Photo courtesy W6ISQ

John G. Troster, W6ISQ, writes the following about W2ISQ, Yonkers, New York, in 1938 . . .

Rig is 676 - 807 - 35T - 250TH, running 450 watts, feeding a 66-foot end-fed zepp up about 30 feet. I used them beautifoool 866 mercury vapor rectifiers that glowed blue in the dark. I also hung a neon bulb on the zepp feeders to help tune up. On summer nights, I would turn off the room lights and key the rig. Strollers would stop outside the house and wonder about the blue and neon flashes.

The receivers were a Super Skyrider and RCA-ACR-136. I still have the Vibroplex and the final tank condenser, which I use as an antenna tuner. The rig in the photo replaced a classic 47 - 46 - pr 46s. And before that was a huge variety of different kinds of oscillators and low-powered finals -- including the great 210 TNT with a nice ripe T4. - Note: I built about one rig a month by sawing off another 17 inches from a long board I kept in the basement.

In the fall of 1935 I worked my first DX with a few watts from the TNT. That was a station in Montreal, followed soon by a contact with Cuba. I was captivated and have been chasing DX ever since. I also got into Sweepstakes and DX contesting. Traffic handling was also great fun, but I've been chasing DX and contesting almost continuously ever since. See you in the pileups!