KB5IZO's Logbook
A Guide to Amateur Radio
"I received my first license in the mail on April 17, 1989. I had taken the Technician test along with Novice and couldn't wait to get on the air with my friend and elmer, Owen N5NSV(now AA5MJ). At the time he was a high school sophomore and I was a senior. He taught me about antennas, the basics of theory, and Morse code. He would send me code on an oscillator outside the cafeteria. I made my first contact with him on 2m and then we talked to a ham on a 2m link while he showed us his shack on 70cm FSTV! We had a great time and talked to people all over the world. When I left for college we had to wait for me to upgrade to General and in the spring we talked to one another on 80 and 40m. By the way April 17, 1989 was my 18th birthday!"
Everyone in Amateur Radio has a story of how they first got started. Mine I think is unique, simply because of the present from the FCC. It is special because of my friend and elmer. I went on to help a friend in college Scott N5ZL, an excellent engineer, learn the code and pass the written test. Elmers are Important to this hobby. I will be putting new pages on this site on topics from antennas to cw and QRP. My goal is to construct a resource for new amateurs. I don't want it to simply be filled with technical data or lectures about the ease of CW (although it is easy!). I would also like to publish stories from amateurs about their elmer, their first Ham radio QSO, or interesting people that they have met on the air. One night I was trying to work a DX station in the South Pacific (20m, ssb) and I couldn't get through, so I called him in cw. He answered in cw and the pileup had to wait for us. Tell me about stuff like that. Every ham has a Field Day war story, I remember one year a few of us decided to stay up all night. An older member of the club told us we only had to stop when we weren't having fun. I 'heard' cw everywhere I went for the next week! Kinda like the motion of a boat, you still feel it after you step back ashore. These stories can help others learn about our unique hobby and pass on what we learned from our experiences.
Send your anecdote to [email protected]
Last Updated 05/26/1998
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