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 Previous: New ARRL Petition Seeks to Resolve BPL Standoff |  Next: Breathing Life Back Into A Club |
By Dennis McCarthy, AA0A
October 19, 2005
Billy Allen, now 17 years old, had heard about ham radio when he was 9 and started looking over his mind's horizons. Billy worked hard to earn his Technician Class license and in 1998 he became KC0EIO. He was very proud of his accomplishment and he gives credit to one of his teachers in Callaway County School District in Fulton, Missouri, where he lived at the time.
 Les Green K0LG and Jay Schwartz, K0JFI present Billy Allen, KC0EIO with a HF transceiver after Billy passed his General written exam. |
Although he was having fun with his Technician privileges, this was not what Billy had imagined ham radio to be and was looking to upgrade so that he would earn HF privileges and be able to communicate with other hams around the world. Until he met Jay Schwartz, K0JFI, Billy only operated 2 meter FM from his hand held radio.
Jay and Billy met at a meeting of The Lake of the Ozarks Amateur Radio Club, which has members from around the Lake of the Ozarks including Sunrise Beach where Billy lives. Jay divides his time between a home at Osage Beach, Missouri and his other home near St. Louis.
"He had only his handi-talkie and wanted to move up to higher class licenses," Jay said.
Jay had concerns about Billy's ability to operate an HF radio and the resource to acquire such equipment. You see, Billy was just an infant when he lost his sight in a trauma that also left his hearing somewhat impaired.
The more Jay talked about upgrading to Billy he saw that he had the determination to do it and Jay thought that with that sort of drive this kid was going to become a General class ham.
Jay presented Billy's situation to members of the Mississippi
Valley DX and Contest Club. MVDXCC club members eagerly got behind the idea of
helping Billy upgrade and get an HF station on the air. They quickly located a
Kenwood TS-440 and Jay and I strung a dipole in his backyard and snaked the
coax to the kitchen and fired up the rig. Everything worked fine.
 Billy Allen, KC0EIO talks with ARRL Missouri Section Manger, Dale Bagley, K0KY at a local hamfest. |
One reason they chose the TS-440 radio for Billy was that it had the option of installing a voice synthesizer which made it easier to operate for someone who is visually impaired. Because the radio was not a current production model, the synthesizer had to be sourced on the used equipment market. It didn't take long to find one at an internet auction.
Billy passed the general class written exam at the June meeting of the Lake of the Ozarks Amateur Radio Club and was presented the rig by Jay and another MVDXCC member, Les Green K0LG. "Getting the radio made Billy more determined than ever to pass the code," Jay said.
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Passing the CW exam can be a challenge for anyone and even more so for a person with a hearing disability. Billy had always wanted to be able to communicate with hams all over the world and he was not about to let anything stand between him and his dream. He worked hard and at the next LOARC club meeting in July Billy did pass the CW exam and became a General class operator.
Since then club members have help improved the antenna system at Billy's house and he is making friends on the air. Billy says "I really want to become a CW operator now."
Billy is grateful for all of the help that he had received
from Jay and the others. He thanks everyone who had a part in helping him
realize his dream of becoming a General class operator and to have a station capable
of communicating around the world. Billy says that although Jay's persistence
seemed like nagging at times, he knows it was really encouragement that his
friend was offering.
| Previous: New ARRL Petition Seeks to Resolve BPL Standoff | Next: Breathing Life Back Into A Club |
