Electronics for the Hobbyist
Amateur Radio
When I got my first Ham licence in 1953 as WN8NSO, It was 5 WPM of telegraph code into a home built crystal controlled 6L6 shown in the ARRL Amateur Radio Handbook. After I dropped the Novice class "N" in my call 6 month later, and was certified as able to send and receive 13 WPM by none other than the FCC themselves, I became known to the world as W8NSO. I checked out the handbook's antennas and after selecting a reasonable looking one, I soldered it together and expected it to do the job perfectly. I liked to build so much that I had to get an Amateur Radio Handbook every 3 years because it was all worn out after 3 years! I got a lot of parts and boxes from Army Surplus stores in Detroit, like Aaron's and Silverstein's, and built a State of the Art station (so I thought). I got used to running a couple of KV to surplus WW2 RADAR tubes, finally settling on an 813 tube modulated by a pair of 811s on 160 meters.. Well heeled ham friends just bought their appliance as a kit. I thought it to be the high point of laziness to just purchase a Heathkit DX-100 aka "The Benton Harbor Kilowatt". And worst of all were some of my Ham acquaintances who just bought, ready to transmit, a Johnson Viking II transmitter.
Well it's 2007 now, my call has been W0LMD since 1967, Heathkit is long gone and Silverstein's is a parking lot. It's not your old long wire and homebuilt antenna tuner any more, it's a "G5RV' run by a "Ricebox" radio's autotuner. It's sophisticated, it's digital, it doesn't drift in frequency, and the instruction manual doesn't even tell you how to remove the covers. I can't remember the last time I talked to someone running a "homebrew rig"! And to top it off, the Ham of the future will be a NoCode Extra Class. Is Ham Radio dead? Click here to see how I evolved with the ham radio evolution into Software Defined Radio Systems, PSK-31, Satellites and Dish antennas, and Antenna designs to name a few.
Radio Control (R/C)
I bought my first model airplane when I was in the 2nd grade. When it became time to glue the wings to the fuselage, the directions not being too clear about the orientations involved, I asked my mother how the wings attached to the body. She looked at me, looked at the airplane in process, and looked at the directions. then she told how to attach the wings. When the airplane assembly was completed, and I took it with me for a little bit of "Show and Tell" at the new school I was attending. But my big splash turned out to be a real belly flopper! My mother's assembly advise resulted in the wings being put together with the ailerons facing forward. The other boys in the 2nd grade, being more aircraft savvy, I suppose, laughed at my obvious stupidity. That was the last time I ever asked my mother for aeronautical advice! Click here to find out more about why I did not become an aeronautical engineer or an air trucker (aka airline pilot) but did become an R/C flier and designer.
Musician
Even the kindest would never call me a musician. But I took Classical Piano Music lessons from the 2nd Grade through the 8th grade. Every day I practiced for one hour. The other neighborhood boys played baseball; I practiced "Country Gardens." My last recital piece was "Rustles of the Spring" by Christian Sinding. My music teacher, Rosie Snell, thought that it was much too hard for my mediocre skills, but Sinding was real close to Suding (My last name) in spelling, and I took Rosie's comment as a personal challenge. I memorized all 8 pages of this 5 flat monster, and played it flawlessly at my parting recital in 1951. 56 years later I still remember the first page of "Rustles of the Spring", and occasionally play it. Click here to find out more about how I migrated into my MIDI (which stands for "Money Intensive Digital Insanity") pipe organ building activities
Scientist
I never had any brothers or sisters. I was the proverbial "only child". I engaged in solitary hobbies when I wasn't doing homework or practicing on the piano. When I was in the 5th grade I discovered Electronics. I bought a commercial crystal set with a red plastic top holding a tuning coil, a Galena crystal and catwisker assembly to find the best spot on the Galena, and headphones. I soon found that this commercial crystal set had rather mediocre tuning abililities, when a strong nearby station in Pontiac, WCAR, would drown out the Detroit station, WXYZ. "The Lone Ranger", my all time favorite show, originated at WXYZ. I built a crystal set a week always looking to improve the selectivity to get the Lone Ranger and Tonto better. One time after putting a wooden lattice on my Rollfast bicycle, I wound about 100' of wire around that wooden lattice and could listen to my favorite program as I rode down the street My dad bought me a Lionel Train, Lincoln Logs, a Chemistry set, and the epitome of construction skills, a genuine A.C Gilbert Erector set #10 1/2 for Christmas when I was in the 7th grade. The local girls on Margaret Street in Auburn Heights, Michigan used to call me "Scientist Suding". In college I learned that telescopes exist, and started grinding my own mirrors and I memorized the stars overhead. Click here to read more about my involvement with Computers, Telecommunications, Astronomy, and Hobbyists.
Religion
All of my ancestors as far back as I can trace have always been Catholic, and so am I. At one time, in fact, I wanted to become a priest. But that didn't happen. Many of my classmates did go on to become priests but after just a few years dropped out of the priesthood, religion, everything. This disturbed me greatly and caused me to look for causes and answers. Traditional answers I didn't buy; I knew these guys too well. Looking around at Sunday Mass, all those empty seats, bothered me too. I came up with a unique formula that gives people a common ground for starting a religious dialog. DE GUSTIBUS NON EST DISPUTANDI. (Don't get into arguements about personal opinions.) I recently Joined the Kights of Columbus, and I am now a 3rd Degree Knight.
Most Peoples' Four Common Beliefs
God Exists
God loves me personally
God expects me to show gratitude by loving others
God wants me to be happy and gave me some guidelines
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Dr. Robert Suding W0LMD
27107 Richmond Hill Rd.
Conifer, Colorado 80433
(303) 838-6346
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