Frank Chase, W9YJD, bio:
Frank is the club’s only surviving charter
member and was kind enough to send your
secretary his biography. It occurs below with a
little editing.
Frank was born in the house at 929 I street in
Bedford in
1928. He grew up during the great depression,
living with his parents and grandparents.
He graduated from Bedford High School 1946 and
enlisted in the Navy immediately. After
Boot Camp, he went to Navy Radio Operators
school in Newport, RI. He served two years sea
duty as operator and watch supervisor on two
cruisers. After discharge, he married his high
school sweetheart and she has put up with him
for almost 60 years. He started working
part-time in the auto business while attending
IU. He became a partner in the Buick
dealership in 1957 and in 1959 bought the
Chevrolet dealership in Bedford and remained
there until 1983. Frank and wife raised their
family during that time: Steven, Brian and
David. In 1984 they decided to try the great
Southwest and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico
and have been there ever since. He took the
amateur radio novice exam around 1951 and then
went on to get the General class, which he still
holds and has been a very active ham for over 35
years. He isn’t active at this time, but hopes
to operate low power CW in the future if health
problems and antenna restrictions are
overcome. The original club meetings started
in the auto showroom at 1615 J Street. Frank
Carroll, Vance Lockenour, Bob and Jane Hartley
and he were among the early members. He taught
code classes during that early period. The
club’s first field day was held at Bill Jenkins
residence south of Bedford and two surplus WW2
tanks transceivers powered by batteries were
used. The club got a great score. Frank is
happy the club is still going and growing. He
sends his congratulations to all of us.
Ham Radio License Classes:
About twenty people signed up while visiting the
Special Events Radio Station, K9P, during the
Persimmon Festival last September and expressing
an interest in taking license classes. Tim
Miller, K9US, will be spearheading this effort
and will teach the Technician license class
while Larry, WA9FFZ, will handle the General
license class. Tim composed a flyer and will
post it at Radio Shack. He will put a notice on
the repeaters in the area and Larry dropped off
the info at the Times Mail. The following is
the details and Tim Miller will be the point of
contact for sign up and directions for those who
don’t know how to get to the clubhouse where the
classes will be held.
Classes begin on February 11 for the General
License class and February 14 for the Technician
License class. Class time will run from
6-8 PM. The
General License class will be held each Monday
and the Technician License class will be held on
each Thursday. The class is free and the class
books can be purchased from the instructors at a
discount. Classes are open to any who wish to
obtain an amateur radio license or wish to
upgrade their existing license. Worthy of
notation is that the Morse Code is no longer a
requirement for obtaining an amateur radio
license. Tim Miller can be reached at his home
phone, (812) 277-8583, or his cell phone, (812)
272-0408. Mike Wright, KF9NP, and Rick Davis,
WD9JJA, have volunteered to help in this effort.
Awards Banquet:
The club’s awards banquet will be held at Spring
Mill Inn with the room available at 5 PM and
dinner served at 6 PM on February 9 with members
cost at $7.00 and children under twelve free.
Ann, K9NOT, needs to know who is coming by
February 1. She can be reached by calling
275-3415 or email
kc9ejo@insightbb.com. Also the club dues are
payable. Ann will accept the $20 club dues no
later than at the awards banquet. Dues for
additional family members are $10 each.
January Fox Hunt:
Larry, WA9FFZ, was the fox and hid at the
Christian Cemetery just up the
Springville-Fayetteville Road from Springville.
The Harris Team, Keith/Ann, N9KH/K9NOT, and Mike
Wright, KF9NP, were the two hunters that showed
for the hunt. They braved the chilly
temperatures to track down the fox, Harris Team
arriving in 40 minutes and Mike arriving in 67
minutes. N9KH/K9NOT, logged eleven miles while
KF9NP came in at 12.8 miles. Thanks to a
borrowed vertical antenna from Keith, the fox
signal could be heard from the starting point.
The Harris Team will be fox next month. The
hunt will start at 4 PM on February 16.
Newsletter -
January 2008