This isn't a picture of my Grandpa's setup.
This past weekend was the Amateur Radio Field Day around the world. Here on Maui, they set up in a cow pasture near Hookipa Beach overlooking the ocean. Once a year, the local group join others and run tests for 24 hours. They contact other radio operators across the globe. Here is a link http://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2018/06/everybodys-talking-maui-ham-radio-operators-join-worldwide-communications-exercise/
For those of you who don't know what HAM radio is, amateur radio operators use a layer of the Earth’s atmosphere as a mirror for radio waves. Marconi invented it. It is a way to communicate with people when all other communication devices don't work, like cell phones, internet, house phones.
When I was a kid, my Grandpa Don would come home from work and spend hours trying to "dial in" to other operators around the world. He had a desk set up in the living/dining room with a number of radios on this big table. He used a microphone to speak and had to listen hard for a voice. I remember watching him and hearing the scratchy voices of people from distant lands. It was like magic.
A very fond memory every time I drive past the cow pasture.
Thanks for Listening.
Shibui