31-05-2019, 10:45 PM
Hello All
I’ve been registered quite a while and have been an occasional lurker even longer so it’s really about time I introduced myself.
Some of you may recognise the moniker from elsewhere - an appropriate avatar will follow. It was an obvious choice seeing that my oldest items are 1930s woodies. I’ve always loved the ‘rising sun’ boxes as my long departed grandmother owned a model P.
My fascination for radio was sparked, as probably in many cases, by finding offshore ‘pirate’ radio stations on the family portable when I was but a nipper. Our regular TV repair man gave me some coils and a few other components and using a book borrowed from the local junior library I made a crystal set by twisting the wires of the various items together to make the connections as Dad’s tool box didn’t run to a soldering iron. Probably just as well though by the time I was ten my parents were happy for me to be let loose with one working on the kitchen table. I graduated through the usual things, a Philips Electronic Engineer set and making simple Practical Wireless and Radio Constructor projects.
This month marks fifty years in amateur radio. I logged my first amateurs as an ‘SWL’ on my first crude regen short wave set back in 1969. I got my G8 licence in the 1970s and subsequently did the morse. I dabbled a bit on HF though I was mainly active on 2m SSB (and CW once I had the G4), with occasional forays onto 70 and 23cm - the latter was a bit exotic back then. The usual distractions then got in the way and the aerials came down with a house move and I haven’t pushed the mic button or tapped the key since though I have kept in touch as a listener. I still have much of the gear and as some of it was already considered vintage when I was on the air - and made me the butt of a few jokes then - it is well and truly vintage now!
Despite the enthusiasm of my formative years I have never worked in electronics. At junior school I wanted to be an electronic engineer but let’s just say my secondary school and me were less than an ideal fit and I took the only further education avenue offered and which sent me in another direction completely.
I started getting interested in vintage stuff about twenty years ago when I happened across an HRO locally. Amateur gear had become a consumer item and I decided going back to basics might capture a bit of the old magic. There was still plenty to be heard on the short waves and so it allowed me to keep my hand in if only occasionally.
Amateur radio is now far removed from that of my active years and, frankly, the modern era and FT8, etc., is a complete mystery to me. Vintage technology is the only technology I remotely understand. I still work and so time for projects is limited and progress slow and, typical of our ilk, I have other interests that extend to classic cars and steam railways, etc., that call on my time. If I’m honest I’ve too many projects - which is also probably fairly typical!
So, if you’ve got this far, thank you for indulging me!
I’ve been registered quite a while and have been an occasional lurker even longer so it’s really about time I introduced myself.
Some of you may recognise the moniker from elsewhere - an appropriate avatar will follow. It was an obvious choice seeing that my oldest items are 1930s woodies. I’ve always loved the ‘rising sun’ boxes as my long departed grandmother owned a model P.
My fascination for radio was sparked, as probably in many cases, by finding offshore ‘pirate’ radio stations on the family portable when I was but a nipper. Our regular TV repair man gave me some coils and a few other components and using a book borrowed from the local junior library I made a crystal set by twisting the wires of the various items together to make the connections as Dad’s tool box didn’t run to a soldering iron. Probably just as well though by the time I was ten my parents were happy for me to be let loose with one working on the kitchen table. I graduated through the usual things, a Philips Electronic Engineer set and making simple Practical Wireless and Radio Constructor projects.
This month marks fifty years in amateur radio. I logged my first amateurs as an ‘SWL’ on my first crude regen short wave set back in 1969. I got my G8 licence in the 1970s and subsequently did the morse. I dabbled a bit on HF though I was mainly active on 2m SSB (and CW once I had the G4), with occasional forays onto 70 and 23cm - the latter was a bit exotic back then. The usual distractions then got in the way and the aerials came down with a house move and I haven’t pushed the mic button or tapped the key since though I have kept in touch as a listener. I still have much of the gear and as some of it was already considered vintage when I was on the air - and made me the butt of a few jokes then - it is well and truly vintage now!
Despite the enthusiasm of my formative years I have never worked in electronics. At junior school I wanted to be an electronic engineer but let’s just say my secondary school and me were less than an ideal fit and I took the only further education avenue offered and which sent me in another direction completely.
I started getting interested in vintage stuff about twenty years ago when I happened across an HRO locally. Amateur gear had become a consumer item and I decided going back to basics might capture a bit of the old magic. There was still plenty to be heard on the short waves and so it allowed me to keep my hand in if only occasionally.
Amateur radio is now far removed from that of my active years and, frankly, the modern era and FT8, etc., is a complete mystery to me. Vintage technology is the only technology I remotely understand. I still work and so time for projects is limited and progress slow and, typical of our ilk, I have other interests that extend to classic cars and steam railways, etc., that call on my time. If I’m honest I’ve too many projects - which is also probably fairly typical!
So, if you’ve got this far, thank you for indulging me!
Nick
