KD5EZN/ OK8EZ

Imagine...

...hundreds of thousands of people with their own little radio stations talking across the bounds of culture and age and politics. They all just think its pretty nifty that invisible waves can carry sound and data They get their transmitters and hook them up to computers and antennas and TV's and satellites. And pretty soon they are all communicating... the further the better... or the closer the better - expecially in an emergency.

I recently earned my General Class amateur license. And I have finally found a place to satisfy an old old fascination with just communicating... the thrill of breaking through and making sense. There are also all the neat gadgets that make it happen. Such joy is simply irresistable!

I make no apologies for my wide-eyed enthusiasm. I intend to keep it. I had little guidance into this pursuit. Only my grandpa's big short wave radio that I listened to as a child. My cousin Tim and I rigged up the lightning rod as our antenna. A few years later I got a short wave of my own, much smaller and digital. I also remember a high school friend whose dad had a ham shack that would knock your socks off... A couple years ago a brief acqauintance got me interested in getting a license, and now a college professor of mine W5ZRK- licensed 45 years - has also helping me out with advice, not to mention K2VJ, Author of the book "Amateur Radio. Super Hobby!".

I had a great time studying for my Tech Plus and General Class licenses and practicing Morse Code.

Here's is my drawing of Prague. Click on it to see more of my art.

Recently I went to Prague to visit for a couple of months. I had a good time doing some intern work at Radio Prague, making some friends at Prague Christian Fellowship, and stopping by the Czech Radio Club to get some advice on getting my Czech Radio License.

Jindrich Gunther OK1AGA - the secretary of Czech Radio Club was wonderfully helpful and made my application for a Czech license a pleasant and memorable experience. No one at the Czech Telecommunication Office even spoke English, but with my bad Czech and lots of patience we were able to get everything straight. I didn't do much operation in Prague, but I plan to when I go back for my next visit, hopefully some time in 1999.

Amateur radio has got potential

For people interested in learning first hand about something which is simultaneously very common and very far removed from most, radio is great. I think it can teach us about the past and connect us to the future, depending on where our interests lie. Radio has a long tradition and endless possibilities to link with current technologies. Getting the internet over a radio set is even possible, with all the right stuff. But what makes it all worthwhile to me is the gift we have been given to communicate - in whatever way - with individual people just about anywhere in the world, and in space. This gift is undefinable. It has brought people together, brought the disabled into a whole new world, and helped others grow and heal. Only God Almighty Himself could think of something as nifty as radio waves.

Anyway, I'm just getting started - pretty much on my own - without any close ham friends or ham family members. Envouragement and advice are few and far between. This is an odd time for me to begin such an adventure becasue my life is such that I don't know where I will be in the next few months. I just graduated with my masters in mass communication from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, and I have plans to work in international radio broadcasting. I have made a couple of ham friends over the internet and I am looking forward to making more on the air and in person. I have recently purchased my first ham rig from one of my new friends K2YR: a Ten-Tec Omni D, 18 years old and in perfect condition! I also have a Kenwood HT for local FM contact. I have had a great time listening and I am planning to do a lot of talking now.

I have gotten started in amateur radio largely on my own with quite a bit of help from some friends. If anyone has further advice for me, or if you simply want to comment on these pages or ask me anything about getting started in ham, please contact me.

And if you need any info on ham radio or international broadcasting, check out my STUFF PAGE. This is no ordinary links page! These are my favorite radio-related sites as well as other stuff about me and what I enjoy. There's s ome good stuff here, carefully selected for high quality internet time.

See you on the short waves!

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