About the CCA
Bill Wheeler had a fondness for Collins radios. Through the years he had acquired a few pieces of Collins equipment, and enjoyed getting on the air with them. He found himself talking proudly about his equipment, whenever he found a like-minded ham on the air. After a while, he realized that there were quite a few hams that admired Collins Radio Equipment, after all, in his words, “(they) produced the very finest equipment available.” He found a number of these hams on Sunday afternoon wanting to share their experiences and talk about Collins Radio Equipment, too. He thought it would be a good idea to formalize that gathering and even advertise a frequency and time in the classified section of QST to put the word out.
On a Sunday afternoon in February 1989, Bill Wheeler hosted a net on 14.263 MHz with 17 other ham radio operators for the purpose of sharing information regarding Collins radios. That humble beginning eventually led to a net with over 150 check-ins, spanning well over 4 hours every Sunday afternoon and evening. Bud Whitney “K7 Rocky Mountain Time,” Dennis Brothers, WA0CBK; Warren Hall K0ZQD; Leo, W3KMK, Shannon Pickich, K5YSR; were some of those early pioneers, along with Bill.
Bill was never one who wanted the limelight, so he encouraged some of the other regular participants on Sunday afternoon to share in the responsibility of NCO (net control operator). One of those first hams to take on that responsibility and also share his technical knowledge on Collins radio repair and restoration was Bud, K7RMT.
On the 5th of November 1989, Bud was running the Collins User Net when Floyd Soo, KF8AT (now W8RO), checked in (on his KWM-2) for the first time. He was impressed with how organized and respectful the net was run, and was very excited to QSO with other ham radio operators who shared his love of Collins Radio Equipment. Floyd became a regular on the Collins User Net, so Bill and some of the other regulars encouraged Floyd to jump in and become a NCO. He did that for the first time on the 8th of April 1990, and he was hooked!
Floyd became one of the regular NCOs for the Sunday afternoon net and everyone told him that he had a knack for running the net and continued to encourage him to take on more and more NCO responsibilities. He was doing exactly that on the 30th of December 1990 when Jay Roman, KB0ATQ, and Bill Carns, N7OTQ, checked in for the first time. They joined a growing group of regulars, that now included Harry Kaklikian, W4ACN; Harry Snyder, W0RN; Jim Monk, W0JJL; Larry Stark, K9ARZ; Bob Heil, K9EID; Ric Strachan, C6ANI; to name a few.
Floyd was at the helm of the Sunday afternoon net on the 17th of February 1991, when he ended up with 75 check-ins, in a net that ran 4 hours and 25 minutes nonstop! Many believe that that was a new record as far as number of check-ins and length of time for the net. Some of the regulars now were also Tye Becker, KB8FJ; George Dubose, AC4FQ; and Foster Paulis, W4HCX/6.
Jay Roman also began participating in the Sunday afternoon nets regularly, and was also encouraged to become a NCO, which he gladly did. Bill, Floyd and Jay teamed up to be sure that there were NCOs with backups for every Sunday afternoon net. The three of them started talking about and organizing the first Collins forum at the 1991 Dayton Hamvention. A forum room was secured at the Hara Arena for the 26th of April 1991. It was promoted on the air, a guest speaker was lined up, and the trio knew it was going to be well attended just from the feedback the excited net members responded with on the air!
On the day of the forum, it was absolutely standing room only! People were packed into the forum room like sardines, with quite a few people standing outside of the doorway listening to the presentation and trying to get a peek into the room. (It was clear that in 1992, they had to find a much bigger room!) Bill began the meeting with a little “History of the Collins Net” and how Floyd and Jay teamed up with him to organize the net and how Jay was going to publish an official newsletter for our group called the Collins Collector’s Magazine (CCM). The guest speaker that day was Collins engineer Rod Blocksome, K0DAS. He brought a “KWM-3” prototype dual-VFO transceiver with him to show off. Rod’s presentation was on the “History of Collins Amateur Radio Gear.” Floyd owned a video production business, so he set up a camera and recorded the meeting for posterity.
In early 1991, Floyd also took on additional responsibilities as Net Manager. The Collins User Net was growing, and there were international check-ins now joining the fun. With the number of check-ins and the time it was taking to get through the check-in list, Floyd was finding more efficient ways to handle all the check-ins in a fair and timely manner. The idea of following propagation from east coast to west coast, instead of just going through Call Districts was instituted. When calling out to those different areas of the country, NCOs were now encouraging check-ins to just give their call sign, so all the NCOs had to do was write down a call sign or suffix. When that station was called on, they would provide “handle,” QTH and other particulars. The Collins Net SOP. written up by Floyd included how to handle mobile, “short-time,” portable, QRP and international check-ins. With the net running from 4 PM to after 8 PM Eastern Time, the propagation would change, even in the best conditions. Then there were contests, adjacent QRM and DX QRM to deal with as well. One thing was for sure, Bill, Floyd and Jay agreed that they were to always operate in a manner that would make Art Collins proud! In Bill Wheeler’s welcome speech at the first Collins Forum at Hara Arena during the 1991 Dayton Hamvention, Bill mentioned, “But the one recurring comment that I hear is the courtesy and the gentlemen like behavior that we have on the net and we have some very excellent net controls…” That was by design and it showed!
The other thing that Bill mentioned during that speech was, “To say the least, the Collins group is even more successful than I dreamed that it ever would be.” He started with 17 check-ins in his first net in February of 1989, to the 150 or more in the early and mid-90s. Bill also mentioned that there were an estimated 300 – 400 other hams and SWLs listening in the background. He knew this because of all the letters he was getting from the “listeners,” as well as the participants. (Bill’s “History of the Collins Net” also appears in the first issue of the CCM, June 1991.)
In the November 1991 issue of the CCM, the first ad appeared announcing the “First Annual Collins Collector Dinner,” at the Radisson Hotel on Needmore Rd. on the 24th of April 1992. There was a social hour, then a great buffet dinner and a guest speaker.
In the January 1992 issue of the CCM, Floyd responded to dozens of “suggestions and constructive criticism” with new net procedures in his Collins Net News column. The most noteworthy of the changes was that the net was to be divided into two halves; one half for Technical Discussion and the other half would be the Swap portion. He also mentioned at that time, “It is unfortunate that we are unable to just chat informally with everyone on the net. Seems those days may be gone, which is why we are organizing the 75 Meter meeting place.” That was a harbinger of an upcoming second CCA HF net, more with “ragchewing” in mind. Collins User Group members were now meeting on 14.263 MHz during weekday evenings.
In April of 1992, the trio hosted a meeting in the same Forum room has the previous year, because DARA could not give them a larger Forum room, because there weren’t any available. Ex-Collins engineer Warren Bruene was the guest speaker. His topic of discussion was, “Art Collins, power amplifiers and RF output network.” Warren and Art worked together. Warren was one of nine engineers that Art chose to develop SSB technology in 1952. Of course, during his “SSB investigation,” Warren built an engineering prototype of the 30S-1! (This presentation also appeared in the May 1992 issue of the CCM.) In addition, a banquet was planned off-site later that night at the Radisson Hotel on Needmore Road and I-75. There was a social hour and a great buffet dinner. Warren put on another presentation that night after dinner. The evening’s presentation was “Anecdotes about Art Collins and the Collins Radio Company.” Warren’s insight in Art and his company was due to much personal experience as Art’s friend and employee. What was unknown at the time was that Bill, Floyd and Jay put the wheels in motion for the formal organization of the “Collins Collectors Association” along with its new Board of Directors/Advisors! The 1992 Collins Forum/Banquet/Board meeting at the Dayton Hamvention was a pivotal event in the history of the CCA! This was the first annual of many CCA Banquets and gatherings to come at Dayton!
In the August 1992 issue of the CCM, the “Collins Collectors Association Board of Advisors” appears on the inside front cover. Here are the names and call signs of the Board: Bill Wheeler, K0DEW; Floyd Soo, KF8AT; Dennis Brothers, WA0CBK; Huey Carrol, KD3UI; Jay Roman, KB0ATQ; George Dubose, AC4FQ; Jim Bales, WD0GLF; Ty Becker, KB8FJ; and Bill Carns, N7OTQ. Behind the scenes, this group of gentlemen were busy planning and organizing future events. This was a very exciting time for the founding trio and the new Board!
In January of 1993, everyone knew that the sunspot cycle had changed and the 20 Meter evening nets were no longer practical. Floyd and Bill were actively lobbying for group members to look for an open spot on 75 Meters in the evening, so the CCA could continue with evening ragchews. 3.805 MHz looked promising, but that frequency (at the time) would preclude General Class licensees from participating; so everyone was still trying to find an open spot in the General Class portion of 75 Meters. The first ad for the Second Annual Collins Collectors Association Dinner and presentation appeared in the January 1993 issue of the CCM. It was scheduled for the 23rd of April, again at the Radisson Hotel.
On the 19th of January 1994, Butch, K0BS; Warren, K0ZQD; Chuck, WA4HHG; Bill, K0DEW; Manuel, WF1J/4, and Harry, VE1CDT; joined Floyd on 3.805 MHz; and so began the 75 Meter get togethers during some weekday evenings. It was not a “net” yet, as the group wasn’t officially meeting at a regular date and time on this frequency. However, some of our members were gathering there when circumstances allowed, so the group was starting to establish a “presence” on or near that frequency. On the 26th of January, the 16th of February, the 20th of April, the 17th of May, the 1st of June, the 22nd of June, the 24th of August, the 31st of August, the 28th of September, the 3rd of October, the 14th of October, CCA members gathered on 3.805 MHz during the course of 1994 to establish ourselves on that frequency mostly on Wednesday evenings. It took a lot of patience and respect, but by 1995, “the Collins guys” were considered regulars there.
The CCA has grown over the years as people have discovered Collins and their equipment, and as they have discovered the value of the services that the CCA provides to both its members and the public in general. In the interest of preservation of both the equipment and the history of Collins Radio, many of our services are available without charge. These include the Collins Reflector collins@listserve.com and all of the wealth of information and photographs that are available on this website at collinsradio.org or collinsradio.com . In addition, there are activities around the country annually and much of this is free. Please use the CCA Reflector link on the tool bar to find out more about the reflector and how to use it and join.
The CCA is still a club that is focused on quality and not size. We do not try and be the largest or biggest of anything. What we do try and do is be the best at what we do – – and that is to try and preserve and protect the history of Collins and its’ equipment and to support you, our members, or potential members. The bulk of our monies collected go to producing the Signal Magazine, paying for expenses at the events around the country and supporting our preservation efforts, the website and the reflector.
Because of our close and necessary relationship to Rockwell Collins and because we represent the best that the communications industry in this country ever produced, the CCA is focused on ethics and the quality of our operation, our products (website, reflector, magazine, etc.) including the management and operational style and efforts of the staff. The staff is not large and is entirely made up of volunteers. It is made up of people that are, for the most part also family members and are still involved in their careers. They do not have a lot of spare time, so use them wisely.
Above all, just like you all desire to have fun with your hobby, our staff does too. We try and minimize politics and things that distract us from our objectives. Those would be having fun and supporting you.
We will be candid here. If you are not a member, and find our offerings and services useful, you are invited to join and help support this effort. If you are a member, then you are invited to help with our efforts and volunteer some of your time and talents.
We unequivocally state the club is run conservatively, honestly and ethically. Members of the Board are volunteers and receive no compensation, directly or indirectly for their efforts on behalf of the CCA. The CCA does not accept donations or bequests of equipment. CCA Board members view their efforts on behalf of the CCA as part of our donation to the cause of preservation of the use and lore of Collins equipment and our hobby.
The CCA is an association taxed as a corporation for Federal income tax purposes. CCA revenues are received from membership dues and miscellaneous sales of merchandise. Annual expenditures for website and reflector design and maintenance, the Signal Magazine and related postage and out of pocket costs for scheduled events including The Dayton Hamfest and Dallas Ham Com essentially consume such revenues. Annual CCA net income, if any, is modest and is retained to fund working capital needs and balance accruals like long term memberships.
In short, this is a club that focuses on fun. It is a hobby for all of us. We have a zero tolerance policy for folks that are uncivil. This applies to both the reflector and the club. We have returned membership applications and fees and rejected people from membership when we feel that they do not represent us, or Collins, well. There are some strange people in this world, and we do not want to associate with them….particularly in a hobby and particularly where they can impact our reputation. Please do not confuse this position with rejecting differences of opinion. We solicit civilized constructive criticism together with suggestions to solve issues. We believe differences of opinion add new vigor to any operation and this is welcome.
Is this kind of a hard line? Yes it may look that way. We have found it necessary to keep out some really bad actors. Does it happen often…..no. Most people are pretty nice when it comes right down to it and when they understand the entire picture.
So, come and enjoy, and come and help if you are so inclined, and write us with any comments.