Vintage amateur radio is a subset of amateur radio hobby where enthusiasts collect, restore, preserve, build, and operate amateur radio equipment from bygone years, such as those using vacuum tube technology. Popular modes of operation include speaking over amplitude modulation (AM), and communicating using Morse code through continuous wave (CW) radiotelegraphy. Some enthusiasts have interest in owning, restoring and operating vintage military and commercial radio equipment such as those from 1940s to 1960s. Some undertake to construct their own gear, known in ham slang as homebrewing, using vintage parts and designs. A number of amateur radio clubs and organizations sponsor contests, events, and swap meets that cater to this specialized aspect of the hobby.
Appeal
Vintage radio enthusiasts contend that the precise digital frequency displays and state-of-the-art, microprocessor-based features of modern amateur equipment lack the aesthetic appeal and "soul" of amateur electronic gear from the vacuum tube era. Additionally, many find satisfaction in taking commercially-made amateur equipment from the 1930s–1970s, often characterized as boat anchors by US amateurs because of their large size and weight, and carefully restoring it.
The proliferation of integrated circuits in modern amateur radio equipment has made amateurs nostalgic for vacuum tube-based designs. Radios that contain solid state parts do not require frequent tinkering, whereas vacuum tube radio equipment is less predictable, lending routine radio contacts more excitement, and giving vintage amateur radio devotees a more primitive experience. Enthusiasts claim that boat anchors sound better than modern equipment, saying that the tube audio from vintage gear is "warmer" and more aesthetically pleasing.
Some hobbyists see vintage radio operation as a valuable asset to help preserve the history and heritage of radio for future generations. They sometimes assist in the restoration and operation of vintage radio equipment for historical exhibits, museums, and historic ships or aircraft. Examples of this are groups of amateurs who restore, maintain, and operate the radio installations of the ocean liner Queen Mary, the engineering heritage site Musick Memorial Radio Station, and the National Register of Historic Places listed Massie Wireless Station. Amateur restoration of historic military radios includes the B-17 Flying Fortress City of Savannah at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay at the National Air and Space Museum, and the submarine USS Requin at the Carnegie Science Center. Amateur radio operators on various retired maritime vessels, such as the destroyer USS Kidd and the battleship USS Texas, regularly use vintage transmitters to communicate with other ship museums for events like Museum Ships Weekend and National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
AM activity
Amplitude modulation (AM) was once the main voice mode in amateur radio before being superseded by Single-sideband modulation (SSB). But AM has recently become a nostalgic specialty interest on the shortwave ham bands. A number of AMers operate vintage vacuum tube transmitters in conjunction with separate receivers. Some operators have even obtained old AM broadcast transmitters from radio stations that have upgraded their equipment. Others build their equipment from scratch (called homebrewing) using both modern and vintage-era components. Rock star Joe Walsh is an advocate of amateur radio and an avid vintage gear collector, maintaining nine complete vintage stations in his home, including a Collins broadcast transmitter. In the United States, amateur radio AM activity can be found on mediumwave, MF and shortwave, HF frequencies (in MHz) which include 1.880-1.890, 3.885, 7.290, 14.286, 21.390, and 29.000-29.200, and feature swap nets that cater to interest in vintage AM equipment. AM operation has drawn interest from people outside the hobby, such as shortwave radio listeners using inexpensive receivers available to the public. While focused on simple technologies from the past, AMers may also mix state-of-the-art technology with their vintage interests, such as experimenting with synchronous detection to enable reception of AM signals free of static and fading. Conversations ("QSO"s in ham slang) are typically configured as "roundtables" consisting of several participants. Interested newcomers are usually encouraged to switch their modern transceivers to AM mode, introduce themselves, and join the conversation.
Classic gear
Amateur radio equipment of past eras like the 1940s, 50s, and 60s that are separate vacuum tube transmitters and receivers (unlike modern transceivers) are an object of nostalgia, and many see rehabilitation and on-air use by enthusiasts.
Vintage operating activity is not limited to the AM mode. Many devotees use their "classic" amateur gear from vintage-era American manufacturers like Eico, EF Johnson, National, Heathkit, Hammarlund, Drake, Collins, WRL, Swan, Signal/One, Lafayette and Hallicrafters, to make radiotelegraphy (CW), SSB, FM and RTTY two-way contacts. Some enthusiasts define the age parameters of vintage or classic gear as “old enough to exhibit the glow of vacuum tubes”, but the designation may include some early solid state gear. Some even sub-specialize in military radio collecting and undertake to restore and operate surplus communications equipment, much of it dating back to World War II, from AN/ARC-5 command sets and US Signal Corps SCR-300 and SCR-536 walkie talkies to exotic gear like the British Paraset, a small espionage transceiver supplied to Resistance forces in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
There is considerable interest in vintage military and commercial radio equipment among EU amateur radio operators, especially gear from British manufacturers such as Marconi, Racal, Eddystone, Pye, and a variety of Russian, German, Canadian, British RAF and British Army equipment, such as the well known Wireless Set No. 19.
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