book and take time to look at all that technicians can do.
When youv'e accomplished your goal it's so great to know you were able to see the task through.
Gale L. Wolfenbarger
15 January 2021
Copyright © 2021 Gale
L. Wolfenbarger