If you are a ham radio operator and looking for technical details go to my Amateur Radio Page.

How I got in Amateur Radio (Ham Radio)

Dilbert - The Knack

My Grandfather (KK4YN) got me hooked on radios and electronics in 1992, I began reading and asking questions. At the National Scout Jamboree in 1993 (Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia) I received my CSCE for Novice Written element. JOTA had a radio station set up to use, but I never did make a QSO, I just spent plenty of time watching and listening to the waves. Thereafter, the Jamboree I spent lots of time studying for the Technician Plus, which I passed at the next exam session I attended gaining the callsign KE4GPB. A few months later I earned the 5 wpm Morse Code element with the callsign KE4RLX.

Years later after my initial Military enlistment ended, I upgraded to General then Amateur Extra and selected ended up with the callsign AD5QA. My wife, on her own wanted to get her license and I coached her in several areas where she needed help. She got her license in 2004 with callsign KI4EEF. My sister received her license in 2004, callsign KI4GIA. My main interest in Amateur Radio is experimentation, public service, special events and contesting. I tend to like more formal then casual conversations which make me somewhat uncomfortable. That’s why I like contesting and Emergency Communications, pass little information quickly and efficiently as possible.

What Can We Do?

There is something for everyone in amateur radio, it is a friendly and adventurist hobby. You can spend a little or spend millions on anything from a resistor to a full professional rig to a complete station.

Capabilities

Voice Communication is the main method of amateur radio. Most often we use radios to radios or use a repeater. However, if you want to get creative you can talk to the International Space Station, use satellites, bounce your signal off the moon, and use skip. The FCC has allocated a broad range of frequencies for us to use from HF / VHF / UHF.

Digital Communications is used in all different ways and forms from voice, facsimile, amateur television, various digital protocols (computer to computer), and more. There is always something to experiment with. Want to download your own weather satellite transmission from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association? Well amateur radio operators have been designing and building homebrew kits to do just that.

Most of the older generation like to either collect old rigs (older, older gen) or build and/or experiment with electronics from scratch (that’s me). After about 1999 around when they dropped the code requirement was a tur ning point in Amateur Radio. The major hobby went from experimentation and foundation to 2 meters rag chewing for most. I tend to like the experimentation the most and there is nothing like building a receiver from a schematic, powering it on and getting a weak and warbly signal that you have to chase. Staying up all night with your soldiering iron and messing with signal generators and an oscilloscope to find what stage your signal is at.

Special Days and Events

Field Day

The ARRL Sponsored Field Day is the third weekend in June. The goal is “to work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2.” (ARRL more info)

Special Events

Special events are…

Contests

We participated in the 2004 Virginia QSO Party had a good time and made some contacts.

Videos about the Hobby

Ham Radio in the News

Ham radio operators are always in the news and helping behind the scenes, usually no credit is given and we kind of like it that way. Here is my small list of Ham Radio in the news and is defiantly not all inclusive.

Fredericksburg, Virginia link

Further Reading

The National Association for Amateur Radio