Dad was a HAM (Amateur Radio) operator. Some really great memories as a kid listening to him chatting with my uncle (in Puerto Rico at the time) and stations all over the world. I wanted to get my license when I was a kid. I could tap Morse code (CW) like a young champ. And reading it was like reading text. But when I *heard* it, it used to screw me up terribly. Was like some sort of CW dyslexia. The joke was (and still is) that I’d get confused at the beginning of Rush’s “YYZ” - So I never applied.

Then one day, I found out that the FCC dropped the CW portion of the Technician exam. That sort of changed everything. Started studying up and got my “Tech” ticket in May of 2020 and followed up with the General in September. Geez, a lot has changed since then. Now, I spend far too much time jabbering away on “nets” locally on various repeaters and all around the world on EchoLink. Putting together a HF rig at some point soon, but as anyone knows, 2020 is slowing a lot of ambitions down.

N9IJS (formerly KD9TAC) on the HAM frequencies - WRFR362 on GMRS (I still have a lot fo friends on GMRS). Now getting into digital modes. So much to learn, but it’s a blast.

Not a lot of fancy equipment - But these days, you don’t need much to get started. Heck, my first radio (that I still have but mostly only use for monitoring) is a 2m / 70cm dual band 8-watt handheld HT that cost me all of $40. And it’s a surprisingly decent unit - although definitely “training wheels” compared to most. And as usual, only as good as the antenna it’s connected to. Once you get your license, you can actually hook up to radio repeaters via VOIP (voice over internet protocol) from a computer - even your cell phone - and chat with other HAMs all around the globe. And if that isn’t enough, go DMR. I have a pair of AnyTone DMR radios - The AT-D878UV Plus (portable HT) and the AT-D578UVIII Pro (tri-band mobile unit that’s currently my base station).

Good clean fun. And in this current state of COVID, a wonderful way to confront the boredom of “social distancing” by communicating with others doing the same. 73.

NOTE: Originally posted in September of 2020 — Blog post date has been tweaked to force position in listing.