Tri-State Member: Randy Wilder (WB4LHD)
Everyone in Tri-State knows who Randy Wilder (WB4LHD) is. He is one of the founders of the Tri-State. We, Chris Wilson and Geron Craig (the "hamsters") owe a lot of thanks to Randy. If it weren't for Randy, we probably wouldn't be about to get our ham licenses. Back in late 1998, we had become interested in CB and ham. We didn't know much about ham, but we did remember this guy who lived around the block from us who had a bunch of tall antennas in his backyard. So, we thought we'd give Randy a little visit. I remember the first time I saw his shack, I saw a roomful of radios, cords, and computers, scattered all over the place. We had no idea whatsoever the purposes of all the different boxes were, but after several weekly visits to Randy's house, we would come to understand the contraptions more. He gave us a couple books to start studying for our ham licenses, and also gave us a practice keyer to learn the code. After studying and visiting Randy's shack several times, we were actually beginning to understand amateur radio. On some of these visits, we went to work on some of the repeaters at Collierville, SCO, and Clark Tower (which was a very exhiliarating view on top of one of the tallest buildings in Memphis). During one of these visits, we were dubbed the "hamsters" by Randy's daughter, Tammy. From then on, were to be hamster #1 and hamster #2.
According to Randy, he got started in ham when he was in high school, and ever since, he has "lived and breathed" radio. He and a couple of his ham buddies started Tri-State Repeater Association back in the 70's in order to create a repeater system in which any ham could utilize (read the history page). Randy currently holds an advanced ham license.
We also want to thank Randy's sweet wife for putting up with our constant visits to his house. Randy must have a really special wife, because we don't know too many women who would want to have several unsightly antennas looming above their homes.
Now, thanks to Randy, we are about to take our ham exams for Technician No-Code licenses. So hopefully you should be hearing the hamsters on the air soon!
-The Hamsters Chris Wilson and Geron Craig
If you are a member of Tri-State, we would like you to send us a description of how you got started in amateur radio, and anything else about your amateur radio life you find interesting. Or, if you know of a Tri-State member you would like to write a profile about, feel free to do that also. Don't feel modest about writing about yourself, we just want some info on as many of the members of Tri-State as we can get. E-mail your description to us at memberprofiles@tristateradio.org. Be sure to give us your present and any previous call signs.
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All pages created and maintained by the "hamsters" Geron Craig and Chris Wilson. E-mail us.