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Old July 4th 11, 06:14 PM posted to rec.radio.shortwave
Geoffrey S. Mendelson Geoffrey S. Mendelson is offline
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Jun 2006
Posts: 487
Default First radio that got you into DX-ing?

Gisle Vanem wrote:
Please folks, tell us about what radio got you into DX-ing. I.e.
which radio was the first "fix". The one that made you pursue DX-ing?


In 5th grade (1965) I got interested in electricity. I moved that summer
and a neighbor across the street gave me two ARRL Handbooks, one from the
1940's and one from the 1950's. No ham, no radio, just the books.

Two years later I moved again and this time I was in an apartment with a
trash chute in the nearby stairwell. We were on the ground floor, so I could
open the hatch as it were and see what was inside.

Someone had a Normende (or was it Nordmende?) AM/FM/SW portable that had been
dropped and was now still all connected, but in parts. The front and back were
separate, the IF coils were all plastic and broken off at the bottom. It
still worked.

About 5 years later, I was given a Halicrafters S-38B which was in one piece
and a quantum leap better in performance. Remember this was around 1970, and
ten feet of wire would get you the world 24/7.

At the time I had a TTY ASR33 and a dial up modem, probably the only computer
hardware within a mile of my home. No noise there.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM
Making your enemy reliant on software you support is the best revenge.