It’s been nearly 1 month since I earned the Technician Class amateur radio license. I’m scheduled to go back to Forest, VA on Sunday January 10 to take the General Class exam. I’ve been on the radio, almost daily since the FCC issued my first license.

The Technician Class license is fun, and if you just want to chat on the radio locally, it works really well. You have privileges on multiple bands / frequencies, but there are so many more opportunities as you upgrade your license.

I’ve tuned around on a few HF bands with my Dad, and brother. My Dad, WB4FLM introduced me to 40, or 80 meters and let me scan around and listen to a few QSOs, CW, even some AM stations as far away as New York and Kentucky! My brother, W4NJE introduced me to PSK31, aka. digital radio. He has a laptop connected to his radio and uses the soundcard of the computer to transmit messages over the radio. While we were on the air we heard from an operator in Cuba, and made contact with a person in Mexico.

I don’t have an HF radio, so it may be a while before I’m actually on the air, at least from home. Of course in my case, as in the case of many HAMs, I’ll be without a decent antenna and that makes all the difference.

I’m still working on my wife, Sarah to study for and get her Technician license. I think she will, one day. She actually committed to testing with me on January 10, but admittedly, I didn’t get her the study material.

73′s, and good luck to me. I’ll report back on my test results in a few days.