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Introduction

"We" are actually a singular person.  A dedicated hobbyist just like you (according to my parents, 'too' dedicated!)  There's only one person at the controls, making decisions and running this site.  That would be me, David J. Cabatu, AH7E.

First licensed as an FCC amateur radio operator, call letters NH6BP in June 2000 (ex-AH6QN-8/2000), I've been interested in radio ever since 1990 when I found my dad's old Radio Shack 8-channel crystal control scanner (I forgot the model number).  At the time, it only had several VHF frequencies used by Honolulu police at the time.  After a short while with that, I packed away the radio and never used one until June 1992, when I went to Washington D.C. (I wanted to listen to airplanes on 119.1 MHz while at the Washington Reagan National Airport.)

After returning from Washington D.C. in August 1992, I again packed away the radio.  It wasn't until several years later that an incident in which a resident of my grandmother's care home threatened to call the police that I decided I needed to get back into radio monitoring.  It's interesting that certain life events cause you to get into something.  Well, I kept my promise and got back into it, and I haven't looked back since!

While in high school, I bought myself a Radio Shack Pro-50 scanner to monitor the local police.  I locked myself into the whole "police" mode and didn't realize at that time what I could actually listen to.  I not only learned the radio jargon, but I also developed that "trained ear" in the sense that I will "tune out" anything and everything (including conversations with people) to hear an APB, multiple alarm (major MVA, tech rescues, structure fires) go out on the radio.  I've developed this as an art form, and am able to do this while listening to 6 radios simultaneously.  Not everyone has the ability to do this.  People say that I'm amazing, but all it takes is practice!

Anyway...

While in college, the radio bug really hit me hard.  I've experimented with all sorts of radios trying to figure out which one would fit me best.  Currently, I have six scanners monitoring police, fire, ambulance, civil defense, and amateur radio traffic, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

While the hobby provides enjoyment for hours on end, my friends "just didn't get it", they were more in tune with MTV, rap with vulgar language, fast and luxurious cars and the girls.  Forget them (well, not really).  I became more technically inclined, and the launch of the Internet and my newfound skills in website design as I entered college made me realize that I could actually serve an audience with one of the largest websites on the net dedicated to radio monitoring!

This website, when it is fairly completed, will have 60+ pages, started like most personal web pages, as a single page.  Back then, I was getting 5-10 or so hits per day when this single page grew into several pages, mainly with a public safety theme.  After becoming established as the "scanner guru" amongst the amateur radio community, I have forged many relationships with people who share first-hand their knowledge of local monitoring within their counties.  And having shared my personal knowledge with hundreds of radio monitoring hobbyists here in Hawaii and around the United States and the world, it is no surprise that Radio AH7E Hawaii is one of the single biggest radio monitoring sites you will ever find on the Internet that specializes monitoring in Hawaii.

Going Live

The evolution of the Internet into a sort-of public domain for information sharing, storage, and retrieval, is certainly one of the greatest achievements of all time.

By creating Radio AH7E Hawaii, I wanted to share my knowledge of the radio monitoring hobby from my locale.  My goals were simple: to provide information about radio monitoring in Hawaii, to build a community of interested hobbyists, and provide useful information for the newbie to the professional and outrageous (like me) to interact within.

For the most part, I think I have done that.  However, it hasn't been easy.  Managing school, work, hobbies, and seeking the need to have more play time just isn't feasible.  I have had great help over the years by people just as knowledgeable as I am (and newbies alike) and who share my enthusiasm to help me build the world's greatest resource of information when it comes to scanning Hawaii.  To say that "I know everything", is an understatement.  We can never learn enough, because I learn something new every day.

We are considering on getting our own domain name.  When the change happens, you will be the first to know.

Where Do We Go From Here

The advancement of the hobby has been propelled by more and more agencies and users switching from the original conventional radio systems to multi-user trunked radio systems.  As such, we are forced as hobbyists to keep up with the times.  We cannot become limited in what we do, hear, or have (as in equipment).  Stay involved, join a radio club.  Find new ventures in the field of radio monitoring.  Keep the fire burning, and despite not being able to hear certain kinds of radio traffic (especially here in Honolulu County), you don't have to let our hobby become a thing of the past.

Thanks for being a part of this great hobby.  Your continued support of this site has made the journey so much more rewarding for myself and the community that I serve, which is you.  And as always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the site or its contents, I'd like to hear from you.

73 and Aloha,
David Cabatu, AH7E

Copyright © 2000-2006 by David J. Cabatu.  All Rights Reserved.