THE WIRELESS Published Monthly by the Iredell County Amateur Radio Society 40th Anniversary!! Next Meeting The next meeting is at 1145 on September 10th. It will be at Lakewood Park, Statesville. For directions, see our WebSite at W4SNC.org August Program The September program will be will be 40th Anniversary. The 40th is HERE! Wow! 40 years. Who would have thought in 1976 we would have been celebrating 40 years of the Iredell County Amateur Radio Society? I bet that Don W4DON and John WB4WRY, our two remaining founding members, hoped that ICARS would be here now. From the modest beginnings, and all the struggles ICARS has been through, (you did read our history on the web site, didn t you?) we have come quite a ways in the past 40 years. I hope to see everyone at Lakewood Park on Saturday the 10th of September. We are charged with eclipsing the previous record of 55 at the 20th anniversary get-together. See you there! To show some of the things that have happened, I have found some archives that show our history. Enjoy! October Program The September Program will The Changing RFI Landscape, by Kim Craven, Duke Energy Professional Engineer. He will meet us at the Boxcar Grille at 1730, come and meet and greet him. (the Wireless is 6 pages this month, be sure and read to the end) Volume 28 Number 9 1
1986 Officers: 1991 Proclamation Volume 28 Number 9 2
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Volume 28 Number 9 August 2016 Note from the Wireless Editor - Oct 2006 Events in Radio 1921 19 September: The first commercially licensed radio broadcasting station in the United States, WBZ, is launched by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Springfield, Massachusetts. Volume 28 Number 9 4
Debbie Freeze W0CJV I was born on September 17 in Imperial Nebraska. This is a small farm community in south west Nebraska next to Colorado and Kansas lines. My father was a lineman and lay many of the electric lines in this area so folks could have electric power. He was a ham radio operator and most evenings you find me on his lap listening to him talk all over the area. I was thrilled to listen and most mornings I find myself in bed after I fell to sleep in his lap listening. By age five my dad was killed and my mother was left to raise three children by herself. She moved to find work often but she kept us fed. I missed dad and everything he showed me. I had to take care of my sister and brother because mother did not have money to pay babysitters. I took on this responsibility and did a good job. My brother and I decided we were going to talk some way. We decided on CB. It worked great and we always knew what and where to find each other. During high school I worked full time and graduated in the top 10% of my class. I had two scholarships to CSU but not enough money to go to college. I joined the navy to earn my school benefits and GI loan. I married while in service and had a little boy. Upon discharge I went back to school to be a nurse. I had always wanted to be a nurse. I graduated with honors and took my boards. My husband was from Mooresville NC. We moved here to be close to family and nine years later I kicked him to the curb and stayed in North Carolina. I stayed single for nine years and I continued to talk with my brother. We talked on ten meter band most of the time to get away from folks who were doing skip. My brother and I noticed one day cars that had directional antennas on top. We packed up our stations and moved our equipment to be safe from the FCC. We had too much to lose so my brother decided he was going to become a ham. He took his test and started in on me. I met Perry Taylor and he told me to come to class at Mitchell he help me get started. I passed my tests but really needed my general to talk to my brother in Colorado. So back to the books I went. Took my code test and general in Salisbury at the library. Larry Earle help me get up and started with the antenna and station. I remarried to my present husband and he was a welder by trade. We owned a steel fabrication shop and I always could count on him to help me with any ham projects. We have retired and still to this day I love my husband as much as the day I met him. We have one granddaughter(who lives in Denver, Colorado), three grandsons and one great grandson. Life can be very hard but rewards are even better. When the vanity call signs were offered my brother decided he did not want to change his call sign from KB0DWI so it was decided that I would apply for my dad's call sign of W0CJV. I had a copy of his license and it was no problem. Today when I use his call sign a smile comes to my face and I know he is smiling back at me. Volume 28 Number 9 5
ICARS at Shelby Hamfest We had a booth at the Shelby Hamfest. Thanks to all who helped and attended! ICARS Booth at Shelby - from the left Ben W4BGP, Don WA4NIZ, Rick KE4TEP, Jimmy KC4SZF. Picture by Johnny KC4KQC Volume 28 Number 9 6