The first time I can remember seeing ham radio, was when I
After making the call, my dad got into a conversation about
Two years or so later, my dad showed Kenn, KM7KEN, the same handheld
Another year and a half passed, and my brother got interested again.
On August 10, 1999 we went to the first day of the class. We bought
I started reading the next day, and found the book interesting. I
By the end of September, Kenn was ready to take his test as well. He went
I immediately started studying to take my general theory test. On December 15,
Several weeks later, our licenses showed up on the internet. The same day,
On April 1, 2000, I took my Extra theory and passed. About a month later,
-Andrew R. Madsen
was at a father-son scout camp with my dad, WB7OCB at the
age of 10. He brought along his Kenwood TH-21AT handheld,
and used it to make an autopatch call to my mom at home. I
got to talk to her as a third party. This was before cell phones
were very popular and I thought that was pretty cool.
ham radio with one of the scoutmasters at the camp. They talked
about the contributions amateur radio operators had made to
radio, and the things hams can do. After the camp, I didn't
think much of what I saw.
and talked to him about what could be done with it. Kenn was very
interested. My dad let him talk to some hams on the local repeater
as a third party, and he enjoyed it. Kenn didn't feel like he was old
enough to get his license yet even though my dad told him he could do it.
One day at the local Radio Shack, he saw a flyer for a ham radio class
close to our house. It was another three months until the class started
but he wanted to go. I was invited to go with Kenn to the class.
the book, "Now You're Talking!", and learned about some of what ham
radio was all about. We were told to read the first two chapters
of the book during the week until the next class.
read the first two chapters and kept on going. I even studied a little
code but didn't spend much time at all on it. On the third day of the
class, August 31, 1999, I skipped the class and took my Novice and
Technician theory elements. When I passed, the VEs asked me if I
wanted to take the 5 WPM code test. I said no, I will take it next
month. They finally talked me into taking it, but I failed. I came
close enough that I decided to try one more time. The second time, I just
passed. My dad was pretty surprised to hear that I had passed the code!
A few days later, my technician plus license, and my original call, KD7GLV
showed up on the internet.
in and passed both elements and got his technician license, and his original
call, KD7GPT. Shortly after getting his original call, he got the vanity
call, KM7KEN. He took the 5 WPM code on Wednesday, November 24, and
passed. He did so well, that they let him take the 13 WPM code, and
again he passed, but the VEs couldn't give him credit for it because
they hadn't announced that they would be offering the 13 WPM exam. Our
dad told us that if I got my advanced class license, and Kenn got his
general before the end of February, he would buy an HF radio for us.
There was just one condition, Kenn had to pass his 13 WPM exam on
Saturday the 27. Well Kenn practiced his code quite a bit those three
days between the two sessions, and on Saturday he passed the 13 WPM test.
I passed my general theory exam. After that, I started studying my
Advanced theory and earnestly working on my code, while Kenn studied his
general theory. On February 5, 2000, I passed my Advanced theory and the
13 WPM and 20 WPM code tests. Kenn passed his general theory.
we went to the local ham radio swap meet, and our dad bought a
Kenwood TS-570D(G) for us. We got on the air with it right away,
and I don't think I did anything else all day.
I got the extra class callsign AC7CF. Since I first got my license, I have
built a few projects, filled my log with about 400 contacts, mostly CW, and
learned a lot about electronics, physics, math, and best of all, had fun.
May 30, 2000