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Michael Coslo · February 27th 08, 10:41 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.moderated

wrote:
On Feb 27, 9:00 am, Michael Coslo wrote:
What attracted you, and can we get some ideas from that to attract or
identify and attract new blood?

From as far back as I can remember, I was interested in technology -
how things worked and what they could do. The kind of kid who's always
asking questions, taking things apart and putting them together, etc.
I found electricity particularly interesting.

This interest was aided and abetted by reading everything I could get
my hands on. Libraries and bookstores were special places to me.

I did the usual Erector-set and battery/flashlight bulb stuff at a
very young age. Then at about age 10 I found a book called "All About
Radio and Television" which explained the basics of radio and how to
build a simple radio using a razor-blade-and-pencil-graphite detector.
I built one, strung a wire out to the crabapple tree in the back yard,
and heard WPEN. I was hooked.

I remember my first crystal set. It worked not very well, and my kid's
mind thought "maybe if I put a battery in the circuit it might work
better." Lot's of crackles and noises in the earphone, and pretty little
sparks at the pencil/razor blade interface. Still didn't work, but I was
still hooked.

That battery reaction should have held a clue why it didn't work in the
first place. But hey, I was a dum liddle kid! ;^)

The book also mentioned various kinds of radio besides broadcast radio
and TV. Of greatest interest to me was something called "amateur
radio", where ordinary people of all ages and all walks of life had
their own radio stations that they used to communicate with each other
over great distances. Also of interest was "shortwave broadcasting"
which came from other countries.

My first exposure to amateur radio came from a Boy Scout merit badge
cook in which the scout would learn Morse code. I didn't get that badge,
I stumbled over... well you know. Set mo off on the road to perfidy, hehe.

Nobody in my family was a ham, nor were any of my neighbors. None of
them knew any hams, either. Not much detail on amateur radio was given
in "All About Radio and Television", but I knew where to look for more
info - other books.

I was taking a lot of household appliances apart, and not being real
clever about putting them back together. This caused quite a problem
until my Grandfather decided to send me a "care package about every two
months that had old radios and other electronic junk that he salvaged
from where he worked. Joy!

IMHO the way to "sell" amateur radio isn't to present it as a
replacement for something else, but as a unique activity with many
facets. Some will get it, others won't, no big deal.

Sounds good to me.

- 73 de Mike N3LI -

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