Ham Radio and Money
Zachary Fruhling (Callsign KD6DXA) with His Ham Radio, Santa Cruz, California, Circa 2004
For those of who who do not already know this about me, I am a Ham Radio operator. Yes, I am one of those geeky guys with the big radio (You know what they say about guys with big radios....), a big antenna, and that knows Morse Code at 20 words per minute. If there's a major earthquake here in California, I am fully capable of setting up a portable communications radio station on emergency power. If there's an alien invasion a la Independence Day, it's Morse Code to the rescue, baby! Most of my Ham Radio activities are much more relaxed, however, and consist of casual conversation via voice or Morse Code to other licensed Amateur (a.k.a. Ham) Radio operators around the world.
For the past two years, my aging vacuum tube ham radio has been sitting quietly tucked away in the closet on a shelf. My Ham Radio pursuits come in spurts. Since I was first licensed at age 13, during some years I have been quite active in Ham Radio and during other years the radio has been completely silent. So tonight, after two years, I decided to bring the old gal out of mothballs and plunk her down at my desk. Living in an apartment presents a significant challenge to the full enjoyment of Ham Radio, since Ham Radio requires some sort of antenna that apartment-dwelling is not particularly amenable to. But.....you can't keep a good Ham Radio operator down! I have never yet lived in a place that I was totally unable to enjoy the queen of my various hobbies due to lack of antenna space. I strung up some temporary antenna wire around the office so I could at least get some good Morse Code receiving practice in tonight, and now I begin the task of setting up a suitable transmitting antenna that will (a) please my wife, and (b) not cause any interference to our landlords' television or radio equipment upstairs.
What might all this Ham Radio goodness have to do with a financial blog, might you ask? Well, tonight I had a perfectly enjoyable evening geeking out with my favorite hobby without spending so much as a dime. Yes, it is true that Ham Radio equipment is neither free nor necessarily cheap; but once one has at least the minimum equipment required for a functioning Amateur Radio station, one can enjoy the hobby ad nauseum at very little further cost. This, to me, underscores the value of long-term thinking when it comes not only to your investments but also to your spending. Yes, the $500 or so it took to get my station set up originally could have been spent on more frivolous temporary pleasures, but my $500 spent on Ham Radio equipment is an investment that will provide lifelong enjoyment without spending another dime if I choose.
I would encourage all my loyal readers out there to cultivate an interest in some analogous hobby that does not require regular expenditures. Very little in life will ever compare to the times I have spent hunched over my desk in the middle of the night with my Morse Code key in one hand and my logbook in the other, making contact with some new state or country with nothing but dots and dashes; or the time I took my portable Ham Radio (which I built myself) to Yosemite and talked with a fellow Ham in Washington state with only two watts of power via Morse Code, all off a 9-Volt battery.
It goes to show that great fun in life does not require one to spend gaping amounts of money, which is better kept inside your retirement investment accounts. Besides, if I invest well now, then when I do retire I will actually be able to afford that dream Ham Radio setup I have always wanted! But for now I make do with my modest gear and even more humble antenna; but no matter what equipment I use, nothing will ever amaze me quite like the thrill of hearing my own call sign repeated back to me by some stranger halfway around the globe with whom I share a common avocation and bond.
