W8IF - Bio

Midwest 6 Meter DX Group

W8IF.RADIO "PHONETON STATION"
The Midwest's "Clear Channel Voice of 6 Meters"

At the ripe old age of 7 my first project was a crystal set kit made by Philmore Radio sold by Bernstein Applebee Co. Those of you that have gray whiskers will remember those awesome days when we were all learning the magic of radio as children. The anticipation and the waiting and looking for the postman to bring our order from Allied Electronics, Lafayette Radio and all the others that existed in those days so we could build some new gadget to help us on our way to unravel the secrets. It was truly magical and wonderful. I remember those feelings as if it were yesterday.

I lived in the rural outlying area of southwest Ohio near the town of Loveland about 25 miles or so northeast of Cincinnati. In the sticks in those days 25 to 30 miles it seemed from everywhere. I began my studying for my amateur ticket at the age of 8 years old and found very quickly the lack of an "Elmer" was crucial and became overwhelmed with all of it. Undaunted, I was a shortwave listener, wire antenna builder and learned that with a little thought, practice and luck along with occasional "smoke" I could repair AM radio sets. I was truly hooked. It was not until I was 14 years old that I became acquainted with W8COU. He took myself and a good friend of mine named John Walker (now WZ8D) under his wing and began coaching us. With a few months of code practice, circuit theory and what seemed to be hundreds of phone calls and visits we became licensed as Conditional Technicians. Wow! What a thrill to be on the air. Of coarse, W8COU was a 6 meter ham and that's where we cut our teeth on radio. After High School it was time for the Air Force to send me to Crypto Radio Maintenance School for 56 weeks. I had a good hitch and many times regret not staying and retiring . After that, as time went on I upgraded and finally in 1978 I obtained my Extra Class license. My call-sign for all those years was WB8IFP until I was able to get my current call-sign of W8IF. I had actually became friends with the former W8IF when living near Cincy. Upon his decision to retire in the southwest and leave the area he suggested I try for his call someday since in those days you had to leave your call behind when moving to another call area. That call remained open and I was fortunate enough to own it today.

Over the years I have been extremely fortunate to have met and been guided by a number of ham radio elmer's most of which were associated with AM Broadcast engineering somewhere along the line in their own radio lives. The end result has been a wonder education of the communications industry learning from the practical experiences they gave me of which I rely on still yet today. These old timers gave me a most wonderful gift. Their time, knowledge and patience. Additionally they made me dig for the answers so the education was genuine and effective. The knowledge they conveyed to me most assuredly gave me the drive and desire to obtain my second Class license at the age of 17 and then 10 years later upgrading to the First Class which I still hold today.

Since then, I still enjoy the hobby albeit not so magical anymore, it's still been great fun meeting literally hundreds of fine people some who have grown to be close friends. I am a serious proponent of building and learning from what you build. We all know that is not the norm today. With our licensing structure that spawns hundreds and hundreds of new "appliance operator" ham radio enthusiasts. It truly is a shame these folks don't know what they are missing by not having to work and study from text books in stead of having the question pool reviewed over and over just to pass a test The emotional impact of sitting in front of Dick Cotton or Irby Tallant from the Federal Communications Commission in an "official" field office examination room with your hands so wet from nervous sweat you could not grip the key is an experience few of us anymore can relate to. Now, it's all handed to them on what seems to be a silver "platter". "Those things in life we work for are the things we hold close and cherish"

These life long experiences are what still keep the fire in this Ham burning today, plus, the joy of giving back to those who meet my criteria of wanting to learn and improve their knowledge in the hobby. Just remember being licensed is privilege the FCC gives us, not a right. Don't abuse it, learn from it.

73 with Regards,

W8IF

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