Category: Ham Radio

While I ALWAYS had a passing interest in radio, I always had it in my head that getting an amateur radio license was too difficult for my ADD-riddled brain to deal with, especially the part about having to learn morse code. Come to find out later that morse code was dropped from the test, and really getting a Technician license in the US isn’t very hard to do. I got licensed in 2016 and now enjoy tinkering with radio from time to time, with most of my activity in the car on my commute.

Also check out the new RADIO page from the top menu!

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Franklin Institute W3TKQ QSL Card from 1958

Being a Philly native, I have fond memories of the Franklin Institute from class trips and family outings. Growing up in the 80s and 90s I remember there being a new-ish ham radio station on the 4th floor where the telescope still is. Sadly like many things there it’s long gone, but I happened to find and acquire this old QSL card from the original station in 1958!

I do collect some FI ephemera, especially looking for ANYTHING from when they had the Futures center in the 1990s. Hit me up if you have any!

The ham radio station at the Franklin Institute was a partnership with a local ham radio club called the Philmont Mobile Radio Club. You can read more about the history of the station on the site here: http://www.phil-mont.org/tfi-hist.html . On a side note, I’ve hung out with the guys at Philmont and even got my ham radio license via their monthly testing sessions. If you’re looking for a local club, they’re a good one to check out!

I purposely left the rear of the card off as I have to censor some of the data, but the operator at the time was Nelson Schurr, W3DYP who filled and sent the card.

Stay tuned for more cool Franklin Institute stuff!