Well, how shall I begin? Do you know Skip, K3FCQ? You do? Good, then that simplifies the story a bit. I don't have to lead in with an intro of his many, many exploits...the Horsin' Around Award...or his audience with the Queen...or his Ham of the Year Award.

Ok, so I guess I can start right at the beginning. Now, this goes 'way, way back....probably close to 60 years or so. Back when Skip was a teenager. Well, anyway, before Skip skunked all those guys in their souped up Chevys and Fords with his hot 'Vette, I guess he was fascinated by that dawning technology -- RADIO!

Yep, this was right after the Big one...Uh-Huh, WWII. All that Army surplus and all was just ripe for the asking. Anyway, good old Skip, why he and his buddy, Lou, got to experimenting with radio. Skip had that old S-38, and he was mesmerized by the short waves, not to mention hearing folks, just like himself, HAMS. No, no. Skip wasn't a ham, at least not in the radio sense of the word......yet. But he was working on it.

At any rate, Skip subscribed to Popular Electronics and Radio Electronics, the magazines of the day that were on the cutting edge of new technology. And, just like today, those magazines carried ads to pay the bills.

And, Skip just happened to read an ad for Army surplus radio gear. The T-74/CRT3 emergency transmitter that the Army Air Corps pilots carried in case they had to ditch.

If truth were known, lots of the guys of that era had similar fixations. Just look at the pix of WWII aircraft. Virtually every one adorned by an artist's rendering of a voloptuous dame. So, maybe that's what caught our Skip's eye; but at any rate, the T-74/CRT3, also known as a Gibson Girl was just what Skip had to have.

And he saved up 'til he could order her, too. Well, Skip waited, and waited, checking the mail religiously every day. Finally his Gibson Girl arrived, and was she a beaut!!

Was Skip excited? Skip's always excited! More than that, Skip was ECSTATIC!! He couldn't wait to get 'er on the air! I guess the rig came complete with some sort of canister of Helium, 'cuz about as quick as he could get the gear unpacked, he was filling up the baloon and setting up shop.

In no time at all, he had things set up. The antenna was tied off, connected to the transmitter, and he was set to go. Skip started cranking and cranking the built-in generator and he was ON-THE-AIR!!

Well, a few minutes later, his mother came to the door and called him. "Skip...Skip, telephone."

Well, reluctantly, our hero abandoned his "girl" to answer the phone. "Lou, that you? Hey, guess what? Got that surplus gear in the mail today! Yep, got it all set up. It's a beaut! Wanna come on over? No, but.......Say, what? How'd you know I had it all set up?

"Skip, turn that darned thing off....right now! Everybody in town knows you got the thing. You're transmitting right on top of WCVI! And you're stronger than they are!!!!!!"

Well, Skip's date with his Gibson Girl was short-lived, but she really was a beaut! Yep, Skip's eyes still light up when anybody mentions the Gibson Girls. I guess you do always remember your first date!

Here's another version of the T-74/CRT3 Gibson Girl"

Ain't she purty......

73 de K3FCQ

Just a little background info: The T-74/CRT3 "Gibson Girl" emergency transmitter was used by pilots for DF when down at sea. The Gibson Girls were named after Charles Dana Gibson's Life Magazine pin-ups. By the way, Charles was ABC morning man Charles Gibson's Grandfather.