Nostalgia Reflector?

[lurch]

personally, i like the reflections.  it has brought back memories of my experiences in the
FCC's 'dungeon of doom' in the Dirksen Federal Building on Dearborn St. in Chicago in the
late 70's and early 80's...I got my Extra not too long before they implemented no-code and
the VE thing.  I still remember the examiner's face...a blond guy with as much facial
expresison as an undertaker...and the little grammar-school Franklin desks and the old
Instructograph with the Cannonball headphones.  I don't think they ever did upgrade that
office to some new technology, like perhaps a wire recorder <chuckle>...when I passed my
Extra, the blond guy got done grading my paper and said simply "it's all over now".  The
next week I sat for my commercial ticket...I did actually get almost a smile out of him when
he saw me sitting there waiting to take my commercial.

Each exam, I made a day of it, rode the train into the city, went for my exam, then met NG9U
[then KA9EZA] who worked downrtown, for lunch, then on the way home I would ride as far as
Oak Park and change to the Central Avenue bus to visit the Radio-TV Lab up on Irving Park
Road.  Sadly, I hear that the Lab has finally closed it's doors...the owner, WA9JEZ, was in
business since about 1946 and still seemed to have one of every item he EVER had.  I still
recall [remember this was back in the late 70's] he had a shelf bank of S-Line gear about 5
shelves high and 10 feet long...the A-Lines were piles around it.  The place was 50' wide
and about 100' deep and there was space about 3' wide and 6' deep just inside the door to
stand...the rest of the shop was piles about 7' high with...well, basically, take the Dayton
hamfest and cram it into a storefront and you get the idea.  Bought my first 'store bought'
rig there--a mint Heath AT-1 for the princely sum of $35.  Wish I still had it.  The folly
of youth...got my first phone rig there too--a Heath Apache...then when I got my Advanced I
stopped and got the SSB for it...when I got my Extra I stopped and got a Johnson Invader
that day...never did come up with the bucks for the mint 51J-4 that was right ahead of me at
eye level as I walked in the door...although I still have the 51J3 I acquired in 1980 as a
high-school graduation gift from my folks.  I think this winter I'll restore it...it still
works, but is badly in need of alignment and a new drum decal.

About 4 years ago I stopped in there for some 813's for a 'someday project' amplifier...and
got 4 of 'em NIB for $20 each...and all the Collins stuff was sold off and he was adrift in
a sea of old Tektronix scopes and 'brand-x' boatanchors...mostly Galaxy although there were
one or two SBN-series Heath S-Line clones still about.

The Chicago amateur community is losing a hell of a boatanchor resource with George
retiring...but frankly, amateur radio is not as it once was...the days when those of us
standing around on the sidealk in fron tof the store, waiting to be waited on, and talking
shop about homebrew gear, have been replaced by an internet reflector...

73 de KA9EGW

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