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which are connected with our hobby。 Two are of particular interest： the
account given to me by Takis Coumbias formerly SV1AAA of the early
days of amateur radio in Russia and the story of the Greek broadcasts from
Cairo； Egypt during the German/Italian occupation of Greece in World
War II。
Nearly all the photographs of the period were taken by the author。
1。 Athanasios 'Takis' Coumbias （1909…1987）
When I met Takis in his office in May 1983 I told him I was thinking
of writing a small book about the history of amateur radio in Greece
before it was too late so many of the old timers had already passed away。
Little did we both suspect at the time that he also would not live to see the
finished project。 I asked him how far back he could remember。
〃Well； I can start from 1924 when I was about 15 and living in
Odessa in the Soviet Union。 There was a lot of interest in wireless and two
magazines were published in Russia which dealt mainly with the
construction of receivers。 My interest was first aroused when a friend of
mine at school proudly showed me something he had just made。 It was； he
told me； a variable capacitor and he was going to use it to make a radio
receiver。 The contraption was enormous by today's standards and must
have weighed about half a kilo。 My friend said it had a capacity of 250
micro…micro farads； which meant absolutely nothing to me at the time。
〃When he completed his receiver I became very interested and
decided I would build one too。 But materials were hard to find and very
expensive。 Two items one had to buy： valves and headphones。
〃I asked my friend where he had found the sheet metal to make the
plates of the capacitor。 He took me to a row of small shops which had a
metal…faced ledge below the shop window。 The metal was thin and seemed
easy enough to remove。 We sat on the ledge for a while and when the
coast was clear we tore away a section and ran like mad。 Later I ruined a
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pair of my mother's dressmaking scissors cutting out the plates。 I used
rings of some thick copper wire to space the plates but I could not drill
holes in the plates for the spindle so a friend did that for me。 I used about
15 plates and to this day I have no idea what the capacity of the finished
capacitor was。 Some small items for the receiver could be found in a little
shop owned by an old man who charged exorbitant prices； so I decided I
must go to Moscow for the valve and a single headphone that I needed。
〃But Moscow was three days and two nights away by train； and it
was the middle of winter。 So what； you may ask。 Like many others I had to
travel on the roof of a goods waggon。 I took with me a loaf of bread； a
piece of cheese and two hard…boiled eggs。 My father said I must be mad
but he gave me some spending money and his blessing。
〃I had eaten my food by the end of the second day so when we
stopped at Brensk which is famous for its 'piroushki' I decided to try them。
They were kept warm in large metal tins ready for the arrival of the train。
There were seven varieties and I had one made with liver and a savoury
sauce。
〃When I arrived in Moscow I went to see the Greek ambassador as I
was carrying a letter of introduction from my father who was acting
Consul for Greece in Odessa； but it was Saturday and the ambassador's
office was closed。 I learned later that only foreign establishments closed at
the week…end。 So I went to look for a cheap hotel。 Looking out of the
bedroom window I saw a lot of people running in one direction。 At that
moment a woman brought me a towel and a small bar of soap； so I asked
her what was going on outside。 She said the butcher near the hotel had just
received some liver。 Would she buy me some I said。 I gave her some
money and she returned nearly two hours later with the liver wrapped in
newspaper。 When I opened it I saw it was horse liver cooked with corn
and it had an awful sour smell。 I just could not face it； although I was
starving by now。〃
I asked Takis about the shops in Moscow。 He said he had found
several shops with parts and some made…up receivers in the State owned
shops。 He learned later that these receivers were made by amateurs
because the factories only made equipment for the armed forces。 He
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bought a triode valve called 'MICRO' and was told it had an amplification
factor of 7。 He wrapped it carefully in cotton wool for the return journey
to Odessa。 He also bought a dry battery pack which gave 80 volts； and an
enormous single headphone for one ear which was ex…army surplus。
When he returned home and began to build his receiver he raided his
mother's kitchen to build things like terminals； switches etc。 There was an
electric bell circuit between the dining room and the kitchen and as they
didn't use it his mother said he could dismantle it and use the wire； which
was quite long because it went up into the loft and then down again to the
kitchen。
〃I had acquired a small square of bakelite and I used a penknife to
make a holder for the valve； twisting a few turns of wire round the pins as
I could find nothing to use as a socket。 I had no idea how to connect the
various items I made or bought。 I had seen a circuit diagram in a French
magazine of a detector with reaction。 I made the connections by twisting
wires together and finally the receiver was complete。 The next thing was
the aerial。 I made an enormous aerial with four parallel wires； like the
aerials I had seen on ships。 Putting it up was a dangerous operation as our
house had a rather steep tiled roof； so I got some friends to help me。 Some
of them who had 'superior knowledge' told me the down…lead must have
no bends。 I got hold of a stiff copper wire and supported the down…lead on
two enormous bell insulators as used on telegraph poles。 I had to smash a
corner of my bedroom window to bring the wire in。 I had bought a large
knife switch which could be turned over to connect the aerial to ground。 I
was afraid the large flat top of the aerial would attract thunderbolts。 When
I finally connected the aerial to the receiver I heard ABSOLUTELY
NOTHING。〃
I asked him how he tuned the receiver。 He said he had put many taps
on the coil and he twisted his antenna to these taps trying various
combinations with the tuning capacitor。
〃All I heard was this breathing noise。 I learned later that it was the
'carrier wave' of a broadcasting station without modulation； but I didn't
know what that meant。 As my friends also heard the same noise I was
convinced my receiver was working。 We soon found out that the long
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wave transmitter at Ankara； the capital of Turkey was making test
transmissions without modulation。 Ankara was one