The Begley Family:
Bill-AE3J #0461, Robin-N3CJM #0462,
& Sons Bill Jr-K3RSA (then SWL-02) #0515, James-K3ROI (then SWL-03) #0516
AE3J - I started with radio at the age of 6 when my grandfather gave me a set of part 15 CB walkie talkies. My cousin Rich and I played with them for years. At age 10 we decided that we needed some way to talk from his house to mine about 1.5 miles away. At first we went to the attic to get more altitude. That worked when the band was quiet. By the age of 12 I learned how to make a Sterba Array with the help of the local library, the ARRL, and 73 magazine articles. We put up two antennas made of Romex and 300 ohm twin lead and had a great radio system - 59 signals over the 1.5 mile path. At 13 and a Boy Scout I learned the code in Troop 128. The trap was set. Drooling over Heathkit catalogs, I pressed on learning all I could with a book from Radio Shack, "FROM 5 WATTS TO A THOUSAND". Then one day there was an ad in the paper for a Ham Radio Class! I went, earned my Novice then Tech, Advanced, and in 1978 I upgraded to Extra. In 1981 I married my High School sweetheart Robin, N3CJM with my elmer Len Moncaleri, AC3T as my best man. It sure is great to have a ham wife. My radio hobby led me to a career in the Electrical and Electronics field. I learned how to fly and I am an FAA CERTIFICATED AIRMAN with ratings and limitations (Pilot). There is no such thing as a pilots license. For the past 19 years I have worked at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. I'm currently assigned to Flight Test / Customer Training at New Castle County airport Delaware. My wife and I have two sons Billy 10 and James 9, both Cub Scouts and working on the code. We are "know code hams". HI HI. I like to fly, work dx on 40 meters CW, go camping, spend time with my wife and sons, work on our Piper PA-28-140D, and go air mobile. PS and time out the local repeaters
N3CJM - I started in amateur radio in high school as a Novice so I could send CW messages to my boy friend Bill AE3J. In 1981 I passed the Technician test with a 100% score - must have been the private lessons from AE3J! I married him in August 1981. In 2000 I got a free upgrade to General. Most of my hamming is UHF FM on the local repeater with some HF on 10 and 60 meters SSB, and I work CW some times. I like Field Day and short contests. When I am not working as a Special Ed Teaching Assistant for our school district, I am studying for the Extra test and taking care of my three boys Bill AE3J, Billy 10, and James 9. The boys are Cub Scouts in Aston Pack 292 where Bill is a Cub Leader and I help. We are working with our sons on CW and then the written test so we can be an all KNOW CODE ham family.