I received my Novice Class Amateur Radio License on June 3, 1978 and began contacting other amateur radio operators using Morse code that evening with the call sign KA2AOL. I put up a long wire antenna, about 125 feet long, between two trees, one in the front yard and one in the back, and used that for a couple of years. But I longed for a rotating directional antenna, a "yagi" and two years later installed one. Larry, our neighbor at the time, had a fence business and at my request brought home some heavy steel pipes which were welded together which gave me a mast about 50 feet tall for my new antenna. It was a Cushcraft ATB-34 for the curious among you and it would transmit and receive on the 20, 15, and 10 meter bands. It would rotate 360 degrees so I could aim it at Texas or Australia or England to make contacts. By that time my license was General class and my new call sign was N2AQQ. The antenna has been there ever since. I haven't used my amateur radio equipment in probably 30 years, but the antenna and mast have remained. Larry asked me recently if I wanted to have all of that removed and I said "Yes!" So he had a crew come by and they got it down.
Here one of the workers is removing the collar that fastened the antenna to the facia of the garage. It was also anchored to a pipe I installed in the ground that was buried about 4 feet down.
Then the bolt was removed which now allowed the whole mast and antenna to rotate at the base and come down. Here three workers are stabilizing the mast with a rope.
One of the workers started the descent of the mast and antenna with a healthy push and you can see that it has moved to the right from where it was anchored.
And down it did come! All over the yard and driveway. It is much bigger on the ground than it seemed when it was in the air! They had gasoline powered cut off saws which made quick work of cutting up the mast so it could be carried away, and the aluminum antenna was worth something for scrap I am guessing.
And here it all is, loaded on the truck which took it all away. I must confess that the garage (and yard) looks so much nicer without the antenna!
5 comments:
You are on a roll cleaning up and out. I am glad you left it to the younger professionals and did not dismantle it yourself. It is amazing what you created 45 years ago to talk with the world over your ham radio.
JoN
You are on a tear with De-cluttering, Rightsizing, Downsizing, Simplifying, Diminishing and Out-With-The-Old: First the Oil Burner that hasn't been used in years, and now the ancient Ham Radio Antenna! What's next?
What's next? I have hundreds of choices... :-) I still have the amateur radios themselves. Of course being as old as they are, they are worth very little, and it might not surprise you that young people are no longer interested in amateur radio - it's all about computers an robotics...
It’s great that you are getting rid of old items that you no longer use. Decluttering is good for the soul! I think you should offer a course on using ham radios. There might be an interest…Betsey
Wow, our interests crossed paths again. Please don't toss your old radio equipment. There are many people that collect the old radios. I probably haven't been on the air for over 20 years. Times have sure changed when you look at a recent QST magazine. Being a lifetime ARRL member I will get the now digital only magazine until I become a Silent Key.
I was wondering who's beam was in your old photos you showed at an ASLI meeting a few weeks ago. I forgot to ask you, but now I know it was yours.
Keep up the good work cleaning house.
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