Barry Goldwater

====Amateur radio====
Goldwater was an avid [[amateur radio]] operator from the early 1920s onwards, with the [[call sign]]s 6BPI, K3UIG and K7UGA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smecc.org/barry_goldwater.htm |title=An Afternoon with Senator Goldwater |publisher=Smecc.org |access-date=March 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104212755/http://www.smecc.org/barry_goldwater.htm|archive-date=January 4, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=262314 |title=FCC K7UGA record |publisher=Wireless2.fcc.gov |date=May 29, 1998 |access-date=March 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104205451/http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=262314 |archive-date=January 4, 2014 }}</ref> The last is now used by an Arizona club honoring him as a commemorative call. During the [[Vietnam War]] he was a [[Military Affiliate Radio System]] (MARS) operator.<ref>{{cite web|title=Major General Barry M. Goldwater|url=http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/106951/major-general-barry-m-goldwater.aspx|website=af.mil|publisher=U.S. Air Force|access-date=November 22, 2016|archive-date=November 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123054741/http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/106951/major-general-barry-m-goldwater.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

Goldwater was a spokesman for amateur radio and its enthusiasts. Beginning in 1969, and for the rest of his life, he appeared in many educational and promotional films (and later videos) about the hobby that were produced for the [[American Radio Relay League]] (the United States national society representing the interests of radio amateurs) by such producers as Dave Bell (W6AQ), ARRL Southwest Director John R. Griggs (W6KW), Alan Kaul (W6RCL), Forrest Oden (N6ENV), and Roy Neal (K6DUE). His first appearance was in Dave Bell's ''The World of Amateur Radio'' where Goldwater discussed the history of the hobby and demonstrated a live contact with Antarctica. His last on-screen appearance dealing with "ham radio" was in 1994, explaining a then-upcoming, Earth-orbiting ham radio relay satellite.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

Electronics was a hobby for Goldwater beyond amateur radio. He enjoyed assembling [[Heathkit]]s,<ref name="shea19820913">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26 | title=Buckley finds word processing on Z-89 'liberating' | work=InfoWorld | date=September 13, 1982 | access-date=January 9, 2015 | author=Shea, Tom | page=26 | archive-date=February 4, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204030359/https://books.google.com/books?id=EDAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26 | url-status=live }}</ref> completing more than 100 and often visiting their maker in [[Benton Harbor, Michigan]], to buy more, before the company exited the kit business in 1992.<ref name="fisher">Fisher, Lawrence M. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/30/business/plug-is-pulled-on-heathkits-ending-a-do-it-yourself-era.html Plug Is Pulled on Heathkits, Ending a Do-It-Yourself Era] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319224354/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/30/business/plug-is-pulled-on-heathkits-ending-a-do-it-yourself-era.html |date=March 19, 2017 }}" ''The New York Times'', March 30, 1992.</ref>