KA9MOT
12-05-2011, 12:15 AM
A few years back I was working on a very part time basis for a local Chrysler dealer as a driver. I would go to various auto auctions around the country or other dealerships and pick up vehicles. Every once in a while I'd get a run that was a little different. This is a story of one of those trips that was a little different and leads to my new loaner space heater that will be arriving on Tuesday.
John (The dealership owner) called me about 9PM on a very cold winter night (2007 maybe 2008 ) and asked me if I could make an overnight trip to Wisconsin. I'm not one to turn down a road trip and since everything I did for John payed well I told him I could. When I got to the dealership, John and another guy (Dean) was waiting on me and John had a new Chrysler van warm and toasty and ready to go. Dean had sold John a Dodge Truck on eBay and had delivered it thinking he could get a rental car and drive it back to his home in the Madison, WI. area. Unfortunately, Dean had arrived in our small town long after the car rental place had closed, so I was asked to drive him home.
The trip started out with the usual small talk and expanded to other things in short order. The topic of Ham Radio came up (I'd brought along my Kenwood TM-d700a and APRS setup), and Dean told me he used to be a Ham with a Novice Ticket but had gotten out of the hobby. We talked for hours about the hobby, new rules, and how much I enjoyed the hobby. We talked about other stuff too...cars etc.
A few months later I received a PM on "DA ZED" from Dean. Based on our conversation he had decided to get back into the hobby and he was granted the vanity call K9QB. What a blast. I was very happy to hear this news. We have kept in touch via email and have had 1 QSO.
Anyway, Dean knows I had to sell all of my equipment and he knows I have been trying unsuccessfully to borrow a rig. He bought a Kenwood TS-130S on QTH and was going to loan it to me, but the rig arrived DOA. So, he has decided to send me his perfect Heathkit HW-101 with speaker and PS.
I'm so freakin excited about this! I had a HW-101 that I gave away that I absolutely loved, and here lately I've been thinking about how good that big old green monster would look at my operating position, and was very sorry I gave it away (I gave it to a new ham, who traded it off). Now, temporarily I'll have another!
WOO-HOO!
John (The dealership owner) called me about 9PM on a very cold winter night (2007 maybe 2008 ) and asked me if I could make an overnight trip to Wisconsin. I'm not one to turn down a road trip and since everything I did for John payed well I told him I could. When I got to the dealership, John and another guy (Dean) was waiting on me and John had a new Chrysler van warm and toasty and ready to go. Dean had sold John a Dodge Truck on eBay and had delivered it thinking he could get a rental car and drive it back to his home in the Madison, WI. area. Unfortunately, Dean had arrived in our small town long after the car rental place had closed, so I was asked to drive him home.
The trip started out with the usual small talk and expanded to other things in short order. The topic of Ham Radio came up (I'd brought along my Kenwood TM-d700a and APRS setup), and Dean told me he used to be a Ham with a Novice Ticket but had gotten out of the hobby. We talked for hours about the hobby, new rules, and how much I enjoyed the hobby. We talked about other stuff too...cars etc.
A few months later I received a PM on "DA ZED" from Dean. Based on our conversation he had decided to get back into the hobby and he was granted the vanity call K9QB. What a blast. I was very happy to hear this news. We have kept in touch via email and have had 1 QSO.
Anyway, Dean knows I had to sell all of my equipment and he knows I have been trying unsuccessfully to borrow a rig. He bought a Kenwood TS-130S on QTH and was going to loan it to me, but the rig arrived DOA. So, he has decided to send me his perfect Heathkit HW-101 with speaker and PS.
I'm so freakin excited about this! I had a HW-101 that I gave away that I absolutely loved, and here lately I've been thinking about how good that big old green monster would look at my operating position, and was very sorry I gave it away (I gave it to a new ham, who traded it off). Now, temporarily I'll have another!
WOO-HOO!