My Experiences in the Civilian Conservation Corps, and How I learned Telegraphy and Became a Radio Amateur and a
Download 4.5 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- I Join the Civilian Technical Corps and go to the United Kingdom
Radio Station WVR A few days after our return from the river trip, I went to Atlanta and began work at the Army’s 4th Corps Area Net Control Station, WVR, located at Ft. McPherson, Georgia, adjacent to Atlanta. I was pleased to discover that I was among the most experienced operators there, and the only one with a knowledge of radio equipment. I enjoyed the work very much. The job paid $1,620 per year, which was more than I had imagined I would be able to earn at first, and I received a considerable amount of valuable technical and operating experience. The kind lady at the boarding house where I lived allowed me to install my amateur radio equipment and put up a Windom antenna between some trees. I soon made the largest purchase I had ever made when I bought a Hallicrafters Sky Champion S20R. Although relatively inexpensive ($49.50), it was a quite satisfactory communications receiver. I used the transmitter shown in the photo taken in April 1940. The S20R is the same receiver as was used at the field stations in District D, and is shown in a previous photo. I again enjoyed many hours on the air. Although living in a city was strange to me, life was great! Today (2005), the old S20R receiver still works. Although no longer in use, it is very nostalgic to see it on the shelf, and to remember the fun it gave me over a number of my early years as a radio amateur. After we returned from the river trip, Guy Coleman joined the C.C.C. and became a radio operator at the C.C.C. camp at Quitman, Mississippi. Quitman was a station in the net where I served as Chief Operator at Ft. McClellan, Ala. Guy also became a radio amateur with the call W5KFL. Guy later joined the Navy and became a Signalman. Sadly, he lost his life when his ship was torpedoed during WW-II. He was the only close friend that I lost during WW-II. In recent years, Guy’s brother Jim Coleman, who painted the name “Teeny” on the boat, gave me the previous photo of the Quitman station with the S20R receiver. He also gave me one of Guy’s W5KFL QSL cards. I Join the Civilian Technical Corps and go to the United Kingdom About the middle of 1941, I learned about the Civilian Technical Corps, a British organization being formed to recruit American technicians, among them radio technicians to work in the new RDF system (now called radar) that gave advanced warning of enemy aircraft approaching the shores of the United Kingdom. Believing that it was a worthy cause, and eager to gain more technical experience, as well as excitement, I submitted my application and was soon afterward accepted. Before leaving, I had a few days vacation at home, and enjoyed it very much. I was very sad to know that it would be a long time before I would see my family again. It was also sad to realize that it would probably be years before I would again be able to use my amateur radio equipment. I packed my equipment it in a strong box, nailed it shut, and shipped it home. I knew that my mother would guard it carefully. Although leaving was sad, I felt that I had to do it. She was told to use my Hallicrafters receiver as the family radio, as they didn’t have a good radio. It was still serving as the family radio when I returned home after the war in December, 1945.  Directory: ccc -> files files -> From Data to Knowledge to Action: Enabling a Revolution in New Transportation ccc -> 2016 Drama 4 College Research Information Sheet Name of School: Columbia College Chicago ccc -> 1 (as of January 24, 2011) ccc -> Civic education files -> Instructions for web-admin are in [ ] [This goes under the following section ccc -> Suffolk county community college ccc -> College entrance exams files -> Rodney Brooks mit version 4: March 17, 20091 files -> Toward a Science of Autonomy for Physical Systems: Paths Download 4.5 Mb. Share with your friends:
|