Fred Pfannenschmid, La Junta, CO 81050 Amateur Radio Station
WØZZS Amateur Radio
I was born in Pueblo, Colo., on Nov. 25, 1939, at the old Parkview Hospital. I attended all public schooling through the 12th grade. I graduated from Central High School In Pueblo in 1957. I passed my Conditional Class Ham Radio license in 1955. The call I was issued was WØZZS. I passed my Advanced Class License shortly before they did away with that class, but I did get my C.S.C.E. for my 20 wpm code test before they did away with Morse requirements.
Dad (Fred Sr.; B.S, ME, Colorado University. Boulder, CO) (1918-2002) was also a ham in Pueblo whose call was KØDZI. He was the senior commercial radio operator and the junior ham radio operator. I was the senior ham radio operator and the junior commercial radio operator.wink. Dad ran a restaurant, and was also an airplane pilot. He owned a Taylorcraft BC-12D, and ran the cafe at the old Pueblo Municipal Airport on Prairie Avenue when I was young, in addition to running his own restaurant at City Park called the Bib'nTucker, a small hamburger place that catered to the lunch trade from the then-Pueblo Junior College in Pueblo.
A MEMORABLE NOTE: My very first airplane ride at the old airport, when I was 10 years old, was in a Vultee BT-13 aircraft, These planes were some surplus bought by some of the Army Air Corps guys who lived in Pueblo. The BT-13 was affectionately known as the Vultee Vibrator because it vibrated so much. Those were the days.
In my early days I worked for my dad at the Bib'nTucker. In addition to that, I worked operating amusement rides for both kids and adults in the same area of the park. I took tickets on Bill Daney's miniature train and operated all of his other kiddie rides across the street from Dad's restaurant. In 1958, after I graduated high school, I joined the Naval Reserve.
After my tour of active duty, I attended vocational classes at the former SCSC (Southern Colorado State College) (former Pueblo Junior College) in Pueblo. I obtained First Class Radiotelephone license, and worked for KCSJ radio in Pueblo for about a year. I was the transmitter engineer on duty the night of the 1965 flood in Pueblo. I worked 2 years on B&W television receivers, and 2 years for Uncle Sam as a civil servant at the Pueblo Army Depot. I was in the U.S. Navy for 6 years, 2 years on active duty and 4 years reserve duty. I was employed from 1968 to 2001 by the Water Board in Pueblo, where I worked on two-way radios, water instrumentation, supervisory pump control, time-pulse telemetry and any other electronics that needed repairing or designing and building.
From about 1982 until the mid '90s I also worked part-time at my home writing business software in MSDOS (Power Basic), I had customers literally from all over the world, using the Shareware marketing method. I still write some Windows ™ public domain software for ham radio/electronics people, but do not have the programs finished yet. I hope to get them done before I croak. I am no longer in the commercial software business, however. I am now retired, and reside in La Junta, Colo. I have two daughters, Julie and Melinda, and one son, Roger, and many grandchildren. My first two marriages ended in divorce, My 3rd wife, of 17 years, Nancy, passed away in 2003, and my 4th XYL, Bobbie, of 10 years, passed in 2014.
I now keep busy with my hobbies and attend my organizational and club meetings. My hobbies are electric welding, ham radio, model airplanes, computer programming, target shooting, 3D red/cyan anaglyph photography and motorcycle riding. I currently have a Honda Reflex 250cc scooter, a Kymco 49cc scooter, a homemade 2-cycle motorbike and a Curry electric bike. I also enjoy building miscellaneous electronic devices, measuring instruments, alarm devices, and misc. ham radio projects and kits. I enjoy playing the guitar and keyboard and singing, which I have done since the 1970s.
I enjoy my two basset hounds, Sammy and Stella. Willy, my wonderful Great Pyrenees/Lab mix, who was with the family for 12 years, passed away about mid-year 2017. Of course, we can't forget my house cats, QT and HOT Rod, and the newest addition to my house cat crew, a female cat I call "BW" (for Black and White). A wonderful cat, but has a bad habit of biting. She is very vocal, and keeps me running all the time, always into something, Hi Hi. My ham shack, welding shop and general workshops are in the 3-section garage. My cat crews that have "kitty door" access to the garage are: Mamma Kitty, a beautiful brown and black Angora cat, Mr Gray, Mr. Grayson, (Mr Gray's Son), and Mr. Orangee. I am also feeding Mr Badger, Mr. Whitefoot and others who show up outside to mooch food. I even have some skunks that come around at night to feed along with a possum who likes to nibble leftover cat food, and seed that the birds waste at the foot of the pole where the bird feeder hangs.
The ham radio nets I enjoy are the AM'ers net 3875 Kc at 0600 and at 1530 hours, the Colorado Columbine net on 3989 Kc at 1930 hours, The Colorado Weather net on 3989 Kc at 0630, the New Mexico Road Runner net on 3939 Kc 0100z, Kansas WX & SB net at 1700/1730 daily on 3920 Kc, The Nebraska WX net on 1995 Kc, the Western Kansas 160 meter net on 1960 Kc Tues nites at 2000, the Midwest Country Cousins net on 75 meters 3972.5 Kc at 2030 hours, the Wyoming Cowboy net on 3923.5Kc at 0045z, and the WARFA net on 3908Kc. I also belong to the Freewheelers net on 3916 Kc at 2200 MST, and soon the TALARC nets (American Legion). On VHF, I scan 146.79Mc(-), 88.5 cycle tone in Pueblo, 146.97Mc,(-), 100 cycle tone in Colorado Springs, The 144.535Mc simplex net that my Echolink radio is on, (Node 2055). The Yaesu Fusion system radio on 445.450Mc with my choice of many many rooms to connect to to talk to the digital folks. I run my Fusion Node on Analog FM, however. so others in the area can use it. My own room node is 40209 with my personal node of 30209. Of course, the 146.700Mc, (-) no tone repeater frequency here in La Junta for general use.
My current equipment: Yaesu FT-101ZD, Yaesu FT-757GX, Icom IC-730, Icom IC-718, A Heathkit HW-12 which I built in 1965, and an Ameritron ALS-600 linear amp, and an AL-811-H. On A.M. I use the FT-101ZD for a backup house station, a Hallicrafters HT-9, 100 watt AM transmitter that my Dad bought me in Pueblo in 1956, a Globe Scout 65-A, a Johnson Viking II, a National NC-173 receiver, a BC-348 receiver, and a Collins 51J4 receiver. On 2-meters/70 Cm, I have an Icom V8000, a Yaesu FTM-100 Link radio for Wires-X fusion link radio, a Yaesu FT-65 handheld radio, a Yaesu/Vertex VX-150, an Alinco DR-140 (link radio on Echolink), an Alinco DR-135 in the Jeep Liberty, a Kenwood 2-meter radio in my 1979 Ford Courier truck. My HF antenna is an inverted vee fan dipole with 80,40, and 20 meter wires, and a 135 foot OCF all band dipole. For 2-meters, I have both a Diamond 6db gain verticals along with several J-pole antennas for both the shack and the house. For UHF I use Tram 1481 hi-gain vertical antennas. I have to have outside antennas when operating from inside the house because it is 119 years old (1898) and has 2-foot-thick sandstone walls, which really hinder the radio communications when trying to talk from the inside using rubber duck antennas on handheld radios on vhf. or uhf. :-( . If you are in La Junta, as noted above, we have a local FM repeater on 146.700 Mc. (-) offset no tone.
I belong to the following organizations: ARRL, AVARC (Arkansas Valley Amateur Radio Club), Pueblo Ham Club now PARC, Colorado Springs ham club PPARC, QCWA (Quarter Century Wireless Association), OOTC (Old Old Timers Club). NRA (National Rifle Association), When I can, I donate to the GOA, NAGR CCRKBA and other gun-rights organizations. I belong to the La Junta Rifle Club, Southeast Colorado Antique Vehicle Club, AMI (AM International #1269), American Legion Post 9 along with TALARC, the Ham Radio Division, and Elks, BPOE #701.. I am also a member of the First Christian Church of La Junta, and the Arkansas Valley Cowboy Church. Thanks for reading...God Bless, and Happy Hamming!
73,
Fred WØZZS