KB9OIU

(look up his web page by clicking on the link) has been a ham since 1953, so I grew up around the hobby. I never thought about getting my license until my husband and I bought our sailboat. I obtained my technician class license in 1996 and hope to upgrade to at least General class some day.

I have met some interesting people and made new friends. In fact my first contact, W9ULA, is a fellow sailor. W9ULA was sailing out of the McKinley Marina (Lake Michigan) while we were getting ready to go out. I heard him chatting about his sail and gave him a call. We later met on land and have had many chats and sails since.

Ham radio is a fun hobby, but some people have their license out of necessity. Take Pitcairn Island, for example. This island is so isolated that ham radio is a main form of communication. Tom Christian (VP6TC), the great great grandson of the original mutineer Tom Christian, can be heard on the ham bands as well as his wife, Betty (VP6YL).

 If you don't have your license and are interested in learning more about it, check out the American Radio Relay League's web site ARRL or visit ARRL headquarters in Newington, CT.

My husband (KB9WLA) and I had the opportunity to visit ARRL's headquarters and also had the privilege of operating from WIAW! Since we only have technician class licenses, we had to recruit someone with a higher class license and, of course, that was no problem. We met a fellow ham (Brian) from Brooklyn, NY, who was kind enough to do a third party communication so we could contact the MSOE ham club - W9HHX. I was able to have a QSO with my dad and other members of the club. It was an incredible experience, and I hope all hams get the opportunity to one day visit ARRL/W1AW.