{"id":7659,"date":"2013-10-23T09:18:18","date_gmt":"2013-10-23T13:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=7659"},"modified":"2013-10-25T08:20:49","modified_gmt":"2013-10-25T12:20:49","slug":"listener-post-alexander-von-obert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/10\/listener-post-alexander-von-obert\/","title":{"rendered":"Listener Post: Alexander von Obert"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Analog<\/a>Shortly after posting my plea for your radio stories<\/a>, I received several replies, including this excellent story from SWLing Post<\/em> reader, Alexander von Obert, who lives in Germany.<\/p>\n

I have created a new series called Listener Posts<\/em><\/a>, where I will place all of your personal radio histories. If you would like to add your story to the mix, simply send your story by email<\/a>!<\/p>\n

In the meantime, many thanks<\/em> to Alexander for sharing his personal radio history:<\/p>\n

\n

Alexander von Obert (DL4NO)<\/h2>\n

My fate was sealed on my 12th birthday: As a present I got a redio experimenting kit (Kosmos Radiomann for the Germans among the readers). I could build a diode receiver (AKA detector receiver with a Germanium diode) from it. Adding an EF98 pentode (anode voltage 12 V) I could even build a tube audion, a 0V1 for the hams among the readers.<\/p>\n

\"rbfj\"<\/a>Within a few months I outgrew it. My father, an engineer himself but completely absorbed by his job, showed me where a soldering iron gets hot. I managed to get hold of old radio and TV sets including Audions from the 3rd Reich area (“Volksempf\u00e4nger”). First I simply dismantled them out of curiosity. Then I discovered the public library of my home town. The author of the time was Heinz Richter with titles like “Radiobasteln f\u00fcr Jungen”(radio building for boys).<\/p>\n

Naturally I even tried to use these radios – especially those I managed to repair. I even listened to shortwave stations. In these times you found quite some German transmissions, notably from the BBC and Radio Sweden. Later, when my English knowledge blossomed, I discovered an even wider universe out there.<\/p>\n

Then came the time where I wished to transmit myself. I never considered to do a radio program, I enjoyed experimenting with my equipment to much. Here in Germany transmitting without proper license was a criminal offence so my tests were few. CB had not been introduced here in Germany at that time, but I learned about ham radio. Somehow I found out about my local club and their\u00a0license course. So I got the proud owner of the call DB1NO, a VHF\/UHF license without Morse code test.<\/p>\n

A short time later started my military service. I had to do quite some night shifts, a good opportunity to train Morse code hearing. When my comrades saw my cassette recorder they disappeared knowing about the “music” I would be listening to over the next half hour. After two years I did the code test. I have been DL4NO ever since.<\/p>\n

No question about it: After my military service I got an electronics engineer. What I learned at the university I quite often considered as the theoretical background of things that I had known before. In that time I discovered microprocessors. You had to build your machines by yourself. My first computer used a regular cassette tape recorder as “mass storage”. Only the fourth homemade machine had a floppy disk drive – of the 8″ form factor variety, with about 1 MB of capacity per medium. I could only laugh about the first IBM PC with its 320 kB floppies.<\/p>\n

During that time ham radio was mostly a social activity for me. I held contact with the OMs around on 2m FM and had no shortwave station at all. Microprocessors, studies, and later my first job, occupied most of my time. OK, I even had discovered girls \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Now, as my job slowly settles down, I have upgraded my ham radio activities. I have built a mobile station that can operate from 7 to 440 MHz. My most important objective is to reduce the effort as far as possible and to stay within the traffic regulatory. For example I have proven that you can operate a 100W SSB station from a standard 12V outlet. Down to 14 MHz you\u00a0can even use magmounts without really bad effects.<\/p>\n

vy 73
\nAlexander
\nDL4NO<\/p>\n

Alexander also adds this note:<\/em><\/p>\n

How I operate my station from a standard 12 V outlet in my car is described at\u00a0http:\/\/www.dl4no.de\/thema\/mobil-st.htm<\/a>. The picture and the circuit diagram \u00a0at the bottom of the page should be clear enough\u00a0even if you don’t understand German. At\u00a0http:\/\/www.dl4no.de\/thema\/mobilbe0.htm<\/a>\u00a0you see how a magmount antenna works on 20 m. The magmount has 200-300 pF to the roof of the car. This is an impedance of about 50 Ohms, that can be compensated.\u00a0The magmount\u00a0moves the resonance frequency a bit higher as you can see in the SWR diagram.<\/p>\n

Many thanks, Alexander, for sharing your story! Readers, be sure to check out Alexander’s ham radio website at\u00a0http:\/\/www.dl4no.de<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Click here to read our growing collection of Listener Posts!<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shortly after posting my plea for your radio stories, I received several replies, including this excellent story from SWLing Post reader, Alexander von Obert, who lives in Germany. I have created a new series called Listener Posts, where I will place all of your personal radio histories. If you would like to add your story […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,2262,305],"tags":[2267,2268,4122,758],"class_list":["post-7659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-listener-posts","category-nostalgia","tag-alexander-von-obert","tag-alexander-von-obert-dl4no","tag-listener-posts","tag-radio-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-1Zx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40839,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/reminder-christmas-on-air-event-to-honor-radio-luxembourg\/","url_meta":{"origin":7659,"position":0},"title":"Reminder: Christmas on-air event to honor Radio Luxembourg","author":"Thomas","date":"December 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alexander (DL4NO), who writes: For a very long time Radio Luxembourg was *the* pop music radio in Europe, especially in Germany and GB. At a time when Germany only had its public radio system, the Radio Luxembourg was the one and only. But this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Werbung_2._100_kW_Marathon_2019-1024x577.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Werbung_2._100_kW_Marathon_2019-1024x577.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Werbung_2._100_kW_Marathon_2019-1024x577.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23861,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/75-years-ago-today-voa-started-german-broadcasts\/","url_meta":{"origin":7659,"position":1},"title":"75 years ago today, VOA started German broadcasts","author":"Thomas","date":"February 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alexander (DL4NO), who writes: Hello Thomas, I just heard a short feature on Deutschlandfunk: 75 years ago today VoA started transmitting \u2013 in German. vy 73 Alexander DL4NO Many thanks for the tip, Alexander! The Deutschlandfunk article, of course, is in German. I found,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/VOA-Bethany-1-9-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/VOA-Bethany-1-9-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/VOA-Bethany-1-9-1024x678.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40834,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/mark-your-calendars-christmas-on-air-event-to-honor-radio-luxembourg\/","url_meta":{"origin":7659,"position":2},"title":"Mark your calendars! Christmas on-air event to honor Radio Luxembourg","author":"Thomas","date":"November 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alexander (DL4NO), who writes: For a very long time Radio Luxembourg was *the* pop music radio in Europe, especially in Germany and GB. At a time when Germany only had its public radio system, the Radio Luxembourg was the one and only. But this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Werbung_2._100_kW_Marathon_2019-1024x577.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Werbung_2._100_kW_Marathon_2019-1024x577.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Werbung_2._100_kW_Marathon_2019-1024x577.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23552,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/cold-war-radio-treasure-trove-the-cia-freedom-of-information-act-reading-room\/","url_meta":{"origin":7659,"position":3},"title":"Cold War radio treasure trove: The CIA Freedom of Information Act Reading room","author":"Thomas","date":"January 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alexander (DL4NO), who writes: I just found a German reference to the CIA Freedom of Information Act Reading room https:\/\/www.cia.gov\/library\/readingroom\/ As a first test I searched for \u201cradio design\u201d. A few of the documents found: ACTIVITIES OF AMATEUR RADIO DESIGNERS JPRS ID: 8744 TRANSLATION\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/CIA-Document.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/CIA-Document.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/CIA-Document.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19732,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/alexanders-report-from-ham-radio-friedrichshafen\/","url_meta":{"origin":7659,"position":4},"title":"Alexander’s report from Ham Radio Friedrichshafen","author":"Thomas","date":"June 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alexander (DL4NO), who shared a few notes with me from his visit at the\u00a0Friedrichshafen Ham Radio convention. Alexander has kindly allowed me to post his\u00a0notes here on the SWLing Post. Alexander writes: The first booth I visited was of Dokufunk (http:\/\/www.dokufunk.org\/). They collect QSLs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"5291678534939049c349d6","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/5291678534939049c349d6.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/5291678534939049c349d6.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/5291678534939049c349d6.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/5291678534939049c349d6.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53132,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/a-few-photos-and-notes-from-hamradio-2022-in-friedrichshafen\/","url_meta":{"origin":7659,"position":5},"title":"Alexander shares a few photos and notes from Hamradio 2022 in Friedrichshafen","author":"Thomas","date":"June 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alexander (DL4NO), who shares the following photos and notes from Friedrichshafen: First Hamradio After Two Years Alexander (DL4NO) Finally the biggest amateur radio event in Europe happened again: Last weekend hams from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, GB and more gathered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Friedrichshafen-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Friedrichshafen-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Friedrichshafen-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Friedrichshafen-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Friedrichshafen-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Friedrichshafen-1.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7659\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}