The first post on a site is always a bit difficult. It really seems to have the pressure of setting the mood for the blog. In keeping with that, I think I’ll just tell you a bit about myself in this post and where this hobby has taken me.
I got started in 2003 with radio. I had been around CB’s in the 70s and 80s but never really thought about making the jump to ham radio. I had known it was around and in fact, the guy in our subdivision that everyone went to for CB was himself a ham. We had our third daughter in 2001 and I was pretty stressed out with work and life in general. I needed a distraction before I imploded. I went to a skywarn class our EMA was giving and the role Hams played in the process was stressed. That brought back all the memories from the70’s and Mr. Buck. Seed was planted….
I found HRO in Atlanta and bought a little hand held radio (VX-2R I think) and the ARRL Tech study guide. I programmed in a few frequencies and began listening while I was reading. I had a business trip to Myrtle Beach and that next week and heard a lot of traffic on the repeaters I could hear from the hotel balcony. The Lawrenceville hamfest was the next weekend and I passed my Tech exam an picked up a Icom 208H and a cheap mag mount antenna as a reward. That is how I got started.
I got my General in January of 2004 after passing the 5wpm code test. It was a struggle but got perfect copy. That seems soooooooo slow now but I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. CodeQuick tapes are what I used (borrowed from a friend) and I still have those shortcuts in my head. It took two attempts in the Summer of 2004 to pass my Extra test. I had one of the VE’s call me after the first time I took it. He said I only missed it by one question and to keep studying and try again. I took the book with me that week to a conference in California and found a mid-week VE session in Sacramento where I was staying. I passed that time and got my /AE. I rewarded myself by having HRO ship a new HT to my hotel.
My callsign, NR4N, is a vanity call I picked up in 2006 or 7. I was originally licensed as KI4CWA which wasn’t the best on CW. CW is one of my preferred modes.
My activity over the years has been up and down but I’ve always had a radio in my truck and normally have an HT with me. I’ve done HF mobile, portable, field day, FM, AM, Digital, even a bit of QRP. I have met great people in this hobby and plan to keep it a part of my life forever if I can.
This is by far not a complete list of my ham life and I will expand but it got the blog started. I hope to post often as I love to learn. I hope this will help me organize my thoughts as I continue to learn new things about radio and the world.
73 de Dusty, NR4N