How did you become involved in the radio hobby?

[N5TWB]

In the early 1960s as a young Cub Scout, I was fascinated by the Hallicrafters ads in the Boy's Life magazine that was part of being a Cub Scout. I showed it to my dad but never could get him interested enough to help me explore radio. I did find a neighbor installing a CB radio at his house so I pestered him the entire day to find out everything I could. It would be several years before I could get into it as the CB radio craze began in the early 70s as I entered college. The local CB guru was also into scanning so I had to have one of those, too.

In college, I was majoring in broadcast journalism and working in news on the college radio station so the scanner was handy. I had gotten my Third Class w/Broadcast Endorsement FCC License during this time, too. I still was interested in ham radio but I couldn't get the electronics technicians that were also hams and maintained the department's electronic gear interested in helping to bring a new ham into the fold. My scanners at that time included 8 and 10 channel crystal Regency radios and my CBs were mostly PACE, eventually getting into SSB. Never had a 40-channel radio.

Marriage, military service overseas, a civilian job and a young family took me away from radio through the 80s with the exception of having a CB when traveling for work. An out-of-town project gave me extra time to study ham radio and I got back into scanning with my first digital scanner, the Regency MX-3000. When I returned to OK, I was monitoring the local ham repeaters and got connected to several hams, attending an occasional lunch with the group. I finally got it together and tested successfully, getting the call I have yet today. Family and work still minimized my development as a ham, mostly operating mobile but dabbling in packet radio.

A job change and a move across the state connected me with a new group of hams who encouraged me and I upgraded to General. I got into public service events, weather spotting, ARES, volunteer Net Control Operator at the local National Weather Service office, and became president of an amateur radio club. I continue to learn with forays into APRS, D-Star, DMR, HF special events, and, coming soon, Yaesu System Fusion and HF digital modes.

 

[WE721]

Been around coal mining all of my life, and by association CB radio's. Learned about skip & 11 meter band, and export radios. Its spread from there.

 

[N9NRA]

the start of my "radio life".

Actually my start was when i was a kid, one of my brothers built an HF (what we knew as shortwave) reciever, which i used to listen to a LOT at night, kinda inherited the unit when he went away to collage and i got a bit older, loved that radio . Couldn`t copy SSB or CW with it, but wow could that thing pull in shortwave (AM) stations. Later on i got me a scanner (Realiastic PRO 2003 50 channel desktop unit) and got intrested in VHF& UHF listening, and that took me to the CB band (there, i said it lol), and later down the line my ham license, which i still have . In fact i still like to monitor HF as well as VHF & UHFalong with doing digital ham (DSTAR, DMR) stuff. One thing i fondly remember is listening to that shortwave radio at night after my folks hit the sack, had to use headphones so they wouldn`t catch on that i was still up . Never did get caught, and i had a blast with HF and later on a scanner & ham radio, which i still find enjoyable. N9NRA

 

[KK4JUG]

Boy, I must be old. My first radio was a crystal radio with a cat whisker in the early 50s (no kidding). Living in a valley in the Ozarks of Arkansas, radio reception was hit and miss. If the stars were in alignment, and I held my mouth right, and waited for a waning moon and boiled a bat wing over a fire made with fat lighter, I could pick up some of the clear channel stations (New Orleans, Chicago, St. Louis, etc.)

Television?? Not a chance.