Remembrances of vacuum tube days
As a young teenager, I developed a love for electronics which became a lifelong love affair. In those days vacuum tubes were the norm and solid state devices such as transistors weren't in usage then....
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Got my start interested in electricity with my grandfather who as a ham radio operator that talked to people all over the US and world to exchange post cards of successful transmission. He transmitted at 2000 watts through a rotating directional antenna. All tube based back in the 1960s and prior. I ended up at some point with call letters WD6EUP but never really made a go of it as the world was changing in the 70s and 80s.
While the rest of my classmates were reading comic books I checked out a book on electric motors. I built a working model from home supplies in the 4th grade. My older brother told my secret to my parents and soon my elementary school was hosting a class to do the same and I was leading the discussion for the 5th and 6th graders to learn about magnetism and magnetic fields. Sorry no tubes involved. Even made the LA Times and OC register for this accomplishment. (my 10 minutes of fame came and went early)
Soon the world was changing from tubes to transistors. Again my grandfather was teaching me about PNP vs NPN transistors and how everything was changing. He stopped with the big shortwave and reverted to just buying radio components to communicate with friends.
While the rest of my classmates were reading comic books I checked out a book on electric motors. I built a working model from home supplies in the 4th grade. My older brother told my secret to my parents and soon my elementary school was hosting a class to do the same and I was leading the discussion for the 5th and 6th graders to learn about magnetism and magnetic fields. Sorry no tubes involved. Even made the LA Times and OC register for this accomplishment. (my 10 minutes of fame came and went early)
Soon the world was changing from tubes to transistors. Again my grandfather was teaching me about PNP vs NPN transistors and how everything was changing. He stopped with the big shortwave and reverted to just buying radio components to communicate with friends.
