Many readers will remember building their very first radio. The projects that you built after this are probably a forgotten memory now but that first receiver, well, is often quite special. Perhaps, like many, it was a simple crystal set. In my case, I built a one-transistor reflex receiver, the parts bought with money earned from helping to paint a holiday beach house.

Tuning in those first sounds after hours of careful soldering, with the help of a long-suffering ham-radio-operator uncle, was nothing short of amazing for me. Then came an endless round of careful testing and adjusting of wire antennas and the earth connections to get the best performance out of that simple receiver. (I don't recall anything that made a real difference!)

It all made for a memorable summer, listening to music, news and cricket broadcasts on the AM band.