Hi BF,

My business partner is a radio expert. His hobby is repairing ham radios of all brands, the guy is a radio genius.

Soooo.... I hear the people on the ham radios conversing even at the office most days. When his friends call, they give their call sign first, then their name.

There are some younger guys getting into it too, because it has such reliability in emergencies (over cell phones) and they can hear things from all over the place, like you said, even around the world.

Aren't radio waves something?

OldSteve:

My son was an avionics tech for the F16's in the Air Force a few years back.

Yes. Radio Waves are amazing. If the cell phones,land Lines,internet,and other forms of communications go out in a emergency,there's always the reliable shortwave band. Shortwave broadcasts over a long distance,without the need for repeater antennas. A repeater is a antenna on a tower that picks up a radio signal,and amplifies it,and sends it out all over a given area. That's how the police talk on their walkie talkies,to there police station.

I wish I where a radio expert. Your business partner sounds like a interesting person. BF