Harry W3FDY's Radio Shack

[Ralph W3GL]

No Bill, read the statement just above the pix.  It  is a very young Joe Fell, 10 years after the first pix, at the  same operating position abet with a more modern receiver.

By that time the old HQ129  had been replaced and some other stuff added like the
OS-8 mini-scope...

Read and comprehend!

[kc2ifr]

My mistake...............regardless.....the pics are great.

Bill

[W3GMS]

For those that do not know the folks in the various pictures, let me list them to avoid any confusion.

First Picture-Harry, W3FDY

Second Picture-was me when I was 17 years old operating Harry's station.  Harry had a bad fire and that was his turning point in going from AM to SSB.  He converted the push pull 250 amp to a pair of 3-500Z's in grounded grid push pull.  It was very stable but took plenty of drive.  On top of the Globe Champ was either a Galaxy GT-300 or 350 and later went to a GT -550 as a driver for the GG push pull 3-500Z amp.  Harry ran lots of plate voltage on the tubes and he never just bought a pair of tubes.  He always bought in bulk!  He loved watching the Wide Vue Simpson meter swing when he drove it!  He had lots of air on them and they really put out the soup!  In the picture is still one corner of the Globe Champ along with the HQ-129X along with the mini scope which later he put a Styrofoam cup with the bottom cut out to compensate for the aging CRT!  On top of the HQ-129X was a homebrew audio mixer he built.  He used that with his Hi Fi system as well.  It had RIAA along with NAB tape equalization built in.  The original mic was a EV 630 and later he switched to EV 635A's.  Behind the chair was a Viking tape recorded that replaced the original record cutting machine.  The monitor speaker which was driven from an Ultra Linear Williamson tube amplifier was also used as an audio driver when he had the Push Pull 450's as modulators. 

When I first met Harry, I was 13 years old.  My Dad was in the insurance business and he sold Harry a family policy.  My Dad heard him on my Silvertone floor model radio and said "I know that guy" .  I said do you think you could introduce me to him and he said sure.  After I met Harry he stopped by my parents place with one of his early Cadillac's and took me up to his radio location which was west of where he and his wife lived in West Chester.  I will never forget when he said I could sit behind the desk and operate at that time the big KW on AM!!!  I can still hear the contactors when I hit the transmit switch.  Talk about being on cloud 9 and being nervous at the same time! 

The 3rd picture posted is one that the local newspaper took of the Friday Nighters.  From left to right...
Seated is Harry, W3FDY
Standing L to R is  Bert-WA3JYU, Chuck-now NA3CW, Bob-now N2HM and lastly me W3GMS

Hope that helps...

Bruce, thanks for your kind works.  I need to document the Harry story since he gave us so much.  As he aged he constantly told us how much he got from us and thanked us for how we helped him out so much.  That was typical of Harry!  I told him, no it was the other way around.  He gave us his time and wisdom and we are indeed indebted to you.  He would smile but was unwilling to accept any credit.  Its a real shame his heath turned bad.  He passed away way to young.  He was sharp and still thinking about new ways to do things right up until the end.  From what I know he passed away very peacefully. 

Joe, W3GMS             

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Joe, would you be willing to write up some of your memories so we can place them here for posterity? Maybe we can start a new section for Elmers or influencial hams of our early days.

[W3GMS]

Steve,
I would be happy to do that.  You can tell that Harry was one special guy and I owe so much to him.  It would be good to document the story.  I will send it to you and you can post it as you see fit. 
Thanks,
Joe

[W2JTD]

We have a similar building on our property, and I've been eying it as a shack ever since I got here, but Maggie rents it out to the shoobies for $500 a month in the summer, and I can't afford the rent. Maybe someday that'll be Studio B.

Johnny is at the Funny farm? Not surprising.

For clarification, Shoobies are folks from Pennsylvania who visit the Jersey shore.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Excellent! It's not only a good story, it's a good example for all of us. It's doubtful we'll ever see a major influx of newbies into the hobby again, but we can help what newbies we get - quality over quantity.

Steve,
I would be happy to do that.  You can tell that Harry was one special guy and I owe so much to him.  It would be good to document the story.  I will send it to you and you can post it as you see fit. 
Thanks,
Joe

[K1JJ]

Harry and his lovely wife Marian would open up their home to us each and every Friday night and this went on for years.  CW classes in the kitchen and theory in the living room.  The dinning room was reserved for food which Marian always kept well stocked for us. 

That's pretty cool.  What a team. Harry sounded well organized and made it a fun time. You guys were lucky to have his guidance. 

Wish I had someone like him to advise me back then. Maybe I wouldn't have chosen an ungrounded Gotham vertical to call CQ on 3716 for three days - with no answers ...

T

[Ed-VA3ES]

What a wonderful thread, and what wonderful stories!   

[...]  Harry had many good friends and some may remember these calls which are just a sampling of the folks that would come up and visit Harry---W3SCC, KZ3AB before Al had that new call, George W3YAM-later W3OW, Jake W3QQV, Bob Lewis W2EBS, Sam (Floyd) K3DUM, and many others.  [...]

I remember some of those calls from back in the mid/late sixties, just before I got my ticket!  (I got it in July of 1969.)  I'm of the  same  vintage as those "kids" in the newspaper photo - I'm 58.  I was 18, when I got my ticket.

Boy, I'd love to hear some recordings from back then!

[W3FDY]

...That is really cool and I wouldn't mind having something like that myself.  I think such outboard ham shacks used to be fairly common. ...and having to provide heating and cooling, as well as ....perhaps....some plumbing capabilities. 

Hi folks!

Residential ham stations were around as early as 1910, my grandfather had his station in a room in his parents house.

Harry's shack had a telephone and power, no running water. I suspect the power was 220 split phase. The shack wasn't heated, and the air conditioner ran all year round. The amplifier provided more than enough heat even in winter, the door was generally left open until Harry installed an air conditioner.

Interestingly, this holds true even today with cellular telephone sites.

....  I wouldn't want to call too much attention to the situation by adding another questionable structure to the back yard.  Anyway...sure looks like a nice little shack!

It certainly did garner attention, as posted elsewhere in this discussion someone set fire to it in the 1960s, causing extensive damage. Also, the local neighbors would occasionally become unruly and vandalize the property. Fortunately that ended.

It's located along a ridge about 3 miles north of Parkesburg, PA. The elevated location helped propagation. Here's a satellite view of the site:
http://tinyurl.com/kuf8eb

Since it was a large lot by today's standards, it was an ideal location for field day. Here are a few images from our photo collection:

Harry in front of the shack. The white object on the right is an old single-insulated refrigerator. Turning the plug over in the receptacle electrified the housing, which ensured lunch was still there at noontime.(Field Day 1967)

Here's a 160M balloon lifted vertical being assembled. I'm the scrawny kid on the left. (Field Day 1967)

Here I'm about to get a hydrogen balloon tied to my arm. I think this topic appears in the same book about childhood of yore, walking barefoot to school in the snow (uphill both ways), ate dirt and grateful for it, etc. (Field day 1967)

Here's the article about field day 1967 that appeared in our local newspaper.

It was an interesting experience having Harry as a father. Is it any surprise I specialize in disaster recovery in the cellular telephone industry?

Thanks for the great posts, guys.

Rick Davis
W3FDY

[Carl WA1KPD]

Joe, would you be willing to write up some of your memories so we can place them here for posterity? Maybe we can start a new section for Elmers or influencial hams of our early days.

That is a great idea..
How did we get interested and who Elmered us.
Carl
WA1KPD

[Carl WA1KPD]

What a wonderful thread, and what wonderful stories!   

- I'm 58.  I was 18, when I got my ticket.

56 here ... but look older in my avitar

[Carl WA1KPD]

Here's the article about field day 1967 that appeared in our local newspaper.

It was an interesting experience having Harry as a father. Is it any surprise I specialize in disaster recovery in the cellular telephone industry?

Thanks for the great posts, guys.

Rick Davis
W3FD

Rick,
Can you repost that in a way we can read it?
Thanks
Carl
/KPD

[Ralph W3GL]

Rick,

As there are a  lot of old pilots in this group of AM ol'buzzards, either you
or Joe might want to go into some of the adventures Harry  had over at
"Stoltzfus Field", etc...

[N3DRB The Derb]

great thread.

Maybe I wouldn't have chosen an ungrounded Gotham vertical to call CQ on 3716 for three days - with no answers ...

I did the same thing, with a vertical made by butternut, no grounded and no radials. never did get anyone. 

using the very first Viking 2 I owned......got all my BA's for free then, people would b thrilled when I showed up in the 1963 Ford Fairlane station wagon to cart off stuff.

[W3FDY]

Rick,

As there are a  lot of old pilots in this group of AM ol'buzzards, either you
or Joe might want to go into some of the adventures Harry  had over at
"Stoltzfus Field", etc...

Mom and Dad were both pilots, they both flew out of Stoltzfus field (N08) . I assume this is how and when they met.

Details:
http://www.airfields-freeman.com/PA/Airfields_PA_Lancaster.html


This was their first aircraft, a 1944 Boeing Stearman (Photo circa 1944-45)

Here's Harry in his Globe Swift (undated photo)


Mom, sitting on landing gear of her 1944 Stearman (photo circa 1947-48)


This photo was in Harry's shack for decades, aircraft is his Globe Swift (undated photo)



Stearman, with the later and larger engine. Cooling made the engine cowl necessary. (Photo taken circa 1948-49)


Swift in a low-level banking pass over Stoltzfus field. (undated photo)

Dad was a deadly combination of incurable prankster and technically competent, this made for some pretty spectacular events. I've been trying to document this anecdotal part of our history so my kids can enjoy it as well, but they won't see it until they're old enough. Part of this is his lifelong affinity for explosives.

A quick one: Dad agreed to buzz his parent's house when he bought the first aircraft. This was intended to be a signal that he had arrived safely. What actually happened: his parent's cats were startled by the sudden roar of the radial engine and panicked. As the cats tried to scatter in the house, their dog chased the cats. In an instant, the household became sort of a housepet hippodrome as the animals ran in circles through the various rooms. Since his parents were preoccupied with damage control, they didn't appear outside. Not seeing his parents outside waving, Harry turned around and...you guessed it.

About that time Harry's mother began to get control of the situation, Harry came through again, but lower & louder. Unfortunately, this caused most or all of the animals to panic again, and become incontinent. As the story goes, they simply ran over his mother and continued running for some time. Having the floors "lubricated" also hampered recovery efforts.

When Harry arrived home, his mother was not amused. His parents were the typical combination of domineering housewife & milquetoast husband, so she tore into Harry and also Harry's father to join in. When his mother was done, his father quietly asks..."is she gone? Good job boy, bring 'er through again so we can get rid of those cats once and for all!"

I suspect this is when he learned the value of a good old-fashioned buzzing.

Dad was obviously proud of this, and enjoyed recalling the story. He could paint a picture with words that left little to the imagination, and skillfully spiced the story with occasional bawdy lexicon. He recalled some of this story in a 1985 video interview at Coatesville airport. I was fortunate enough to get a copy, and transfer it to DVD. If I have time later, I'll see about a possible youtube option.

Time and space really doesn't permit me to go more details with this this post, but let's just say laws were a *lot* more lax back then.

[k4kyv]

Did he always wear the white shirt and tie while piloting his plane?  That photo reminds me of the  ham shack photos in magazines from the 30's.

[flintstone mop]

Those were the big days for Hamdom. Young kids were infatuated with radio.
I would almost be tempted to buy a nice house type shed as Harry built. Heat and A/C, of course. It would have to be a home to the Raytheon, besides the 8X15 room I'm occupying now.
Looks smaller than Don's K4KYV, shack
Fred

[W9GT]

A couple of years ago I saw a small building like that on skids for sale.  It had been used as a used car lot office.  It even had a restroom facility in it.  It may have been 10' x 15' or so....would have made a great hamshack...if you had a way to move it.  I think the selling price was $1750.  Many years ago, I knew a local ham who had a similar building...it wasn't detached...but much like a small garage...except it was his hamshack and workshop.  It was really nice, but he had some issues with his homeowner's insurance.  I don't know how it was resolved.

I also recall seeing some old pictures in an old QST or Radio mag of a very small hamshack building built into the base of a windmill tower,  The tower, of course held the antennas....really cool, but not very big...wouldn't hold much gear.

73,  Jack, W9GT

[W3GMS]

I believe Harry did meet his wife at the airport.  At least that is what I remember Harry mentioning to me years ago.  I am sure Rich or Alan could confirm if that is true.  Harry was not just passionate about Ham Radio and flying but he was an excellent golfer along with many other things.  He use to tell me how to cut grass to make it look like a golf course!  He took great pride in his Parkesburg Radio site.  The lawn never looked poor and was maintained very well.  He also told me stories about the best kind of motor oil to use in lawn tractor.  

He loved Cadillac cars!  He told me they were great cars and never buy a new one but wait a few years until they depreciated.  I remember the first Catty he picked me up in and I commented on how good the AM radio sounded and he told me he modified the audio amplifier.  Much later he shared with me his tremendous audio design knowledge.

He gave me a project to build an audio mixer like he built many years ago.  I had to go out and buy a drafting table since he was a stickler on drawing good schematics.  He taught me how to calculate all the component value which was priceless information for a young kid!  The design requirements were to have 6 audio inputs, RIAA equalization along with tape equalization and line level output.  I would work on the calculations and schematic during the week and then on Friday night he would go over my work.  Once the design was solid, we got into making drawings to do the sheet metal work.  Everything had to be symmetrical and the layout had to look professional.  Of coarse it had a big VU meter on it!  I could not afford a Simpson so I settled for a Calrad from Lafayette Radio.  He showed me how to wire to avoid ground loops and how to use lacing cord.  He told me that if I pay attention to the little things everything would work as expected.  Then we got to painting the cabinet.  He told me to bake the paint in an oven for a hard finish and showed me what kind of lettering to use to label all the controls.  My mom did not thing much of me putting all the sheet metal in the oven!  Well to this day I have that audio console.  I could never bear to get rid of it.  When I completed it, Harry made arrangements at different radio clubs for me to give a presentation on my work.  He said that talking to a big crowd of people would help my presentation skills once I got into the electronics business.  Boy was he right on that!  Sometime people would comment on my presentations over my 36 year career at Unisys and I said all the credit goes to my mentor Harry.

I could go on and on, but that's enough for now.  

Joe, W3GMS      

[W9GT]

Wow Joe. that is a great story and wonderful to hear about what a great mentor Harry was for you and your friends.

We had a similar experience in the late 50's here in Fort Wayne.  Myself and a few of my friends (ages 12-14) were mentored, assisted and just generally encouraged to get started in ham radio by a really nice old timer in our neighborhood.  Bob Hale, K9AFP was, unfortunately, blind, however, he didn't let his visual incapacity rule his life or limit his activity whatsoever.  He even prided himself on his homebrew projects and skillfully did such things as running a table saw very proficiently and without injury!  As a matter of fact, he was very meticulous about safety and careful procedure.

Bob helped us with theory and code and even assisted with our homebrew projects including novice transmitters, etc.  We would frequently stop by Bob's house after school and visit with him about radio.  Per Bob's instructions...we would just step inside the back door and holler for him and pretty soon he would appear and ask us who was there...we would then proceed to the living room which was dominated by a big old Zenith floor model radio , grab a chair and then have a nice visit.

Bob was a great CW operator.  He had worked for the airlines in the 40's as a radio operator and actually ran traffic on point-to-point HF nets.  He loved radio and his experience was, of course awe inspiring for us kids.  Bob, passed away a couple of years after I got my amateur radio license.  I will always remember him, though, as one of the major influences on my life and certainly credit him with giving me the needed encouragement to start out in radio.

73,  Jack, W9GT

[W3GMS]

Hi Jack,
Thanks for the positive comments on the FDY story.  The experience you related about your blind friend reminds me somewhat of Bob Gunderson, W2JIO.  He was blind since birth and that never slowed him down.  He had fantastic home brewing skills and did fantastic work.  Unfortunately, Bob passed away sometime ago following a Gal Bladder operation.  He and his wife Linda, K2LY use to visit us in their motor home.  He was very sharp technically and we had fun discussing things of that nature.  He also did a lot of work around the home.  I remember the time he put a new roof on his house in the dark and the neighbors would kid him and ask him to wait for day light hours so he could see! 
Yes, its nice to here the mentor stories.  Some of us were very fortunate to have had very positive role model mentors.
Joe, W3GMS           

[Tom WA3KLR]

Joe,

Can you post a photo of Audio Mixer #1 here?

Thanks,

Tom

[W3GMS]

Sure Tom, just tell me how to do it.  Maybe just cut and paste the jpeg into the attach line below?
Joe, W3GMS

[Tom WA3KLR]

Yep,  hit "browse" and select the .jpeg file on your hard drive, then "Post".