My first ham radio gear

Got to thinking about how I got started in ham radio and remembered the gear my Dad, somehow, obtained for me. Thinking back on it now, the gear he got me was really amazing! I'm pretty sure he got the transmitter, a crystal-controlled Heathkit DX-40 CW rig, at the local Lafayette radio store. The thing could put out 60w or so.

I think I had two JAN crystals, one for 40m and one for 15m! The rig had a hole on the right side where the crystals were inserted. I remember how great it was when I got two more crystals. Now I could actually switch frequencies on one band!

Those were the days... Anyway, I went over to RigPix and they had a photo of the Healthkit DX-40 in all its gray glory! Although I don't recall that my rig had an indicator light like this one does, this rig was built like a tank.

My antenna was a long wire that ran out the window frame and across the back yard to this old, unused phone pole that was probably on our neighbor's property. Any, as I recall it did a pretty credible job for me and was practically invisible to our neighbors because it was so small.

On the receiver side, my Dad, somehow, got hold of a Hallicrafters SX-130 shortwave receiver, a triple conversion superhet with some pretty slick filtering capabilities (at least for a 13 year old kid new to ham radio)! I actually still have it, although the plastic slide switch for selecting AM/SSB has cracked and no longer works. Tuning was a bit of a chore since you had to set one dial to calibrate the tuner for a specific band. The other dial handled fine tuning. Very simple set up.

Plus, this baby has a full complement of tubes and everything. Weighs a ton too. Nice. Here's an excellent picture from RigPix, 

                                   

I wish I knew how my Dad got this radio. Probably one of his IBM ham buddies. 

Thanks Dad for the unforgettable memories and getting me started in this great hobby!