Dave Schmarder
Traveling at over 65?
Hi Friends and foes. Dave Schmarder is still here and I have a new web page for you.
The big news is that I passed the big sixty-five mark a few months ago. It is really being
cool to be born on an even decade. It makes it much easier for me to calculate my
age when asked. I hate those trick questions. If you count the conception, I've been
around for 7 decades. But at least now, when the time comes, they won't say that I
died young.
I'm building those little radios still. That is what is keeping me busy, except
for building websites. Neither pays hardly anything, they are just my hobbies.
In The Beginning …
Hello friends and web surfers. I will start at my beginning. It was the summer of 1949.
A hot summer night. Mr. Schmarder asked Mrs. Schmarder, "Do you want to go to sleep or what?".
His wife and at any moment soon to be my mother was out in the other room and
didn't quite hear him. She said, "what?", and that was my beginning.
I hung around the womb as long as I could, but alas it was time to come out
and meet everyone. I sure liked it inside and alone. But now it was time to deal with
people.
I was the second of what was to become three boys. I know that some of you are
thinking "Curly, Larry and Moe". Let's get back on the subject, and that subject is me.
It is my page!
So now it was mom, dad, Les and myself. That was cool. I got so I really liked my
big brother.
Everything rolled along fine, until Christmas 1954. I found myself
at my aunt and uncles house. I can't remember going there, but Les and I had a nice
Christmas at their house. When I came home (I do remember that), I had a new baby brother,
Raymond. So that rounded out our family.
When I was young, I became interested in the railroad. Trains were my thing! It was 25
years later that I took my first train ride though. Then at around 7 or so, I became interested
in radio and electronics. My dad used to repair radios and I would hang around and watch.
When I was 8, my dad got his ham radio license. That really got me interested in radio!
I managed to graduate from high school, and by then I had my own ham radio license.
Then I studied Electrical Technology at
Erie Community College aka the high school with ash trays.
To continue with this boring biography, I ended up working for Corning Electronics
Inc. I was there for 34 years. I learned a lot from Ed and Ozzie. It wasn't always
electronics related either. :) Sure was a hoot!
The original 1955 Schmarder family was 5, now there just two, just Ray and I.
My dad died in 1981 at nearly 63 years old, followed by my mother at nearly 62. Les passed away at 52.
Well, the years went by and now I sit, old, fat and bald in my little house,
enjoying building crystal sets and tube radios. Other
current interests include Amateur Radio and fiddling with Linux. I found that I also
enjoy writing web pages. I started writing my pages in 1996.
I like using the language of my ancestors, German.
I taught myself some German by listening to the Deutsche Welle on short wave. I ended
up visiting the Fatherland (the kingdom of Bavaria) and was able to practice the language.
Sometimes they would wince at my grammar, much like the dental patient does when the
novocaine isn't working.
Now I will be ready to talk with my ancestors when the time comes.
I hope this is interesting. I offer a complete money back guarantee if you are not happy
with my page. Please contact my complaint department
if you are in any way unhappy.
Amateur Radio — N2DS
2015 marks my 50 th year as a licensed ham radio operator.
My novice call was WN2TCY ,which turned into WB2TCY when I earned my general license.
My other call signs include WA2HNJ and AB2TCY. I have been N2DS since 1977.
My amateur radio interests have included RTTY (radio teletype
with those old Teletype Corp. mechanical machines. My uncle worked
for the phone company and supplied me with a machine or two.).
I also was into slow scan television. I remember seeing a demo
of the original SSTV at a club meeting. When it was made legal
for short wave use, I built a monitor. I was active on packet
radio, but then I discovered the internet!
While I am in a ham radio lull right now, my interest is starting
to build. I might get back on HF but only on CW. Amateur radio
has changed a lot in the last 40 years. I have also changed a lot
too. Perhaps there is a niche for me somewhere in this big hobby.
I purchased an Icom IC706 transceiver in 2003. I don't use
it much right now but this could change and I want to be ready.
Web Development
After arriving on the internet in May 1996 (had to get a phone first),
it was only about two months and I had published my first web page. Now
I do it every day. I don't make money doing sites, as no one has ever offered
to pay.
My jewel is makearadio.com. I have
lost count of the number of pages on this site, but when I checked last fall, it was
over 350. The site is about the homemade radios that I and others have
built. I really feel happy when I read the nice comments about my projects.
It gives me the incentive to make more.
My latest thing is to use HTML-5 and CSS-3 code. I am ahead of myself
somewhat as these aren't approved standards. But for now I'm keeping a
light touch on the bleeding edge code, so that most browsers will handle
what I code, but the latest browsers see the nice page effects.
Thanks for stopping by!
