The earliest days of ham radio were marked by crude spark equipment and bold experimenters unfettered by any U.S. radio law. This first electronics generation produced heroes who saved lives and hackers blamed for so much trouble that amateur radio was nearly outlawed. Here Bob Rydzewski of the California Historical Radio Society tells the inspiring story of Fred Mudgett, the first amateur to aid in disaster communications, and the ultimately tragic tale of Henry Heim Jr., presented to the U.S. Congress as a national security risk. Amateurs like these helped pave the way to wireless communication as we know it today.
