Before there was an Internet, before there were Cellphones, before there was Zoom or WebEx or Skype or anyone of a number of Voice over the Internet (VOIP); there was Ham Radio. The promise of talking to people not just in our own community but all over the world made the idea of Ham Radio exciting.
I remember being a child, camping with my grandparents, and my late grandfather regaling us with how he just got off the radio with a guy in Australia! I asked him how he was able to talk to someone so far away, and he said the weather was just right for the signal to carry.
He was so proud of his amateur ham radio license that he got a vanity plate for his truck with his call sign.
Out of curiosity I just looked up his call sign, and, while his license is now expired, it has not been recycled yet.
Ha I have almost the same story. Grandfather talking to people on his radio all day, missing dinner, and my grandma getting mad at him. He’s one of the reasons I got into ham radio! Thanks for sharing your story!
I second what @NO5IG says, @suzyq. Take the test and go get his call sign :)
@suzyq @BenDoubleU are you going to go get it? Sounds sweet!