On Aug 6, 6:11 pm, Bob Dobbs wrote:

Started listening to late night AMBCB (KDKA, KMOX, WHO etc.) in the mid
40s then got santa claus to drop off a SW portable one year (don't
remember exactly when, late 40s early 50s). All the noises and unusual
dialects it delivered set the hook plus the glow in the dark shack of a
neighbor HAM served as a force multiplier to my interest in over the air
phenomena.
A memorable moment came early (January) 1991 when radio Iraq's 25m
english language broadcasts warning severe consequences to hostile
airmen was followed by silence the following days. This was all
proceeded by an intensification of MARS RTTY traffic from the then
extant Chollas Hill facility and a noticeable void afterwards.
In one of my more intense periods of SW involvement during the 90s
before the Chollas facility got Xed there were a bank of six log
periodics as well as a conical all appearing to function down into 40m.
This was confirmed by the 6MHz MARS activity at night and 13MHz daytime.

I haven't any idea as to your age but SWLing can easily become a
lifetime avocation.

Good luck!
Operator Bob
Echo Charlie 42

Dear Bob,

Well what can I say, apart from many many thanks for posting your
story. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the read, particularly your
reminiscing of days gone by. I had a good ol' chuckle to myself when
you mentioned your neighbor's 'glow in the dark' ham....what a sight!
heh. Bob I find it fascinating (and maybe this is due to me being new
to the game) that one can sit in their own backyard shed and listen to
simply fascinating broadcasts from all corners...modern technology
never ceases to amaze does it!

Just in regard to your question Bob, I will be 66 years young this
year and I only wish I had of discovered the outright joys of
shortwave radio and hams many many years ago. Well I intend to make up
for a lot of lost time regardless, and am eagerly awaiting the
purchase of my very first unit tomorrow afternoon - the Grundig G6
Aviator (Buzz Aldrin Special Edition). I hope to contribute my own
listening experiences over coming days and months once I have my hands
on this little baby heh.

Kind regards and all the best Operator Bob (Echo Charlie 42),
BK (short for my initials Brian Keith and thought it makes a neat
little on-air handle)