Jim Fankhauser

Email w7jwt@juno.com Phone: 480-833-4023

After we graduated from ASTP in October of 1944, several of us were sent back to Camp Crowder, MO. I was entered in the Radio Repair School exactly where I was when pulled out for ASTP eighteen months earlier!

I was taught how to repair about all of the Ground Forces radios from the SCR-536 Handi-Talkie to the BC-310 Transmitter. After that school, I was assigned to the AN/TRC 1, 2, and 4 school. By the time that was concluded, I had been at Crowder for six months.

Then the Army sent a couple of us to Ft. Monmouth, NJ including Sam Gomelinsky (now Lynne). I was assigned to the AN/TRC-5 school. This equipment was an eight-channel radio-link system operating above a Gigahertz: carrier frequency. After only three weeks of the nine-week course, I was made an instructor on that equipment, I had to teach two of the nine weeks of the course 'that I had never had as a student! I enjoyed the teaching very much. I don't know what the students thought about it!

Eventually, the war with Japan was over so the AN/TRC-5 course was canceled. I did "dink work" at Monmouth until suddenly Sam and I were transferred to Ft. Bragg, NC. I was assigned to the "Army Ground Forced Board Number One," whatever that was. 1 awaited the day when I would have enough points to be discharged. I had no desire to stay in the army once the war was over.

That day finally arrived. Sam and I were sent to Ft. Dix, NJ for separation. Happy day.

I roomed with my brother and mother in New York City from February 5 until mid-September,1946, at which time I returned to Iowa City to complete my BSEE degree. That took three semesters so I finally graduated January 31,1948. Professor Kurtz had a halftime instructorship available the following semester and summer and offered it to me. I accepted. Then, in the fall of 1948, a full-time instructorship opened up and Kurtz offered that to me.

I stayed on at SUI for ten years, teaching EE courses, and being promoted to Asst. Prof. after seven years. I was married in 1953 and Ruth and I had a baby girl in March of 1956. It was very hard to make ends meet with a salary of $6250 for the nine months work and no summer work promised. Therefore I left teaching at Iowa and joined Collins Radio Company in September of 1958. 1 worked as a design engineer in an avionics group, then spent several years in the computer division, then ending up in Components Engineering by my own request.

I was caught in Collins' downsizing in 1969 and 1970 by being "retired early at the company's option. I still get a small pension, however. The Personnel Department found me two teaching positions, one of which I accepted.

I taught Electronic Technology at The College of Lake County in Grayslake, IL for 2½ years after which I accepted a job as "Resident Engineer" for GTE Sylvania. I was staioned in the Integrated Circuit Center of Motorola in Mesa, AZ for 5½ years. Sylvania was procuring microcircuits for use in the Minuteman III system. The ultimate customer, the Air Force, insisted that Sylvania have a resident engineer in every plant that was making a so-called critical item. Microcircuits were now on that list.

In August of 1978, 1 went to work for Motorola's Government Electronics Division as a Reliability Project Engineer, "RPE." I worked for Motorola for eleven years then retired September 29, 1989.

Ruth and I ended up with two girls and one boy. Two of the three live in Phoenix and the third now lives near San Diego, CA. We have a total of five, grandchildren and no great-grandchildren yet.