Fascinating to read the stories how many of you got started in ham radio.
I'm six years younger than Jim W9VNE / VA3VNE. As a youngster, space
travel caught my interest (back when it was science fiction) and I
developed an interest in science. At age 12, I happened to discover
a Zenith shortwave radio at a friend's house that showed "Police"
bands. We tried it out but heard nothing until tuning down to 4-mcs
(Hertz was not yet in use) and found a bunch of guys talking. 1957 I
built a 3-tube regen receiver and 1958 got my Novice license. My
aspirations switched to electronics and I pursued an EE degree in
college a few years later.
Having only a Technician license "shoved" me into the VHF
bands. Space tech still attracted me and I was lucky to get a job
working for NASA in 1971 at Goldstone Tracking Facility. 1979 I
moved to Alaska for a different lifestyle and worked 30 years as a
2-way radio tech. Ham radio lead me to my profession and has
remained my interest for over 60 years. These days, I am well into
doing eme on the microwaves.
Not sure how ham radio attracts folks these days. But my guess a few
of the STEM students are a good bet.
These days building small microprocessors as part of ham radio is a
obvious entry. Certainly a K3S or K4 is pretty high-end for young
folks. So there is the KX2/KX3 and a plethora of SDR's to get folks
going (like my 3-tube regen and DX-35 did for me). Unfortunately,
Heathkit is no more but then thru-hole soldering is long gone, as well.
Maybe future will see some youngsters building quantum radios??
73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
Dubus-NA Business mail:
dubus...@gmail.com
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