Ham Radio Movies

 Who remembers this movie? This is WM1ATE calling HB9RFX. 

High Frequency (1998)

Of course, many of you also remember the movie, Frequency (2000) and a subsequent TV series.

What other shortwave or ham radio movies do you remember?

 

Here is a list compiled by Dave, AD7DB.

"Gone With the Wind" - 1939. Drama. The classic story of Brett and Charlotte as they try to save their 100 foot tower in the worst windstorm to hit Georgia since the Civil War.

"The Longest Yard" - 1974. Comedy. Burt Reynolds acquires the largest property in a new subdivision, then finds his plans to put up a huge antenna farm thwarted by a hostile homeowners association (Jackie Gleason, Loni Anderson, Dom DeLouise).

"The Lost Contest Weekend" - 1945. Drama. Ray Milland in a dramatic battle on 20 Meters for one elusive QSL.

"I Was a Teenage Novice" - 1957. Drama. A troubled teenager (Michael Landon) finds fun and excitement after getting a ham license.

"It Came from Radio Shack" - 1977. Horror. Bill Bixby tries to keep a computer called TRS-80 from taking over the world.

"Rear Window" - 1954. Suspense. Alfred Hitchcock did several marvelous films heavy on the subject of ham radio. In this movie, James Stewart plays a man confined to a wheelchair, determined to break the CC&R's and put up an end-fed wire antenna going out his apartment window - without the neighbors catching on. Grace Kelly and Thelma Ritter also star. Watch for Hitchcock's appearance over in Ross Bagdasarian's apartment.

"The Man Who Knew Too Much" - 1956. Suspense. James Stewart shows up at an FCC testing office for his ham license. What he doesn't know is, he's over-studied for it, and is smarter than the examiners, who force him into working for them! Watch for Hitchcock's appearance as someone taking a code test! See if you can figure out what he's sending!

"The Birds" - 1963. Thriller. The classic about a bunch of people stranded in a Northern California town who find that the only means of communication to the outside is by way of some of them newfangled OSCAR satellites.

Other Nominees:

"Frequency" - 2000. Drama. Ham operator finds his radio can time warp and talk to his dad decades in the past. How does he expect to QSL?

"Contact" - 1997. Drama. Female ham operator (Jodie Foster) controls the Arecibo radiotelescope, where she picks up an extraterrestrial signal. Now that's what I call DX