Well I'm going to skip the real early
year stuff and jump right up to high school years. I started out
playing with crystal radios and fiddling with an intercom with my next
door neighbor who was a few years older than me, I was just out of
10th grade, summer of 1959. The intercom wasn't much more than a
couple of batteries and speakers.
While in the eleventh grade I found an old short wave radio in the
back of my neighbors garage, one of those that looked like a church,
he was about 50 at the time and said I could have it. I knew
nothing about ham radio but enjoyed listing to foreign broadcast on
it.
During the summer of 1959 I went to
work as a stock boy for Gold Bell Gift Stamps, I had given up my
Detroit Times and News paper route. It wasn't until that fall
when school started I heard two guys during lunch hour sending Dah Dit
Dahs and I had to ask. I was invited to the one guys house to
see his amateur radio station, I was hooked, after hearing and seeing
him talk to a guy in Texas with code (CW) I had to get me a
license. He was Paul Brown KN8PYU.
I studied and passed the code and took the written in just over 2
weeks, 13 weeks later I received my novice call KN8SMC. I took
my novice test from Ron Baird, W8AOL. Since I don't have my
first license and the FCC can't seem to answer my question, I'm not
sure if it was issued December of 1959 or January of 1960.
Anyway Dec/Jan 2009/10 makes 50 years ago.
My interest in electronics
was spurred and I took electronics class in 12th grade. Since I
came from a Catholic school to public school in the 11th grade I was
way ahead for graduating credits and only needed to finish my senior
year with English, (My worst subject), and Social Studies, so I had it
pretty simple. My class periods were Physics, English, Social
Studies, Gym, Lunch, Drafting, Electronics and Study Hall in that
order for 8 periods. My drafting I did at home and only had to
turn in work and be there for tests, while I was way ahead of the
electronics class with the teacher knowing and only made me take the
tests, all aces. So I'd turn in my drafting right after gym, go
check with electronics teacher and was on my way home to play radio
before noon. I was close to failing Physics, but second half of
year was all Atoms and Electricity, and I passed with a B average, the
teacher was amazed.
When it came to graduation my parents finally decided to let me go to
DeVry Tech in Chicago rather than some college. Ham radio had
pretty much pointed me in that direction. Thirty Six weeks of
basics, radio/television and test equipment repair and a certificate
in my hand I went to work for local Radio & TV sales and
Service, Hopkins Radio and TV.
I was not happy at Hopkins, they really ran a shoddy operation when it
came to servicing, as I grew up I learned not to lie or cheat people,
this was something they did every day. It was one of those
you're fired! NO I quit! deals. Not a good time to be out of
work in 1963 and with the draft approaching fast I decided to take the
deal offered by the Navy of guaranteed electronics for four years.
Over a year at Great Lakes, IL, boot camp, ET "A" school and
then ET "C" school. ET "A" school was once
again basics all the way through communications technician, receivers,
transmitters and service equipment. ET "C" school was
for TACAN an aircraft guidance system, 7 weeks long. June 6,
1963 through September 1964.
In October of 1964 my orders placed me a Roosevelt Roads, Puerto
Rico. While there I went from Seaman Apprentice E2 to Seaman E3
to 3rd Class E4 and 2nd class ET pay grade E5. I was immediately
given the TACAN site and worked at all the other different sites,
Mobile Shop, Microwave, Receiver, Transmitter, Ships, Rtty. I
also did part time work for Armed Forces Radio and TV. We had a
50 watt radio broadcast station and an 18 watt television
station. This is what made me decide to get my First Class Phone
License and passed it along with radar endorsement at San Juan, Puerto
Rico.
Since I had already gotten my amateur radio technician license I
wanted my General, but the Navy would not let me take off work to take
the test and finally got FCC permission to take my code test from a
First Class Radioman and written from an Officer. This got me
the conditional amateur radio license.
Well lets see, I met my wife Mary
back in my home town of Jackson, MI and we married when I still had
six months to do at Roosevelt Roads. We spent six months
together down there before leaving and I was sent to Virginia to go on
board the USS Claude V. Rickets, a guided missile destroyer. It
was the first ship in any fleet to get a fully transistorized TACAN.
Might have gotten a bit ahead of myself, before leaving Puerto Rico I
was made Radio Shop Supervisor along with all my other duties. I
also spent many hours in our club's ham station (KP4ATQ).
I went on board ship in July of 1966, the ship went back down to Rosie
Roads, (That's what we called it) for testing and I got to see all my
old buddies again, what a kick!
The Rickets did a tour in the Med and I got to see some parts of
Italy, Greece, France, Spain and some other islands. I became
Communications Supervisor right after I went on board, a First Class
and a Second Class Petty Office were Radar Techs and I was only Second
Class Petty that was communications.
When discharged in June of 1967 I went to work for WILX TV - WJCO
Radio as a Broadcast Engineer, Channel 10 TV and 1510AM. If you
found it at the station, I got to work on it, from Audio, Video to
Microwave. Pay was not great and I went to a small radio station
in Garden City as Chief Engineer. With in 4 weeks I was
totally board and went looking, my Ex-boss from channel 10 (Chief
Engineer) was called by channel 50 engineer to check on me. My
Ex-Boss called and hired me back with pay increase and called the 30
days I was gone a leave of absence.
In 1971 I became aware of RCA Service Company, Two-Way Radio
Service. I was hired and given a van with lots of service
equipment and a large area in the south central portion of the state
to service. Portal to Portal, paid for 40 hours a week even if
you didn't get that much and over time if you had more. Most of
my work was contract for Consumers Power Company. After almost
two years I could see the hand writing on the wall and knew RCA was
not going to stay RCA for a lot longer. After I left it was
bought out by Tac Tech.
It was good timing and the Michigan
State Police was filling some Radio Engineer positions. I was
hired December of 1973 as a Radio
Tech in charge of Radio Install at E. Lansing.
I already knew the Jackson State Police Post had a Radio Engineer that
was going to retire. I
transferred to Jackson 4th district in 1974 where two Technicians
covered the district. As usual things change and in January 1995
the 4th district was merged mostly into the 1st district. Had my
choice of 2nd or 1st districts to be reassigned to. I took 1st
district, at East Lansing again, but the state was footing the vehicle
and gas bill, but it made my day almost an hour and a half longer, I
lived two minutes from the Jackson District head quarters radio shop.
I finally took my retirement in July of 2002 with 28 and 1/2 years when an early out with
incentive was offered. With the state you can buy your military
time, so that gave me 32 and 1/2 for retirement. I spent 40
years servicing electronic equipment and truthfully I'd do it
again. It was fun and I'm proud of my family of 4 children,
Wendy, Jim, Bill and JuLee. My wife Mary is much younger than I
am and still working, but not sure she will quit until they make her.
William (Terry) Osborn, August 3, 2009
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