Hey all. Long-time listener (literally), first-time poster here. I spent 31 years running copper and fiber for a regional carrier in the Northeast -- started in '88, took early retirement in '19 when the company consolidated. Spent most of those years climbing towers and maintaining switching equipment in rural areas. Never had much time for hobbies but always kept a scanner going in the truck.

After retirement I finally set up a proper listening station. Running a Grundig Satellit 750 (modified -- added an external antenna jack, which voided whatever warranty was left) and recently picked up an RTL-SDR dongle at my neighbor's kid's suggestion. Still figuring that one out. The software side of things is... not my strong suit. I can solder a PL-259 in the dark but ask me to compile something and I'll just stare at the screen.

Mostly been logging the usual suspects -- UVB-76, the Buzzer, HM01, some of the S06s when propagation cooperates. Location is upstate, near some old relay towers which is either great for reception or terrible depending on the band. The terrain does weird things to VHF.

Anyway, glad this group is still active. Feels like home in a way that most of the internet doesn't. Looking forward to comparing logs with anyone else monitoring from the Northeast.

73 de Hal
--
Hal | 40.7øN | Grundig & patience

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 3/21/2026 3:40 PM, Hal Finch wrote:

Hey all. Long-time listener (literally), first-time poster here. I spent 31 years running copper and fiber for a regional carrier in the Northeast -- started in '88, took early retirement in '19 when the company consolidated. Spent most of those years climbing towers and maintaining switching equipment in rural areas. Never had much time for hobbies but always kept a scanner going in the truck.

After retirement I finally set up a proper listening station. [...]

Good luck with your setup, Hal. I am in western Pennsylvania, and even
in my little village the neighborhood digital-device noise is
challenging. Most of my listening is to HF/MF broadcast stations and especially to the AM and eSSB amateur operators who try to achieve
broadcast quality audio on the ham bands. Still lots of fun! Hope to get
back on the air myself soon.

Best regards,

Kevin, WB4AIO.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:40:45 +0000, Hal Finch <hf_listener@users.eternal-september.org> wrote:

Hey all. Long-time listener (literally), first-time poster here.
I spent 31 years running copper and fiber for a regional carrier
in the Northeast -- started in '88, took early retirement in '19
when the company consolidated. Spent most of those years climbing
towers and maintaining switching equipment in rural areas. Never
had much time for hobbies but always kept a scanner going in the
truck.

After retirement I finally set up a proper listening station.
Running a Grundig Satellit 750 (modified -- added an external
antenna jack, which voided whatever warranty was left) and
recently picked up an RTL-SDR dongle at my neighbor's kid's
suggestion. Still figuring that one out. The software side of
things is... not my strong suit. I can solder a PL-259 in the
dark but ask me to compile something and I'll just stare at the
screen.

You shouldn't have to do any compiling. There are several tools out
there that are ready to run and which will make your logging and other operations a lot easier. I'm partial to SWLog (www.shortwavelog.com)
but there are lots of them. And of course you can simply use a
spreadsheet app or ye olde paper logbook....

Mostly been logging the usual suspects -- UVB-76, the Buzzer,
HM01, some of the S06s when propagation cooperates. Location is
upstate, near some old relay towers which is either great for
reception or terrible depending on the band. The terrain does
weird things to VHF.

Anyway, glad this group is still active. Feels like home in a
way that most of the internet doesn't. Looking forward to
comparing logs with anyone else monitoring from the Northeast.

73 de Hal

Glad to know you have some free time to enjoy the hobby now that
you're retired. I've been off the air (except for 2m and 440) for
several years due to antenna restrictions and just plain unsuitable
conditions with regard to my house and lot size. We're moving to
Crestline, CA in the next few weeks, so lots of trees where I can hook
up a nice "shorty" G5RV dipole antenna for HF operating and listening,
plus hopefully a discone antenna for VHF/UHF. I've been QRT for far
too long! Hopefully the location and terrain don't impose too many
limitations on operating. I've been suffering from CC&Rs,
restrictions and so forth for far too long!

--
//Steve//

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:49:22 -0700, "Steve Silverwood [KB6OJS]" <steve.silverwood@gmail.com> wrote:

You shouldn't have to do any compiling. There are several tools out
there that are ready to run and which will make your logging and other >operations a lot easier. I'm partial to SWLog (www.shortwavelog.com)
but there are lots of them. And of course you can simply use a
spreadsheet app or ye olde paper logbook....

Side note: I often keep notepads handy in the shack because a lot of
times I just free-form my notes while in a QSO or SWLing, then worry
later about trying to cram all of that into the computer. I only log
with the PC real-time during a contest or something like that.

--
//Steve//

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)