This is my first Ham radio Transceiver, a Heathkit HW-101. I bought it as a kit and assembled it myself. It required a lot of soldering and wiring and installing small components on circuit boards. I worked very carefully, and triple checked every step I did, and when I turned it on the first time, it worked perfectly! I remember my first contact with another Ham, an electrician who worked in a coal mine in West Virginia! We used Morse code and slowly tapped out messages back and forth with a telegraph key. That was a thrill - communicating by radio. I think this was about 1978 or so, long before the advent of computers. Later I talked to people all around the country and the world by voice, instead of Morse code, with this radio. I even met one of my best friends, Chuck, who was in Texas, when we met just by chance on the radio. Eventually I bought a more modern commercially made transceiver, and this one sat on the side unused. But it has a special place in my heart because I built it, and because it was my first.
This is what the inside of the radio looks like with all the old-fashioned radio tubes! It has spent the last 40 years pretty much unused, stored in the attic or in the basement. I don't remember the last time I used it. But I held on to it for all these years. Until today. It was time to take it to recycling and leave it with the rest of the electronic waste. Man, it was SO hard to leave it there and walk away from this! The radio, as you can see, is in mint condition, but most likely the capacitors in it are dried out and no longer working, but it still looks nice. But it is time to clean up and throw out and get rid of "stuff."
5 comments:
I wish I could get rid of all my electronic “waste”.
Chuck
It is very difficult to get rid of special things like this first ham radio that you built. I'm so glad you took photos and shared with us. betsey
It is amazing to think that you built this ham radio and enjoyed meeting new people all over the country. Morse code! Impressive. So proud of you for taking it to recycle. You have the photos and the memories now with less clutter.
Joan
The words: Heathkit, Nostalgia and Stuff came to mind after viewing your post.
Heathkit: I received a Heathkit Tuner/Amplifier as a Christmas present one year. I cannot recall the kit number but I do remember soldering, connecting and assembling the kit and how pleased I was that "it worked" after completion.
Nostalgia: Physical items, like the Heathkit, surely help to bring back fond memories but the great thing about nostalgia is that the memory is etched into the brain and will be with you forever.
Stuff: Three years ago last month, we moved from a house to a smaller condo. The process involved getting rid of a lot of stuff from furniture, clothing, kitchenware, books, artwork, tools, etc.. Sold stuff, donated stuff, trashed stuff - at the end of the process we felt liberated!
It is interesting that after the Heathkit was gone, I did feel liberated. It made no sense to keep it and it probably didn't even work, but there is this connection of memory that made it so difficult to part with, even though it made NO sense to keep it!
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