It has become apparent over the years that many folks who love everything about ham radio also love their cars, trucks, motorcycles, and ATVs. This is supported by the fact that there are plenty of DX Engineering customers who also do their shopping for suspension systems, exhaust tips, piston sets, and fuel injectors at Summit Racing Equipment. In fact, we’ve lost count of the number of letters we’ve received from those who relish both turning corners and turning knobs.
For those who don’t already know, Summit Racing has been the parent company of DX Engineering ever since the aftermarket automotive parts giant acquired the ham radio manufacturer in 2000. (Look for much more about DX Engineering’s 25th Anniversary celebration in the months ahead.)
DX Engineering shares headquarters with Summit Racing in Tallmadge, Ohio, near Akron. The updated DX Engineering Amateur Radio Showroom is housed inside the Summit Racing Retail Superstore at the same location. Ham radio gear can also be purchased at the Summit Racing retail store in Sparks, Nevada.
Need a transceiver and a transmission? A set of radials for your Hustler BTV vertical antenna and some radials for your 1972 Chevelle? A thrust bearing and a main rod bearing? A brake rotor and a heavy-duty rotator? You’ll uniquely find them all under the same roof.
How cool and convenient is that?
For those who can’t make it to the stores in Ohio and Nevada, both Summit Racing (SummitRacing.com) and DX Engineering (DXEngineering.com) make ordering incredibly fast and easy online. Both companies are widely recognized for providing fast shipping (more about speed below) and the most knowledgeable and responsive customer/technical support in their respective industries.
Check out the DX Engineering and Summit Racing decals on Jarvis Island in August 2024! In the photo, George Wallner, AA7JV, member of the offshore crew of the N5J Jarvis Island DXpedition, sets up a self-contained Rig in a Box station on one of the rarest DXCC entities on the planet. The DXpedition was sponsored by DX Engineering. Also notice the VP Racing jug, available at Summit Racing, along for the trip.
Hams & Gearheads
At first inspection, automotive enthusiasts and ham radio aficionados may seem to have little in common. But look closer. The hobbies and the people who are passionate about them share a lot more than you might think.
A Need for Speed
Summit Racing is appropriately known as “The World’s Speed Shop®,” the place where you can find millions of go-fast parts to soup up your ride for the street, dirt track, road course, or drag strip.
While transceivers don’t come equipped with a finish-line parachute, speed is still very much a part of the hobby for scores of amateur operators. Many hams were first intrigued by the idea that their transmissions could reach across the globe thanks to radio waves traveling at the speed of light—186,000 miles per second (a tad quicker than your average quarter-mile pass). Elite CW practitioners hone their skills to reach mind-boggling speeds up to 60 WPM. Like a road race, marathon radiosport contests, such as the 24-hour World Radiosport Team Championship, become a test of both operating speed and endurance. Other ham radio activities, such as direction-finding competitions, depend on quick wits and speed when searching for hidden transmitters.
Finally, we know gearheads and hams alike don’t like to wait around their garages and shacks for parts to arrive—so you can expect speedy delivery of what you need—when you need it.
A Need to Build…and Rebuild
Whether completely restoring a classic, modifying a late-model muscle car, or creating a one-of-a-kind rat rod, there is nothing that makes a gearhead happier than wrenching on their latest project—permanently oil-stained fingernails be darned! Hams are no different. While getting on the air may be the ultimate reward, the satisfaction of installing an antenna, adding a new rotator, or building a homebrew amplifier ranks high for the hands-on ham.
Ask a gearhead or a ham how they spent their early years and you’ll hear stories of disassembled vacuum cleaners and radios, spare parts strewn across living rooms, and angry parents (though secretly proud) admonishing them for not asking first. The obsession to find out what makes things tick runs deep in both hobbies.
Even tasks like prepping and installing connectors on coaxial cable, weatherproofing cable connections, properly grounding amateur radio equipment, and spring station maintenance mean more time spent doing ham radio stuff—always a good thing. And like most gearheads and their cars and trucks, most amateurs view their stations as works in progress, always with an eye on the next big improvement or strategic tweak.
You Can Never Have Too Many
Ask a certain type of gearhead “How many vehicles are enough?” or a similarly inclined ham “How many radios are enough?” and you’re likely to get a shrug. Why? Because there simply isn’t a way to quantify an answer for those whose thirst for rides and rigs have no boundaries.
As of January of 2024, it was reported that Jay Leno’s vehicle collection consisted of over 180 cars and 160 motorcycles. Jerry Seinfeld’s cache of cars exceeds 150, including more than 40 Porsches. For those less monetarily endowed, it’s still difficult to turn down a project vehicle regardless of condition or space limitations. Same goes for hams who can’t pass by a hamfest flea market without adding another vintage rig to their collections or peruse DXEngineering.com without adding the latest SDR model and companion gear to their shopping cart.
It’s no wonder that DX Engineering sells a T-shirt that reads, “Just One More Radio, I Promise” and Summit Racing sells one that reads, “Just One More Car, I Promise.”
Friendships
Attend a car show or a day at the track and you’ll discover that competitiveness and camaraderie go hand in hand. Trophies and trips to the winner’s circle are nice, but longtime gearheads will tell you it’s the friendships with other enthusiasts that count most at the end of the day. Need proof? Listen to a couple of strangers become fast friends as they ease into a “bench racing” give-and-take or share stories of the “cars that got away.” Hams have the added benefit of being able to make friends from all parts of the world simply by getting on the air and calling CQ. Goodwill is at the core of what it means to be an amateur operator, whether hanging out with your club on Field Day or rag-chewing with an operator thousands of miles away.
Some Quick Comparisons
- Going mobile: The most obvious merging of the two pursuits is equipping your vehicle with a mobile transceiver for fun on the road as well as serious emergency communication.
- Endless variety: Both hobbies offer so many avenues of interest that it’s impossible to do it all at once. As the bloggers at OnAllBands have recommended time and again, if you’re starting out in ham radio, it’s best to initially pick one aspect of the hobby rather than spreading yourself too thin.
- Passing it on: Like fathers, mothers, grandparents, and uncles who share their passion for car culture with their sons, daughters, grandkids, and nephews, ham families can’t help but pass on their love of all things radio to the next generation of operators.
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We’d love to hear from all the ham/gearheads out there! Tell us about what you think is the crossover appeal of getting on the air and putting power to the pavement.
