Long Time, No Write!

It has been over three weeks since my last post here. I apologize for the lack of words, but I have been very busy... retiring!

Earlier this year, the company offered me an attractive voluntary severance package and I happily volunteered to take it. The last day of May was my last day in the office and I was busy the days before and after preparing for no more manic Mondays!

My regularly scheduled routines are no more and I am getting acclimated to a less structured schedule.

On the radio front, I have a lot of projects in the works: some new antennas to erect, new kits to build and a vintage radio to restore. But before I do that, I have to prep my little acre for the new aerials. I am over half way there and figure that the antenna work will begin shortly after Father's Day.

Also, I am looking for freelance writing opportunities. Writing has been my life for the over 40
years and I want to keep at it.

When Zenith was Tops

Dziadek and Babcia Gogolewski owned a Zenith multi-band (broadcast,  shortwave and police) floor model radio similar to the circa 1936 model 10-S-160. (It has been almost 50 years since I have seen the radio, so for all I know, it might have actually been a model 10-S-160.)

Often when we visited my grandparents, I would fiddle around with the Zenith and try to hear what I could hear. The radio probably needed some work because I did not hear much, but what I did hear stimulated my budding interest in radio.

Dziadek died in 1965 and Babcia decided to sell the house. When she was moving out, she entrusted the radio to a neighbor for safe keeping until she settled into her new digs.

After the dust settled, my grandmother tried to reclaim the radio, but the neighbors claimed she gave it to them. Babcia spoke Polish and very little English, so there may have been a failure to communicate or her neighbors were thieves. In either case, that radio was never handed down to me. Too bad because it was a beautiful piece and held a lot of memories.

Surfin': QSLing Those Radio Memories

This week’s Surfin’ considers the final courtesy of a radio contact: The QSL card.

Did you know that Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb that features Web sites related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general? If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

Surfin': Revisiting Radio Monitoring Memories

This week’s Surfin’ reveals new information about broadcast band and shortwave listening.

Did you know that Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb that features Web sites related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general? If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

Surfin': How We Got Here

This week’s Surfin’ reviews the different paths we take that lead us to Amateur Radio.

Did you know that Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb that features Web sites related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general? If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

12-Band World Radio - $50 Value, Yours Free!

I get lots of e-mail trying to sell me lots of stuff, which I usually ignore, but yesterday, the subject of one e-mail caught my eye. It read "12-Band World Radio - $50 Value, Yours Free!"

How could I resist!

The e-mail was from Haband and in order to get the free radio, all I had to do was buy something from them online.

I figured that there must be something I needed. One thing led to another (as it often does on the Internet) and I came across a pair of women's boots on sale for $19.99; a pair just like the ones my wife had been looking for. I showed my wife the boots and she agreed, so I ordered a pair and wait for the radio.

I don't expect much, but the price was right and you ever know, I might be surprised. You can expect a full report here after the radio arrives.

Surfin': Telling the Pacific Radio Story

“Telling the Pacific Radio Story” is the title of this week’s installment of Surfin‘. After you read it, you can post your comments, if any, back here.

By the way, Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb that finds and features Web sites that are related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general. If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

Numbers Stations Move From Shortwave To VoIP*

*That's the headline of a story that appeared on Slashdot.

Back when shortwave listening was my only radio hobby, I read all about the mysterious number stations in the radio hobby press and I even managed to find a few while tuning the low bands with my Hallicrafters S100 receiver. What fun I had in those good old days!