Subj : Re: Passed technician exam today
To   : Zarnock
From : Nigel Reed
Date : Mon Nov 23 2020 07:08:40

Zarnock wrote:
> On 22 Nov 2020, Nigel Reed said the following...
>  NR> Congrats. It took me 8 years from getting my license to getting a radio,
>  NR> and it is only a small HT at that. I passed my general but haven't
>  NR> upgraded. I want to pass extra before doing that then I won't have to
>  NR> worry as much as to which frequencies I can and cannot use.
> 
> Thanks!  Also, wow 8 years?  How did you get interested in amateur radio
> without having a radio?  That's got to be a pretty interesting story!

I used to have a CB radio back in the UK with all sorts of illegal mods like
SSB and the like. I managed to speak to someone in Brazil one night, so it's
always been a bit of an interest.

Now I'm a member of the local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and one
thing you learn is no matter what happens, ham radio is going to be able to
transmit and relay when everything else around you is down.

> I also have a small HT.  I got it because I have people HT simplex range that
> I want to be able to get a hold of in the event of an emergency.  2020 has
> really made me realize just how unprepared I was.

I can't reach much with mine. We have a repeater run by the local radio club
and I can just about manage to hit that and have a few conversations. I
generally don't have much so say so when I use it, I mainly just listen.

> I started learning about it and finding repeaters in the area and listening
> to the nets and general conversation and got really interested in the
> hobby/practice.

Now that you're going to get a callsign, you'll be able to use EchoLink too
http://www.echolink.org which is interest based but you can talk to repeaters
or others direct. It really defeats the object of finding people randomly, but
it is useful if you're having a bad reception day.

> I just got a RTL-SDR that helps make it easier to find random conversations
> and repeaters I didn't know I could pickup.  I've been sticking to
> listening to things in the 2m and 70cm range just so I don't get interested in
> something I can't talk on anytime soon.  LOL.  There is a ton of activity on
> both of them in my area, so they should keep me well occupied while I study
> up.

My HT also has 2m/70cm for the same reason, and like I said earlier, why I've
not upgraded until I pass my Extra. The thing I balk at is the insane prices
some of these radios fetch....and where am I going to put the antenna!

.