Blog
Posts about my HAM journey, life, and other randomness
Elevation, Nets, and Trivia
Last night, after my last post, I was scanning and heard the Hall County ARES net checking in. This was on the W4ABP repeater on top of Wauka Mountain in north Georgia. Its the same repeater that I had talked through earlier in the day that's 80 miles away from me. I...
Drastic Improvement, Lessons Learned, and an 80 mile QSO!
I have a tripod from a photography back drop kit that I got from a yard sale years ago. Over the years I've used it for a lot of different things, mostly holding lights, or setting up for photo/video. Today, it became an antenna mast. If you've been following along,...
Frustration sets in
My wife bought us tickets for the Atlanta Braves. That was going to put me pretty close to the Ham Radio Outlet in Atlanta, so we left early enough to go by before the game. I wanted to discuss my antenna issue with them (you can read about my antenna issues in a...
First Technical Glitch
Since making my first contact, I've been experimenting with my 2 mobile radios, a QTY 980 Plus, and a Yaesu FT2500. For my very first contact ever, just 6 days ago, I had the Yaesu hooked up to a Tram 1480. The antenna was leaning in the corner of my basement, and I...
First Contact…. or QSO!
I made my first QSO this afternoon, pretty much by accident. All of the peripherals that I needed to get on the air came in the mail yesterday. I've been playing with the radios that my son gave me all afternoon. He also loaned me his SWR meter, so I was seeing how...
Getting into HF
I've wanted to get into HF since the day I got my license. I wanted to take my time, learn a few things, and not make a hasty decision. I've been looking more seriously at HF radios for a couple of months now. I was hoping to put my hands on a couple of radio's and...
First Hamfest
I went to my first hamfest this weekend, which was the Stone Mountain Hamfest, that advertises itself as being the largest hamfest in Georgia. Carrying the moniker of "largest in Georgia" may have built the event up in my mind to be something bigger than it really...