Welcome,
My interest in Short Wave Radio and Amateur Radio began as a boy in the late 1950's. In the living room of our Appalachian Mountain home was an old Philco AM/SW floor model radio. It had “World Cities" painted in white on the glass faceplate and was our connection to the world around us. In the evenings, Dad and I would tune AM/SW stations by turning the wire loop antenna located in the rear of the cabinet. It wasn't long before I discovered by experimentation, that we could improve our reception with a 100' piece of wire extended to the big pine tree in the yard. We were able to receive AM broadcast Stations KDKA, WLS, WLW and WWVA (Wheeling WV). Those signals were as strong as our local station WTIV 1230khz AM Titusville, PA. Listening "LIVE" to 1170 WWVA's "Saturday Night Jamboree" from the Capitol Music Hall in Wheeling, WV., was front row theater seating at its finest with the most extraordinary audio fidelity that you could imagine. Nightly, our living room would come alive with distant AM and Short Wave stations. As a boy, I had so much fun listening to Short Wave and Amateur stations and collecting QSL cards it became a passion. I saved my allowance for what seemed an eternity and when I turned 13 years old, I purchased a "Rocket Crystal Radio" from the Layfayette Radio mail order catalog. At night, I would hide under the covers listening for weak and distant AM broadcast stations, while staying one step ahead of mum -- she was tough !! On my 15th birthday, my parents bought me a (5) tube Hallicrafters WR-600 Short Wave Radio receiver with all of the SW bands. Suddenly the "World" burst alive with distant stations from the Far East, Caribbean, Middle East and Africa. Walking home from school one afternoon late in 1963, I found stacks of American Radio Relay League publications, on the curbside for trash pickup. I noticed the material was all about Amateur Radio communications and antennas. I was so thrilled!! I scooped up those stacks of QST magazines faster than greased lighting, running all the way home. I read my new found treasures many times from cover to cover, always dreaming of communicating with the world and discovering radio principals. When I was a teenager my family moved to Massachusetts. I worked at WRYT AM 950 kc. in Boston on the weekends as a board engineer/producer. I worked for WRTY for the next 10 years.
Over the years, Amateur Radio has given me the opportunity to discover a world without boundries as well as a hobby that I truly enjoy. Today, each and every time I tune my radio those Magical Moments from my childhood return.
I was first licensed as WN1PRU (Novice) in 1973. I still remember taking my Novice exam in front of a live "ON AIR" 5,000 watt 1430kc AM transmitter (WHIL-AM/FM) Medford, Massachusetts. Chief Engineer Ken Atkins and Bob Shotwell WA1KUZ administered testing. I later upgraded to (General & Advanced ) WA1PRU and (Extra) K1CF. 
73, Wayne (K1CF)
I Upload Logbook of the World
My Crystal Radio
1963
