That old ham radio guy at the diner who knew all my call signs

Back in 2017 I was at a Denny's off I-10 in El Paso and this older guy, maybe 70, saw my repeater sticker on my truck. He sat down and just started talking about how the FCC used to test you on Morse code and how people would cheat by tapping under the table. He told me his old call sign like it was a secret handshake, and I admitted I never learned CW. He laughed and said 'you kids just buy a Baofeng and think you know radio,' but then he spent 20 minutes showing me how to bounce signals off the moon on paper. That interaction stuck with me because he didn't trash the new gear, he just wanted someone to care about the old ways. Anyone else had a random encounter with a veteran ham who made you feel like a rookie?

0 comments

0 Comments

No comments yet

Be the first to share your thoughts on this discussion.