Ham Radio

In December 2016, I was considering the purchase of a radio to monitor police and fire department communications. I ran across an online forum that discussed these scanners. One of the other listed forums was about Amateur Radio. I decided to visit the forum and learned that the Morse Code requirement had been removed.

I decided that I would try to get my Technician License. I got one of the study guides and a smartphone app and began to study. Most of the electronics and some of the radio theory was familiar; the remaining questions came down to operating and regulatory rules.

On December 20, 2016, I drove over an hour to a location offering the last test of the calendar year in my area. There were about a 18 people there. I passed the Technician exam. On the encouragement of the examiners, I took the General Class test as well. I had not studied for it, and although there was some overlap in the tests, I missed by a few questions too many.

Just after the first of the year, I was granted my Technician Class license, KN4AAG, on 01/06/2017. With that, I immediately began studying for the upgrade. I took and passed the General and Extra exams on 02/11/2017!

Thirty-eight years had passed since my first interest in Amateur Radio. Now I was a licensed operator. Since then, I have greatly enjoyed meeting many other hams, both locally, across the country, and across the planet.

I am a member of the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society. I am a proud supporter of the Piedmont Coastal Repeater Network and the Carolina 440 UHF Link System.

I participate in the Piedmont Coastal Traffic Net, passing ARRL radiograms (the Relay in Amateur Radio Relay League), and I took Skywarn Spotter training. I continue to explore activities in this wide ranging hobby.