What WAS SWL..

[bob91343]

Precisely the way so many of us learned of the magic of short wave. I used to lust for a short wave set and, considering I was barely a teenager at the time, I did a good job adding short wave to the 5 tube radio I had built from a kit. It worked great and my favorite station became WWV.

Later I got my ham license and now sport a legal-limit station and have worked over 300 countries.

Sadly, the heyday of short wave broadcast is over, even though there are still some stations to be heard. It's dominated by religious stations with many in languages I don't understand.

I enjoy playing with electronics gear, and even my acquisition of a BSEE didn't dampen my enthusiasm for experimentation and knob twisting. For years I owned and operated an electronics repair shop and had a blast. My work benches looked like something from a science fiction movie, and at one point there were 8 of us working on customer units.

Now I relax with my toys, always interested in something new.

[Zenith26kc20]

Boy, this thread brings back memories! A friend and I used to go down to the water when his father took us to Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi and I would take my H500 Zenith Transoceanic (with the BIG battery) with me. We would listen to short wave until his father came to get us, usually late at night (and not too happy).
That radio went with me into the army and I still have it. It's a bit worse for the wear but it still works great! Still has the original 1L6 tube and it is still good!
Like I said, fun days!