As for the hobby of the radio.

All began as far as in 1964, more than forty years ago, when I lived with my parents in the city of Sanremo. Every day, after finishing my school duties, I switched on the “home” radio receiver (a classical 5 tubes superhet) while, as antenna, I used the power line of the house itself, putting, of course, a capacitor in series within the wiring.
I was able to receive fairly well several commercial world wide transmissions and, with more difficulty, some far radio amateurs: That was the age of AM (Amplitude Modulation) and some time I could listen to radio Hams with very strong signals.
The second passion of that time was, for me, the writing. While my school went on well, especially in Italian courses, in that period, and for about two years, I used to “work” as a VERY young journalist sending reports from Sanremo to some boys magazines. The “journalist licence card” they gave to me was a very welcomed passport for all the activities that rolled on very frequently in my town (the city of flowers); I shoot pictures, wrote the articles and after that I sent all the matters to the the newspaper staff for publishing.

When I finished my school studies, I went to work at a local telephone company , in the Central Transmission Unit of Imperia. In Sanremo the staff was full.
My job was bound to control the quality of the telephone lines between Imperia and many other Italian towns, both in low and in high frequency (radio repeaters).
For work reasons I had frequent conversations with fellows in other towns.
It was just during one of the work talks that I had the flash to recognize the voice of my colleague as one of the already listened through the radio.
After some natural perplexity on both parts I took the courage to ask and my friend to confirm that, in fact, my thoughts were right and that he was an active radio amateur with the call I1GUG
So our conversation went on a much more friendly way and, at last he said that I could pay him a visit in Sanremo, where he lived as me , to see by myself all of his ham shack goodies.
Giuseppe (that's his name) began to introduce me into the new radio amateur world, showing and explaining me about all the gears that piled up in his “radio room”.
As a final bonus, he gave me also a radio receiver with a matched converter that could serve a little better than my family radio set , for my future ham bands listening.
I joined the Radio Amateur Association of Italy (A.R.I) in 1965 receiving my SWL call I1 – 12425.
My radio activity, helped so much by the new receiver, grew stronger than journalism and so I took the final decision to resign my “freelance licence”.

For the two following years my SWL activity was restricted by using, as antenna , some electrical wires disguised with the other ropes used by my mother for hanging out and drying the laundry on the balcony !!!.
On two meters band, the converter that fed the following receiver, was connected to a true 6 elements yagi because easily camouflaged with the tv aerials on the condominium roof.
In 1967 I took my regular Radio Ham licence but, I resolved to work only on 144 Mhz for the peace of the neighborhood.
Frequently, however, during the week-ends, I used to reach some local nearby mountains tops (more than 1000 meters high) where 2 meters and subsequently also up to 10 Ghz operations were very successful, even in contest V-U-SHF activities.
In 1973, after my wedding with Graziella (. some people says a day she'll be declared Saint !! ), I moved to Coldirodi, a beautiful place located very near Sanremo on a hill of about 300 meters above the sea level; VERY nice position for radio traffic on whatever frequency you choose !
Up from there I began to be VERY active on every band and with many emission modes, in last years also in digital ones.
A day, while in QSO with some other italian hams, Enrico, I5WBE gave me the nickname of "AQUILA DI COLDIRODI" (Eagle of Coldirodi) because I lived up on a hill and I liked so much the term that I continue to refer to myself, joking sometime and with close friends, as the beforesaid.
In 1976 our ARI national VHF manager, Franco I4LCK, named me as "V-U-SHF AWARD MANAGER", a task I carried out for several years.
Together with some radio amateurs from Modena, I took part in several “scientific” tours and in particular we visited the “Telespazio” center in Fucino valley end the CERN in Geneva where we have been allowed to operate the 4U1ITU station (s. the initial picture)

In the 80's, when we got our “reciprocity licence”, I used to climb on several Maritime Alps (06 department) tops where I worked as F0BJU/p in V-U-SHF bands.
From the Monte Saccarello m.2200 (wwloc.JN34UB) I was able to register a “NEW-ONE 10 GHz" QSO from France to Italy helped by Andrea IW1AJJ contacting IW4AKY/4 oprating from Monte Cimone (MO).(240 Km of QRB)
Another “NEW-ONE 10 Ghz" was between my station I1SCL and 3A2BF in Monaco.

I have been also very active as a member and sometime also as an organizer of a great number of radio-assistances to sport activities such as international and national car rallies, bike Italian tours, boat regattas etc.
In 1967 I became grandfather of a beautiful baby (Samuel) thanks to my second born daughter Myriam and the little boy seems to be very interested on the radio !! (s. the pict.)

A special thanks to Giorgio, very keen on E.M.E. activity, for his advising on the matter and also for the practical contribute on my radio station equipment and also to Pietro, I1PIK, that's always on hand to test antennas and new rigs on V-U-and SHF bands.
After about 40 years, I was hit again by the “journalist bug”; With new technologies it's becoming so easy and I'll say funny, to gather and share informations with the rest of us.
So, it's from 2003 that I collect infos about many aspects of the actual amateur activities, publishing a weekly Bulletin that's sent via e-mail to everybody simply asking for it.
The “Bulletin” idea has been appreciated by a great number of Hams that very often send me some technical/scientific matter to be published on the same.
Cooperation is always welcome sending all the infos to: i1scl@info-radio.eu