Things That I Like To Do
(that keep me from going CRAZY!)
COMPUTERS
I have a house full of computers! I have 3 desktops
and a couple of laptops. The one in my radio room (shack) is running
Windows 10. I have two in my computer room, one running Windows 7 and my
main computer is running Windows XP which is my favorite operating system but
most software is not supported by XP so I guess eventually I will have to
upgrade.
I used to pick up computer equipment from the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and
garage sales. I would check them out and resale them to my ham radio
friends at our yearly hamfest.
AMATEUR RADIO
Electronics has always been a hobby of mine ever since my
Industrial Arts class in the 9th grade. One of my project was building a crystal
radio and entering it in the Science Fair Contest, although I didn't
even place. When I reached the 11th grade, I joined the High School
Radio Club and obtained a Novice Class License (call then was KN5GRK ).
The license was only good for one year and when it expired, I did not
pursue up-grading to a higher class. After High School, I took a course
in Radio/TV Repair and Commercial Radio Broadcasting and obtained a 1st
Class Radiotelephone License (now called a General Radiotelephone License)
and went to work for a TV station. I had a lot of friends that are
"Hams" and they finally talked me into getting back into "Amateur Radio"
so I took the test and received a Technician License (call KC5LTJ )
and joined the Acadiana
Amateur Radio Assoc., Inc. (W5DDL) and the Opelousas Area Amateur Radio Club. After a year or so
the FCC opened the Vanity Call gates so a person could obtain a old call
if it had not been re-issued to someone else. I applied and got the
old call back, so I am now again KN5GRK. I am also a member of the Lafayette
Skywarn Group
I try to be as active as time will allow in this hobby. I am presently running a
ICOM IC 2100H as my base 2 meter station with a Cushcraft ARX-2B Ringo Ranger on a 30 foot
Rhonn tower. I use a Icom IC-2100H as my mobile 2 meter radio with a Radio Shack
5/8 mag mount. I also have another IC 2100H and a Kenwood TM-V71A on a Blackbird
VHF/UHF on a 15 foot pole for my base station. I have a ICOM IC-7200 HF transceiver
that I use with a 80 meter inverted
"V" dipole and a MFJ 989C tuner for HF contacts. I also have a Hi-Gain TH3 up on
another 30 foot tower with a Ham III rotator on a Glen Martin hazer. Pictures and description of my
radio station.
STAMP COLLECTING
While in Junior High school, I caught the city bus in front
of a coin and stamp shop. The stamps really caught my eyes more than the
coins. I purchased a small notebook album and started buying the little p
acks of stamps (which was all I could afford at the time) and putting
them in the album. It was a small collection at the time I finished trade
school and when I moved away from home, I left the collection behind and
they somehow disappeared over the years (I have two brothers younger than
I - enough said).
Later in life I married and my wife ran across a
rather large stamp collection while working for the Salvation Army Thrift
Store in Crowley, LA and ended up purchasing the whole lot for almost nothing. I started back to
collecting stamps again and ended up as a member of "THE ACADIANA
STAMP CLUB" for about 12 years.
I find the greatest joy in "scrounging" up my stamps. I do this by
asking people I meet that travel or receive mail from overseas for their
stamps. I also check out garage sales and find a few here and there. I
always put high value postage on packages that I send relatives and
friends and they return the stamps for my collections. You would be
surprised at all I find.
THRIFT STORES & GARAGE SALES
I think I get the most pleasure and joy from checking out garage
sales and thrift stores. Our town has a weekly free newspaper called the
"Quick Quarter/Dandy Dime" which lists most garage sales, articles for
sale, articles wanted, etc. and sometimes you can hit on a "good one".
My favorite thrift store is the SALVATION ARMY THRIFT STORE
. This is where I usually find the best items for the best price. I
find the Goodwill Store's selection and price not quite up to that of the
Salvation Army, however it is hard for me to drive by without stopping to
see what they have. There are a couple of other Church thrift stores
that I often frequent.
I usually have my eye out for electronic equipment that I can repair
for my use or resale at a garage sale that I have once a year or maybe
sale in our Amateur Radio Club "Hamfest".
AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY
I used to be into photography pretty much when I was employed in
television broadcasting. I had access to darkroom privileges and could
do some of my B&W film developing and printing there. I later started
doing color transparencies at home because you didn't need a darkroom.
I have a Minolta SRT-101 35mm single lens reflex camera that I purchased
in the mid '60's and use it for most of my shots.
I don't do too much photography now-a-days, mostly family, friends, and
scenery, but I still enjoy doing that kind of stuff when I get a chance. I do
have friends that attend hamfests that take pictures, put them on CD's which I
usually end up with copies.
I picked up a little FUJIFILM 15 megapixel digital camera and
really have enjoyed using it for my web picture shots.
