Post by Bill on Jan 4, 2009 14:37:18 GMT -5
The following was received via email today:
WA2ZDY
Chris Johnson
6043 Weatherwood Circle
Wesley Chapel, Florida 33545
(813)991-5487
www.zdy61.com/index2.html
Email:
wa2zdy@yahoo.com
September 5, 2007
Electric Radio
PO Box 242
Bailey, Colorado 80421
Ray@ermag.com
“Honor Your Elmer.”
Sirs:
In September 1974 a 12 year old kid saw the antennas in the back yard and knocked on the front door of 76 year old Bill Little, W2OJJ in Fords, New Jersey. Before he left Bill's house that afternoon, that 12-year-old pain in the butt had a fair idea what ham radio was and knew he wanted in.
Bill first got on the air in 1914 as a 16-year-old in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He told of making leyden jar condensers from canning jars and tin foil, “borrowing” the motor from his mother’s wash machine for his rotary spark gap, and working DX as far as New Brunswick, New Jersey – ten miles away. It always seemed to me that 16 year old Bill Little had a great time with the newfangled thing called wireless back in the day.
As far as I know, he had no license until he was issued W2OJJ in 1941 – just in time for the World War 2 shutdown of ham radio. To earn a paycheck, Bill had been a telegrapher on the Lehigh Valley Railroad starting in 1912 when he was 14 years old. His father, also a railroad man, had passed away so Bill worked to help support his family. Because he was a landline telegrapher as well as a ham, Bill knew both Morse codes.
When World War 2 came along, Bill was drafted – at age 44. Instead of going to the induction center, he went to 90 Church Street in New York City where the Navy had a communications center. When he told them there he was a ham and railroad telegrapher, the navy signed him up as a radioman on the spot.
I remember Bill telling me he copied five letter code groups on the mill at 32 words-per-minute for the duration of the war. Only at the end of the war did he learn he’d been copying casualty lists. That was always a sobering thought.
As hams returned to the air, so did W2OJJ. Bill operated AM and CW in about equal parts as far as I can tell. I know he built Heath gear when they started making ham kits. An Apache was one I heard about a lot. His knowledge of the Apache would come in handy when I had one 20+ years later.
The start of my ham education was helping him with his antennas. Despite his age, Bill could go up and down his tower and ladders to the roof with ease. From him I learned to tie knots, to do wireman’s splices and to solder under the worst conditions out in the weather. When we were done though, his antennas were in fine shape.
He made me learn both International and American Morse codes and how to copy from a sounder as well as a speaker. I had no idea all but the International code was “extra.” All I knew was this old man said I needed to learn it for the ham radio license I wanted more every day. Bill also gave me a license manual and taught me about basic electricity. Along the way I also learned how to operate his station – a Collins 75S-3B, Heath SB-400 and dipoles.
Most importantly I learned to listen, both on the bands to pick out the weak ones and to avoid interfering with others, but also to just LISTEN, a skill a lot of 12 and 13 year olds don’t do well with. I remember so many different pieces of advice I got where Bill would say “one day you’ll look back and say ‘that old Billy Little knew what he was talking about.’” Bill, you were so right, and many times I tell my own kids the same thing!
In time I passed the five word per minute test Bill sent on his trusty J-38. I stumbled but he never wavered. When Bill said I’d copied 25 characters in a row that meant I’d done it. Not 24; 25. He was that kind of honest, and after all, he’d been teaching me to be a good ham. Good hams followed the rules and KNEW their stuff. Published question pools and the lawless 80’s were still a thing of the future.
Bill taught me to be patient, to follow directions and to follow through. Even though he pushed me to do things not required, like learning American Morse, I’m glad he did. I got to work the old landline telegraphers with their American Morse nets on 80 meters. From them the traditional values of ham radio were reinforced each time I worked them. Of course Bill consistently kept reminding me of how hams should act also. And the work he made me do for my license made sure I never took it for granted. He must have understood well Thomas Paine’s philosophy "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly."
I remember working with him on a solid state Heath general coverage receiver. He didn’t know a whole lot about solid state, but he had the patience to follow that manual, checking off each step, until it was done. And know what? It worked the first time he plugged it in. Yes, success is an excellent teacher of patience.
I can’t say Bill taught me a lot about troubleshooting or what really went on inside my rig. He did teach me how to learn, how to think, and how to methodically step through a problem. So while I learned most of my electronic theory elsewhere, Bill taught me the most important lesson a new ham can learn: how to be a good ham.
Bill’s other passion was music. He had learned to play the violin, to “scratch on the fiddle” as he said his father called it, during his childhood. In the days of vaudeville he played in the orchestra pits of various local theaters. By the time I knew him he had stopped that but he still practiced almost daily and to my untrained ears could play quite well. He also taught himself to play the piano and obtained a small electric piano.
When classical concerts were televised on PBS, Bill followed the score. I learned of musicians like Itzak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, and Pinky Zuckerman. It would be years before I appreciated this classical exposure, but sure enough, years later I would thank Bill for broadening that horizon for me too.
For extra cash to supplement his railroad pension, Bill repaired string instruments and rehaired bows. It was an unusual day when one walked into Bill’s parlour and there weren’t a dozen fiddles and bows hanging from a wire strung across the room. Talk about patience, rehairing a bow took lots of it!
Bill Little became SK in Feb 1985. It’s hard for me to realise I only knew him a little over ten years. He was like a father, or maybe a grandfather I didn’t have in my young life. It’s difficult for me to comprehend that nearly half my life has passed since I last received his wise counsel. But I continue to benefit from it daily.
Thank you Bill; one day we’ll meet again on the other side.
73,
Chris Johnson,
WA2ZDY/4
Thank you Chris. Your character and personal strength is typical of the many Ham Radio Operators that I have had the priviledge of knowing throughout my lifetime!
WA2ZDY
Chris Johnson
6043 Weatherwood Circle
Wesley Chapel, Florida 33545
(813)991-5487
www.zdy61.com/index2.html
Email:
wa2zdy@yahoo.com
September 5, 2007
Electric Radio
PO Box 242
Bailey, Colorado 80421
Ray@ermag.com
“Honor Your Elmer.”
Sirs:
In September 1974 a 12 year old kid saw the antennas in the back yard and knocked on the front door of 76 year old Bill Little, W2OJJ in Fords, New Jersey. Before he left Bill's house that afternoon, that 12-year-old pain in the butt had a fair idea what ham radio was and knew he wanted in.
Bill first got on the air in 1914 as a 16-year-old in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He told of making leyden jar condensers from canning jars and tin foil, “borrowing” the motor from his mother’s wash machine for his rotary spark gap, and working DX as far as New Brunswick, New Jersey – ten miles away. It always seemed to me that 16 year old Bill Little had a great time with the newfangled thing called wireless back in the day.
As far as I know, he had no license until he was issued W2OJJ in 1941 – just in time for the World War 2 shutdown of ham radio. To earn a paycheck, Bill had been a telegrapher on the Lehigh Valley Railroad starting in 1912 when he was 14 years old. His father, also a railroad man, had passed away so Bill worked to help support his family. Because he was a landline telegrapher as well as a ham, Bill knew both Morse codes.
When World War 2 came along, Bill was drafted – at age 44. Instead of going to the induction center, he went to 90 Church Street in New York City where the Navy had a communications center. When he told them there he was a ham and railroad telegrapher, the navy signed him up as a radioman on the spot.
I remember Bill telling me he copied five letter code groups on the mill at 32 words-per-minute for the duration of the war. Only at the end of the war did he learn he’d been copying casualty lists. That was always a sobering thought.
As hams returned to the air, so did W2OJJ. Bill operated AM and CW in about equal parts as far as I can tell. I know he built Heath gear when they started making ham kits. An Apache was one I heard about a lot. His knowledge of the Apache would come in handy when I had one 20+ years later.
The start of my ham education was helping him with his antennas. Despite his age, Bill could go up and down his tower and ladders to the roof with ease. From him I learned to tie knots, to do wireman’s splices and to solder under the worst conditions out in the weather. When we were done though, his antennas were in fine shape.
He made me learn both International and American Morse codes and how to copy from a sounder as well as a speaker. I had no idea all but the International code was “extra.” All I knew was this old man said I needed to learn it for the ham radio license I wanted more every day. Bill also gave me a license manual and taught me about basic electricity. Along the way I also learned how to operate his station – a Collins 75S-3B, Heath SB-400 and dipoles.
Most importantly I learned to listen, both on the bands to pick out the weak ones and to avoid interfering with others, but also to just LISTEN, a skill a lot of 12 and 13 year olds don’t do well with. I remember so many different pieces of advice I got where Bill would say “one day you’ll look back and say ‘that old Billy Little knew what he was talking about.’” Bill, you were so right, and many times I tell my own kids the same thing!
In time I passed the five word per minute test Bill sent on his trusty J-38. I stumbled but he never wavered. When Bill said I’d copied 25 characters in a row that meant I’d done it. Not 24; 25. He was that kind of honest, and after all, he’d been teaching me to be a good ham. Good hams followed the rules and KNEW their stuff. Published question pools and the lawless 80’s were still a thing of the future.
Bill taught me to be patient, to follow directions and to follow through. Even though he pushed me to do things not required, like learning American Morse, I’m glad he did. I got to work the old landline telegraphers with their American Morse nets on 80 meters. From them the traditional values of ham radio were reinforced each time I worked them. Of course Bill consistently kept reminding me of how hams should act also. And the work he made me do for my license made sure I never took it for granted. He must have understood well Thomas Paine’s philosophy "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly."
I remember working with him on a solid state Heath general coverage receiver. He didn’t know a whole lot about solid state, but he had the patience to follow that manual, checking off each step, until it was done. And know what? It worked the first time he plugged it in. Yes, success is an excellent teacher of patience.
I can’t say Bill taught me a lot about troubleshooting or what really went on inside my rig. He did teach me how to learn, how to think, and how to methodically step through a problem. So while I learned most of my electronic theory elsewhere, Bill taught me the most important lesson a new ham can learn: how to be a good ham.
Bill’s other passion was music. He had learned to play the violin, to “scratch on the fiddle” as he said his father called it, during his childhood. In the days of vaudeville he played in the orchestra pits of various local theaters. By the time I knew him he had stopped that but he still practiced almost daily and to my untrained ears could play quite well. He also taught himself to play the piano and obtained a small electric piano.
When classical concerts were televised on PBS, Bill followed the score. I learned of musicians like Itzak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, and Pinky Zuckerman. It would be years before I appreciated this classical exposure, but sure enough, years later I would thank Bill for broadening that horizon for me too.
For extra cash to supplement his railroad pension, Bill repaired string instruments and rehaired bows. It was an unusual day when one walked into Bill’s parlour and there weren’t a dozen fiddles and bows hanging from a wire strung across the room. Talk about patience, rehairing a bow took lots of it!
Bill Little became SK in Feb 1985. It’s hard for me to realise I only knew him a little over ten years. He was like a father, or maybe a grandfather I didn’t have in my young life. It’s difficult for me to comprehend that nearly half my life has passed since I last received his wise counsel. But I continue to benefit from it daily.
Thank you Bill; one day we’ll meet again on the other side.
73,
Chris Johnson,
WA2ZDY/4
Thank you Chris. Your character and personal strength is typical of the many Ham Radio Operators that I have had the priviledge of knowing throughout my lifetime!
