WRPL700 Posted yesterday at 01:04 PM Report Posted yesterday at 01:04 PM Yes, I finally did it. I got my Tech (KD3AKT). Had a lot of fun on 10M on Sunday. Got 2 contacts from TX, one from OK, one from ND, one from OR and one from CA. All on 20 watts. What a fun hobby. WRUU653, Lscott, GrouserPad and 2 others 5 Quote
Lscott Posted yesterday at 01:10 PM Report Posted yesterday at 01:10 PM Congratulations. Now you get to spend even more money on radios and antennas. WSDM599, WRYZ926 and WRUU653 1 2 Quote
WRUU653 Posted yesterday at 02:05 PM Report Posted yesterday at 02:05 PM Congratulations! Sounds like you are off to a great start. Quote
SteveShannon Posted yesterday at 02:13 PM Report Posted yesterday at 02:13 PM 1 hour ago, WRPL700 said: Yes, I finally did it. I got my Tech (KD3AKT). Had a lot of fun on 10M on Sunday. Got 2 contacts from TX, one from OK, one from ND, one from OR and one from CA. All on 20 watts. What a fun hobby. Excellent! Well done. Quote
GrouserPad Posted yesterday at 02:17 PM Report Posted yesterday at 02:17 PM 1 hour ago, WRPL700 said: Yes, I finally did it. I got my Tech (KD3AKT). Had a lot of fun on 10M on Sunday. Got 2 contacts from TX, one from OK, one from ND, one from OR and one from CA. All on 20 watts. What a fun hobby. Awesome! Did you have to join your local HAM club to get it ? Quote
WRPL700 Posted yesterday at 02:34 PM Author Report Posted yesterday at 02:34 PM 13 minutes ago, GrouserPad said: Awesome! Did you have to join your local HAM club to get it ? Nope. Just bought an ARRL book on the Tech test and studied it for about two months, then scheduled an in-person test. Having the GMRS license for several years actually helped learned some things that are in common with both. GrouserPad and WSDM599 2 Quote
SteveShannon Posted yesterday at 02:38 PM Report Posted yesterday at 02:38 PM 18 minutes ago, GrouserPad said: Awesome! Did you have to join your local HAM club to get it ? I’m a volunteer examiner. We’re not allowed to place conditions like that on testing. We tell people about our club, but only as information they might enjoy having. WRUU653 and GrouserPad 2 Quote
WRPL700 Posted yesterday at 02:38 PM Author Report Posted yesterday at 02:38 PM I also bought the General book about a week ago and I think I will take that test next month. I don't think I need the Extra. SteveShannon and WRUU653 2 Quote
SteveShannon Posted yesterday at 02:46 PM Report Posted yesterday at 02:46 PM Just now, WRPL700 said: I also bought the General book about a week ago and I think I will take that test next month. I don't think I need the Extra. Another really good training method (I really enjoyed it) is HamStudy.org. All of the questions are presented along with lots of reference material that unwind the concepts or reasoning behind the answer. It works really well for those who want to learn the material. You can choose how you want to be presented the questions, a section at a time or randomly. You can take practice tests as often as you want. It’s all free online or for a very low price you can purchase the app and take it on your phone or tablet even when you’re offline. It tracks which questions you get wrong and goes back to them more frequently to help concentrate your studying. WRUU653 1 Quote
WRPL700 Posted yesterday at 02:57 PM Author Report Posted yesterday at 02:57 PM 9 minutes ago, SteveShannon said: Another really good training method (I really enjoyed it) is HamStudy.org. All of the questions are presented along with lots of reference material that unwind the concepts or reasoning behind the answer. It works really well for those who want to learn the material. You can choose how you want to be presented the questions, a section at a time or randomly. You can take practice tests as often as you want. It’s all free online or for a very low price you can purchase the app and take it on your phone or tablet even when you’re offline. It tracks which questions you get wrong and goes back to them more frequently to help concentrate your studying. Thanks for the HamStudy.org heads-up. I will check it out. WSDM599 and SteveShannon 2 Quote
Davichko5650 Posted 21 hours ago Report Posted 21 hours ago 5 hours ago, WRPL700 said: Yes, I finally did it. I got my Tech (KD3AKT). Had a lot of fun on 10M on Sunday. Got 2 contacts from TX, one from OK, one from ND, one from OR and one from CA. All on 20 watts. What a fun hobby. Congrats and welcome to the Rabbit Hole that is Amateur Radio! Enjoy 10 meters while it's hot! Good luck on the General, opens up the world of HF to you! 73 de N0TXW SteveShannon 1 Quote
WRPL700 Posted 21 hours ago Author Report Posted 21 hours ago (edited) Oops. Edited 21 hours ago by WRPL700 Oops. SteveShannon 1 Quote
WRPL700 Posted 21 hours ago Author Report Posted 21 hours ago 10 minutes ago, Davichko5650 said: Congrats and welcome to the Rabbit Hole that is Amateur Radio! Enjoy 10 meters while it's hot! 73 de N0TXW Hey, thanks. This was a long time in coming....... 40 years ago I was an Army radio operator (18E) so I was pretty good with morse code back then. The guys were always after me to get my Ham license, but I never did. So fast forward: a few years back I got my GMRS license and played with that and then last fall convinced my wife to allow me to try for the Ham license. I still need to work on dusting off my CW skills again. My hand isn't as steady with a straight key as it once was. But this is a lot of fun. SteveShannon 1 Quote
Davichko5650 Posted 20 hours ago Report Posted 20 hours ago 10 minutes ago, WRPL700 said: .. 40 years ago I was an Army radio operator (18E) so I was pretty good with Morse code back then. fun. I seem to find a lot of veterans with radio backgrounds, like myself, on the ham bands! I was a Voice Intercept Operator (98G) Arabic with Secondary MOS's as 05H and 05C for Morse and RTTY, as well as having the K3 designator indicating I was an ECM operator as well in the ASA/INSCOM back in the mid-late 70's. I was already a radio hobbyist in the AM broadcast DX and SWL world. Most my instructors for the radio stuff in the Army were Hams, and bugged all of us to get our tickets. Didn't get mine until 1992 as a No-Code Tech. Upgraded to Tech+ with the 5 wpm CW test in 1996. Was off the air for about 15 years what with Life intervening, but got back into it in October 2020 getting my General and then my Extra in Jan. of 2022. Got into GMRS in 2017 for comms up north where there is no or spotty Cell or internet service. Was WQUR589, but forgot to renew, so now I'm WRJG283 in that service. SteveShannon 1 Quote
WRPL700 Posted 20 hours ago Author Report Posted 20 hours ago 28 minutes ago, Davichko5650 said: I seem to find a lot of veterans with radio backgrounds, like myself, on the ham bands! I was a Voice Intercept Operator (98G) Arabic with Secondary MOS's as 05H and 05C for Morse and RTTY, as well as having the K3 designator indicating I was an ECM operator as well in the ASA/INSCOM back in the mid-late 70's. I was already a radio hobbyist in the AM broadcast DX and SWL world. Most my instructors for the radio stuff in the Army were Hams, and bugged all of us to get our tickets. Didn't get mine until 1992 as a No-Code Tech. Upgraded to Tech+ with the 5 wpm CW test in 1996. Was off the air for about 15 years what with Life intervening, but got back into it in October 2020 getting my General and then my Extra in Jan. of 2022. Got into GMRS in 2017 for comms up north where there is no or spotty Cell or internet service. Was WQUR589, but forgot to renew, so now I'm WRJG283 in that service. As I remember it, I was originally an O5B-A4, but then they changed us to 31V??? And then to 18E. We used a lot of wired half-wave dipoles. I still remember using the 468/frequency to get the ball park length. We used metal audio tape reels to roll up the extra wire and parachute cord thrown over a tree limb to lift up each side. The radio was a AN/PRC-74B 15 watt. Good memories. Davichko5650 and SteveShannon 2 Quote
tweiss3 Posted 19 hours ago Report Posted 19 hours ago Congrats. I'm glad you have found something fun for you. Great thing about amateur radio, if what you are doing isn't interesting to you, find something else to do with it. SteveShannon 1 Quote
AdmiralCochrane Posted 16 hours ago Report Posted 16 hours ago Good job! There is an amount of redundancy between the Tech and General tests. Take your General as soon as you can and it will be easier. SteveShannon 1 Quote
WRYZ926 Posted 16 hours ago Report Posted 16 hours ago You now have so many more squirrels to chase, especially once you get your General. SteveShannon 1 Quote
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