Reflections: The World at My Fingertips:

In June, I wrote about my family's first television set. In the article, I mentioned how it replaced an aging floor model radio that once held a prominent spot in a corner of our living room. For years before its relocation to the attic, it had been our source of entertainment and nightly news. A unique feature of the set was that in addition to the regular radio band, it had the capability of receiving shortwave radio broadcasts. Our attic was easily accessible from my second-floor bedroom. Unheated and lacking insulation, the attic was cold in the winter and sweltering in the summer. Old trunks and suitcases were stored there, packed with clothing saved for another day. Difficult for my mother to part with, the clothing never left the attic. Our Christmas decorations resided there until early each December only to be returned a month later. Dad's hunting clothes hung from a clothesline stretched between the rafters waiting for pheasant season. A single light bulb dangled from a wire cord, switched on and off by a pull chain. There, under the light bulb, sat the radio. One day, I went to the attic in search of my ball glove and bat. When I turned on the light I noticed that the light socket had an electric receptacle. I missed the radio not being in our living room. Why not plug it in and see what I could tune in? The dial began to glow and I could hear the familiar hum from the speaker as the tubes warmed up. Static crackled and hissed as the set came to life, a sure sign of an approaching summer thunderstorm. Listening to that old radio became my favorite hobby. The fascination and romance of faraway places in foreign lands was exciting for an impressionable young lad of 10. Through my exploration of the short wave band, I happened upon another collection of radio enthusiasts, ham radio operators. When I mentioned my new interest at the dinner table, my dad said that he had a friend who was a ham and the next week he arranged for me to visit his station. I stared with wonder at the bank of meters, colored indicator lights, dials and switches as Roy, "W9MUD" talked into the microphone to another operator in far-off California. I was hooked!

from Ham Radio Times http://ift.tt/2vZsZs9
via IFTTT