Friday, April 1, 2016

Handles and Twenties

Many years ago young men gathered in corners of their bedrooms, in little closets, or in their parents' cars and participated in the latest communication craze. Lunchtime conversation at school included words like skip, linears, handles, and other arcane terminology known only to a select few. I was one of those young men.

I wasn't deeply into the craze. I didn't own a base station. I had an inexpensive radio with only a few channels. I'd almost forgotten my participation. Friends of mine who have scattered throughout the globe stayed with it and moved from citizen's band radios to the world of Morse code and amateur radio, also known as ham radio. I like that. Among the many memories that have slipped beyond my grasp, some flotsam stays within reach. One of those bits of data is K9SOH, my grandfather McNaughton's callsign. When he was spinning the dials and calling on friends around the world, he'd introduce himself, "CQ, CQ, CQ. This is K9SOH--Kilo Niner Sorry Old Ham ..." I'd stand by listening, amazed that he could speak with somebody on another continent from the collection of equipment cloistered in a room in the corner of his garage.

I didn't aspire to be a ham, but I did want the notoriety of being an unlicensed voice on the local airwaves. I'm reminded of that aged desire because I came across a list recently. And here it is. It includes the person's handle, or name that they used when transmitting, the CB channel they monitored, their twenty, or location, and their real name. To marginally protect them--we were testing the tensile strength of Communications law after all--I am including their given name and their last initial. Maybe. Maybe it's not their last initial at all. Maybe I'm making it all up. Who knows? But if you were there and you recall, you can check me on it in your own pile of discarded trivia. Otherwise, please enjoy the colorful handles and this brief trip back to rebels pirating the airwaves. 10-4?

HANDLE                  MONITORS               TWENTY                NAME
Cherokee Kid                    11                        
Snoopy                              11              1/2 mile Sugarland            Gary S.
Angus Rancher                 11                     Sugarland Road          David C.
Motormouth                  1, 11                    Sugarland Road          Jerry P.
Ski Rope                           11                    Front Street      
Wally Gator                      11                       Tampa
Southern Belle                 11                         Miami
Jack the Jew                     11                     Southern Indiana
Unit 9                              11                         Miami
Two-gun Kid                   11                         Lynwood Drive      Phillip S.
Country Girl                   10                   6 miles south                Mary B.
Tree Doctor                    13                   2 miles south                 David C.
Badcat                            10                   1 mile south                   Larry J.
Big Bill                           11                  1/2 mile south
Apple Picker                  11                      Mobile radio               Tim R.
Willy                               ?                       Mobile radio               Bill R.
Converse Kid                  10                    Terrace Park                Dean G.
Porky Pig                       10                                                         Rex C.
Mr. Baseball                  10                    West End                      Bobby F.
Bald Eagle                     17                   South Petersburg
Big Mac                         15                          3D store                 Woody C.
Super Chicken                                      Sugarland Road             David B.
Gearjammer                  19
Huggy Bear                  11
Waldo                           19                    Trucker
Drummer Boy                                                                           Mark R.
Skipland
Newcomer                   14                     1/2 mile NW               Mark V.
Jimbo
Scooby Doo                19
Phil Harmon               10
Doberman Kid                                     south Washington
Purple Lace                                                                            Tonya M.
Swinger                                                                                  Lamar G.
Mr. Ed                                                        Odon
Blondie                     10                       SE 2                           Susan S.
293                                                     West Virginia
Little Critter                                    Flatlands of Kansas
Pinball Wizard            10
Dr. John                      11
Sidewinder                 10