I started DXing abut 1962 at 13 in Seward AK, but knew nothing about what I was doing. I was on my way home from school and was going through an alley about a block from my house and noticed a wooden case on a garbage rack that was brown with a leather type covering. Since it was on the rack, I fiqured I would bring it home. I got to the house and on the porch opened it up and found it was indeed a radio, which I saw the cord. It was a Zenith that the front cover unsnapped and the round dial was underneith. I brought it into the house and showed it to my mother and I was going to plug it in and try in out. My mother said, wait until my father gets home. When Dad got home, I showed him the radio. He looked at the cord and it looked okey, so he plugged it in and I turned it on. It warmed up and it worked. As I remember it was fairly sensitive and got all 4 of the Anchorage stations, including the 1 KWer, KBYR on 1270. That was a feat as the station did not get out all that well over the mountains. the other stations, KFQD 730 khz (later 750) was 10 KW, KENI on 550 (5 KW) and KHAR-590 (5 KW) all came in well without any outdoor antenna. I soon hooked up a 30 or 40 foot outside antenna to the radio and I was hooked. It had a couple SW bands if I remember correctly. Within a couple years I started reporting DX to Popular Electronics and I got some letters from DXers. One in 1964 was from a DXer, Dave Listort from Elmont NY who asked me if I QSL'd? I had no idea wht he was talking about, but I asked my father and he said, he did not know of AM stations QSLing, but Hams did, but soon I found out about that and I got my first 2 MW QSLs, KPAY-1060-Chico CA (Now gone) and the other was KFBK-1530-Sacramento CA. If I was hooked on DXing, getting QSL's even made it better. I then started writing SW stations or anything I could QSL including a CB station at the Seward Boat Harbor! I still have all of those. But looking back I would never have dreamed of being at it nearly 50 years and have so many QSLs. That afternoon of noticing that radio on the garbage rack changed my whole life.
73, Patrick Patrick Martin Seaside OR KGED QSL Manager _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
