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Ham radio is still serving as emergency communications with organizations such as ARES and established communication plans like the Hurricane Watch Net. Less homebrew nowadays, but still an active and fascinating hobby.
Why call it junk? I object to the announcer saying that. I wouldn't call it junk. The G2DAF receiver and transmitter were built by about 1,000 British amateurs, not junk at all. I built the G4CLF design p.c.b. based transmitter and receiver using Plessey i.c.'s, 4 Watts ssb and cw. I build my own aerials. Just because people don't buy everything doesn't mean it's junk. Comparing mine with a friend who had an FT817, mine worked equally as well if basic, just a bit less sensitive on 10m because there is no pre-amp on receive but I could still hear the same things as his. No fancy memories or useless stuff. I bought an FT817ND which I got for portable because mine is too big for a motorbike, and there's a lot of stuff on it I never use. G4GHB.
During WWII ham radio operators were not allowed to use their radios during the war. I'm now a General ham with a Yaesu 991a with the MARS mod so I can use it on 11 meters. I use a OCFD dipole 88/44 for 160 to 10 meters and a Ringo Ranger II 2 meter antenna and an Antron 99 for 11 meters. 73 & cheers from K9POW in eastern TN
Cool! The code actually goes with the story instead of being some generic transmission used for dramatic effect! 4:40 - NO LUCK STANDBY NO LUCK STANDBY AR K 5:01 - STILL SEARCHING WX BAD AR K 6:00 - WX WORSE BT NO SIGN OF PLANE AR K 6:38 - OUT OF STORM PLANE FOUND 7:48 - PLANE LOCATION LONG 73W III LAT 41N III OUT OF GAS FAL....
@iowahank1 Yes, there also are some ARRL videos out there from around the 1980's and 2010 about amateur radio. The one from the 1980's, the New World of Amateur Radio, shows the US Space Shuttle contacts, called SAREX, the late Roy Neal, K6DUE, who was with NBC, and some friends of mine from the WECA club near New York City, in Westchester County. 73 de W2CH Ray.
Seven years before I was born, a bit under three decades before the USN gave me the choice between learning CW and becoming a scullery slave. 73 de W8IJN
i'VE seen several movies with ham radio plot devices. a couple old movies, one an Andy Hardy movie where Andy gets a friend who sets up a phone patch to contact his mother visiting in Canada. The other was a Nancy Drew movie where Nancy's boyfriend Ted was a ham. A newer movie with dennis quaid and jim caviezel called "Frequency" was quite a thriller.
To a comment mentioned below. the reference I think to the equipment being junk was something the ham built out of his "Junkbox" as we all know what that is! I built many a Tx'r Rxr, swr meters, cw filters, passband filters. and so much more ojut of my own "Junkbox" to the unknowing ham a "Junkbox is a source of parts collected from old equipment torn apart to be salvaged and used in other projects. parts saved for a rainy day and the economy of it.
The call is W9SR. Seven years ago there was a podcast about him. Somebody else seems to have that call now but the previous holder--the one in the film--first got his ticket in 1938.
Since when is NZ to AK 15,000 miles? It's more like 7000 miles. Circumference of the Earth is only 25,000 miles so halfway around the planet is 12,500 miles. There shouldn't be a longer path than that because then you get a shorter path on opposite direction.
Back in them days, the Earth was much bigger. I reckon they were doing Earth Moon Earth (EME) bounce communications and the overall distance was figgered into their calculations. That also looks like a ICOM IC 0001 rig to me so... 🤣.
