Another Glow in the Dark Christmas – Collins 75A4
It started innocently enough; I needed the traditional holiday radio project. The year before it had been the renovation of a R390A receiver, and the year before that was the cosmetic and electrical restoration of a T-368 transmitter. Despite my recent move to...
Visiting Fred – VE3 H-Henry C-Charlie
Meeting Fred Hammond VE3HC About that transformer story…it’s true! It was done for me, although I would not be surprised if Fred has not done that for someone else. When I first acquired my RCA BTA-500MX a few years back, one of the low voltage transformers was burned...
Warning – OLD BUZZARD RANT
You know the expression, "Everything old becomes new again." One thing which I have noticed with many free time pursuits is that the serious practitioners always return to the roots of the sport. Example, I was a very avid ocean kayaker when I first moved to Maine....
Thoughts On Being An Old Buzzard
Far from being a derisive or derogatory term, the phrase "Old Buzzard" is oft used as a term of fondness in the vintage radio community. Being an "Old Buzzard" has much more to do with a state of mind than chronological age, but often Old Buzzards are indeed the elder...
The Meaning of the Wouff-Hong
"The Wouff-Hong is amateur radio's most sacred symbol and stands for the enforcement of law and order in amateur operation." The Radio Amateur's Handbook, 1930, page 11 My Wouff-Hong -KG2IC I checked my backpack once again; just to be sure it was still there. It was,...
Rotten Digital Radio
Rotten Radio Becomes "Rotten Digital Mode" for the 21st Century This is my take on the original "Rotten" series, updated to reflect today's operating conditions, and poor operators. Where Hiram only had to concern himself with poorly sent CW in his day, today we have...
The Reply – The “Young Squirt to The Old Man”
Intro I'm not quite certain of the author of this work, but here is the reply to The Old Man's (T.O.M.) "Rotten Radio" letter. Purportedly written to one of those he had taken to task, I suspect that the author may have been T.O.M. himself. The style is most clever,...
The Rotten Radio Series
The Rotten Radio Series Beginning in 1917, stories by an anonymous writer using the pseudonym "The Old Man", or "T.O.M." began to appear in the American Radio Relay League's (ARRL) monthly publication QST. Titled the "Rotten Radio" series, they harshly assailed and...
AM Dictionary and Glossary
AM Glossary The AM hobby is rich with specialized terms and phrases that mark the unique character of this special mode of modulation. Feel free to send me your favorites! AM Amplitude Modulation, a method of modulation that utilizes two sidebands and a carrier....
AM, What Is It?
AM Is Hardly “Ancient Modulation”! Although at times it is jokingly referred to as “Ancient Modulation” by its detractors, AM is “Angel Music” to those who enjoy this special mode of modulation. AM refers to the method of modulating the RF carrier, in this case,...