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Yesterdays access |
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| Page Top | [Lily Diary.】 A diary of life in Mindanao. |
| 1973/06/27 | Obtained phone grade in 6th grade |
| Around 1977, When I First Went on the Air as JI1FGX | |
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  This photo was taken when I was in sixth grade. I passed the telephone-class amateur radio exam, but my radio operator license was not issued until June 27, 1973, when I was in my first year of junior high school. Licenses back then were made of paper folded in half, like this one. I began studying for the exam at my mother's suggestion. I even took several books, including one called “How to Become a Ham,” to school, and my science teacher helped me study. At the time, the exam had changed from written answers to a multiple-choice format with a machine-readable answer sheet, and preparatory classes were held at Nihon Denshi Kogakuin. Although I was only in sixth grade, I attended classes there several times. I also took the exam there. Fortunately, I passed on my first attempt. In those days, a doctor's medical certificate was required when applying for a radio operator license. Although I had earned my telephone-class license, that did not mean my family immediately bought me a radio. I had no radio throughout junior high school, so even with a license, I could not get on the air. Later, I gradually saved money from part-time jobs. Once I was in high school, I finally bought a radio with my own money and got on the air. At the time, 50 MHz was popular among student hams, and many started out with radios such as the National RJX-601. I chose 144 MHz from the beginning, however, and my first radio was a TRIO TR-2200GII. Perhaps that is why I rarely made contacts with students my own age. Instead, I enjoyed amateur radio in the company of older, more experienced hams I met on 144 MHz. | |
| My very first radio was a TRIO TR-2200GII. It was crystal-controlled, with 144.48 MHz as the main calling channel. I replaced the filter to convert it from wideband to narrowband operation and gradually bought more crystals. It all cost quite a bit—a painful expense for a high school student. With only 12 channels, I sometimes could not find a clear frequency. Often, we could not make contact because we did not have crystals for the same frequencies. | |
Later, I bought the VFO-30 shown in the photo. I was delighted to be able to say, “I can operate on any frequency in the band!” The only items in this photo that I still have from those days are the multimeter at my feet and the fluorescent desk lamp. I recently acquired another VFO-30 and VB-2200, but I still do not have a TR-2200GII. | |
 The person whose face is pixelated is the younger sister of the friend who took this photo. I have since forgotten both his name and his callsign. The small metal box under the saddle contains a voltage-doubler rectifier circuit that converts the output of a 6 V bicycle generator to 12 V to charge the battery while riding. | |
 I mounted the TR-2200GII and a 10 W VB-2200 amplifier on my bicycle, with a car battery on the rear carrier. I was so determined that I even used a voltage-doubler rectifier with a 6 V bicycle generator to charge the battery as I rode. I rode around with either a 5/8-wave mobile whip or an Arrow Line antenna mounted at the back. With a full 10 W of output, my signal held its own against those of the older hams operating from their cars. I rode this bicycle all the way from Abiko to Narita and even to Akihabara. I certainly had the energy of a 17-year-old! | |
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 The antenna was a 21 MHz helical whip. However, the signal hardly reached anyone, and I remember getting a shock if I touched the metal parts of the bicycle while transmitting. My father, pictured with me, looks so young. Now that I am approaching the age he was then, I realize how quickly the years go by. | |
 Twenty-five years later, when I got an FT-817, it brought back those memories and amazed me with how far technology had advanced. | |
  The bicycle has since given way to a car, but I am still operating mobile. Even I am surprised that I never seem to tire of it. | |
And so JI1FGX, once that radio-loving boy, continues to enjoy amateur radio even after moving to Ozamiz on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. |
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