From the Newsletter history archives... Vintage Equipment From the September '87 Newsletter (entitled "Ham Radio News & Views"), it was noted that four of our members (Charlie Eaker, KB4SGO; Max Cowick, KB4UVI; Linda Eaker, KC4BSK; and Dixon Adams all upgraded from Novice to Technician at the Shelby Hamfest. Also, as a result of an August 25th graduating class, nine applicants were patiently (???) awaiting for their new Novice licenses to arrive. They were: Ramona Holloway (Lenoir); Mark Holloway (Lenoir); Lisa Cornwell (Hickory); Linda Eaker (Boomer); Neil Adams (Conover); Dixon Adams (Conover); Steve Thomason (Hickory); Alex Holden (Lenoir); and Chris Huffman (Granite Falls). Elsewhere, in the same issue, a proposed amendment to our ByLaws was about to be voted upon and those not attending the recent club picnic were advised to cast their vote via an absentee ballot or attend the next meeting to vote on the issue. In "The President's Corner" section, James (N4NIN) , called on the initiative of each member to help ensure that our up-and-coming fund raiser (a raffle) would be a success. He also extolled everyone to see that their emergency equipment be checked and ready-to-go for the coming winter. (Each month, a brief spotlight will appear here on equipment you may have seen at hamfest swap tables. This month the spotlight is on the Drake 1-A Receiver ). Looking for all the world like a piece of test equipment you would find on the well-equipped bench of many hams, this was actually one of the early Drake offerings as they entered into the ham radio receiver market. It is the pre-cursor to the world-wide famous Drake 2-B that many hams have sitting on their operating tables today as a standby receiver. Clunky as it looks, Drake did everything right! It was built like a battleship and the curcuitry was a modern marvel at the time of its introduction in the early 50's. It sported one innovation that endeared itself to many hams and went on in successive models to become it's trademark: PASSBAND TUNING! No longer did you have to sit and listen to that rare DX get clobbered by a pileup...you could use the passband tuning to shift the IF to separate the signals to facilitate your contacting that weak-signal DX station! Drake 1-A 's are extremely difficult to find these days...and when you do, don't get shocked by its pri ce! Pg 3 Drake 1-A Home Previous Next Now, try your hand at this month's offering: (Email me if you know! -Ed) The "big 3" automakers (GM, Ford, Chrysler) all offered pickups as a complement to their automobile line. Anyone outside of this circle were known as "Independents". During my high school years, my Dad happened to own one of these "Independents" as shown below. At first, I sorta resented the fact that we didn't at least drive a Ford or Chevrolet, but since I had no choice as to what I drove in the early years of my licensed driving experience, I soon fell in love with this truck's economical aspects, its quietness, and its dependability. ??? ??? ??? ??? Auto Trivia - [Last Month] All of the major carmakers (GM, Ford, & Chrysler) were seeing who could come out with the biggest tailfins during the 50's. The auto pictured below was probably the winner of the race as they sported huge tailfins this year! Probably the closest runner-up was the Caddy to this 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible . Did you guess correctly the year, make, & model??

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