Meet the Hobbyists Behind Today’s Smartest Radios

Do you remember your first portable radio?

For Sjef Verhoeven, it was a Sony Walkman in 1993. As is common in the Netherlands, he would often ride his bike. That spring, he heard FM stations from the U.K. at a distance of about 300 kilometers. All day long, various BBC affiliates were audible.

“I had to find out why that was possible,” he said.

Verhoeven, 47, eventually became an electrical engineer for a wholesaler in radio and TV equipment in the Eindhoven area of the Netherlands. He earned his amateur radio license (PE5PVB) in 1999.

Marek Farkaš, 27, represents a newer generation. He grew up in Slovakia and knew the local frequencies of radio stations he could receive at a young age. Now living in the Czech Republic, it was Farkaš’ girlfriend, Ester Vlčková, who referred him to the FM DX Wikipedia page to shine light on the hobby of listening for distant FM signals in which now he invests a good deal of his time.

Read more – RadioWorld: http://bit.ly/40wRfCK