Playing with radios since the age of 8, started with tubes and still enjoying them. 1st Hartley TX and first regen RX built at 12. Amateur radio licence (IZ3CQI) took at the age of 26, after the university. Nevertheless, a lot of radio transmissions were done before that, in a way we could define 'not politically correct'. Now after many years from those times, i'm happily married, two kids, working as electrical engineer ... and my main station is ... a Hartley TX plus a Twinplex regen RX. CW only. Like about a ago. A radio without tubes and knobs is not a radio.