Once upon a time ... It   is   the   year   1976   ...   not   too   long   ago   CB-radio   had   been   legalized   in Germany   and   is   booming,   so   that   the   12   channels   are   not   nearly enough.    This    13-year-old    kid    that    -for unknown    reasons-    had    always    been interested    in    electronics,    is    about    to convince   his   parents   that   one   of   those new    CB    toys    simply    is    a    must-have. Christmas   that   very   same   year   I   actually find    a    pair    of    handheld    transceivers under   the   tree.   They   came   in   a   horrible orange   color.   Buy,   hey,   these   were   the 1970s   and   almost   everything   seemed   to be    orange    ...    my    dad    even    had    an orange   car.   It   was   a   horrible   sight,   but we     didn`t     know     it     back     then.    And somehow   this   color   never   really   came   back   in   style,   guess   why   ...   ? Besides   this   disgusting   color   they   came   equipped   with   one   (yes: ONE!)   channel   and   a   power   oputput   that   would   carry   my   signal   at least   to   the   end   of   our   street.   And   ,   as   luck   would   have   it,   our neighbor's   son   had   received   just   the   same   two   radios   (they   probably were   the   only   make   and   model   available   at   that   time).   So   I   had   found my   first   QSO   partner.   It   didn't   take   long   for   my   to   find   out   that   one channel   wasn't   nearly   enough,   so   next   came   another   handheld   with more   channels.   It   was   a   Handic   62,   exactly   the   same   screaming color   and   about   the   size   of   a   refrigerator.   Soon   my   dad's   car   was equipped   with   a   mobile   radio   and   a   few   months   after   that   came   a base   station.   OK,   the   antenna   on   top   of   our   house   took   more   time   to talk   my   parents   into   -   but   finally   the   gave   in   and   agreed   to   that   as well.   After   all,   that   antenna   was   a   logical   step   forward   from   that mobile   antenna   I   had   placed   outside   my   room’s   window.   Well,   at least   I   thought   it   was   logical   ...   my   parents   on   the   other   hand   ...   never mind,   the   antenna   was   on   the   roof.   Now,   you   might   come   to   the conclusion   that   by   that   time   my   entire   family   were   activer   CBers   -   no way!    Base    station,    mobile    rig,    handhelds    and    by    that    time    an impressive   selection   of   antennas   -   all   mine!   I   was   14   years   old   now and   a   boy   that   age   simply   needs   all   that,   right?   Looking   back   over the   year   I'm   still   amazed   how   tolerant   my   parents   had   been.   My   wife shows   the   same   amount   of   tolerance   towards   the   hobby      these   days -   as   you   might   guess,   the   antenna   farm   and   the   number   of   radios have grown remarkebly over the decades ...

The wild years ... The   late   1970s   and   the   80s   were   the   wild   years   of   CB-radio   in Germany     and     all     available     channels     were     overcrowded.     My demands    in    terms    of    distance    and    channels    were    constantly growing.   Ham-radio   was   the   way   to   go.   There   were   three   different licence   classes   in   Germany   at   that   time.   Two   of   which   gave   you access   to   shortwave   frequencies,   one   was   VHF/UHF   only.   To   pass the   exam   for   the   two   higher   classes   you   needed   to   pass   a   CW   test as   well.   As   ist   turned   out   my   talent   for   CW   was   very   limited   ...   too limited   to   even   remotely   dream   of   passing   an   exam   in   that   field   of expertise   ...   so,   what   to   do?   Well,   there   was   a   small   portion   of   the 11m-band   where   people,   who   were   CW-impaired   like   me,   met   ...   the years to come were, well, let’s say “successful” ... Getting quiet ... School   came   to   an   end   and   I   made   my   hobby   a   profession.   I   enlisted with   the   German   Armed   Forces   for   12   years   and   spent   that   time   as an   NCO   in   communication   and   signal   intelligence.   During   my   time   in the   Army   I   met   many   radio   amateurs   who   -like   me-   had   made   their hobby a profession. After   my   years   in   the   Army   I   went   back   to   my   home   town   on   the island   of   Wangerooge,   where   my   wife   and   I   were   running   our   own company   managing   vacation   homes   for   tourists.   During   those   years we   worked   long   hours   and   I   had   neither   the   time   nor   the   power   to think of any hobbies. Finally - a surprise ... And   then   some   day   -out   of   the   blue-   it   happened:   the   first   rumors surfaced    that    amateurs    holding    that    VHF/UHF    license    would    be given   access   to   some   of   the   HF-bands.   THIS   was   the   big   moment when   all   of   a   sudden   that   license   class   became   interesting   for   me. So,   I   downloaded   the   question   pool,   studied   it,   thouhgt   that   it   was quite   easy,   registered   for   an   exam,   actually   passed   it   with   ease.   and there   it   was   ...   my   very   own   callsign   -   DO7OM.   It   didn't   take   THAT long.   From   my   very   first   CB-handheld   to   holding   my   own   amateur callsign ... just a little over 25 years. Could have been worse, right?