Links
Here are some links I think you will enjoy.
[Friends][Ham Radio][Electonics]
Friends
I dont have many friends, but here are some websites.
Steve Crow-Actually, this is the only friend I can readily think of offhand with a great website. Most of my other friends are drunken Ashland rednecks. I have known Steve since I was in 11th grade at Patrick Henry High School. Like most of my friends, Steve is a ham, KG4PEQ, and is the reason I am one today. On Steve's site, you can look forward to such features as the largest PLU code database on the internet, as well as a kick ass phone modification page. Steve's other hobbies include storm chasing, late night runs to Sheetz, and eating, a lot. Oh yeah, he knows a little something about computers too, including being the co-administrator of the server this website is hosted on, and being one of the first people in Hanover county at the age of 8 to possess a PC, and accomplishing such things as hacking into the schools LAN, and later on working for the county as a network technician.
Patrick Wilson-Pat, W4PW, is a neat guy. He is the one I went through when I took my Technician and General Class license exams. Listed on his site in chronological order are his adventures in learning how to fly. Pat is the Emergency coordinator for New Kent County R.A.C.E.S and a heck of a nice person. Its people like him that have helped me progress this far in ham radio. Also listed on his site are test dates in Richmond Virginia in which you can take license exams for ham radio.
John Sanders-Another Ham Radio Buddy, AB5ZR. I met John on the Alcatel 70 cm repeater in Dallas (W5VV 442.800 MHz). John recently relocated to Colorado with his wife, also a ham, AB5ZS. Anytime I have a question, John usually knows the answer, or can point me in the right direction to the answer. I wish him and his wife all the luck in the world with their new location. John is good people.
Ham Radio
Organizations:
Dallas Amateur Radio Club-I'm supposed to be a member of this club, although I haven't received any official verification on it.
Venture Crew 73, K5BSA-These are a bright group of kids. Venture Crew 73 is the main group of people responsible for making the Jamboree on the Air happen at Camp Wisdom every year.
The Amateur Radio Relay League-The organization on the forefront for the protection of Ham Radio, fighting such things as BPL through legislature, and also the leading authority of information on the hobby. The ARRL is also a source of information for RF engineers world-wide when it comes to wireless studies, and publishes a wealth of knowledge on anything thats wireless, including books on electronic projects, RF engineering, antenna engineering, and many many other topics. I am an accredited volunteer examiner with this organization, and I plan on being a member soon.
QRZ-A place I go to listen to old men whine about the morse code requirement. Also has a wealth of online resources such as a callsign database, practice exams for amateurs or prospective amateurs, and also a lot of downloads for free software.
EHAM.net-Another place where old men whine. Pretty much the same as QRZ, but for some reason, I enjoy hanging out here a whole lot more, and have actually become a subscriber to help fund this site.
Shameless Vendor Links:
Texas Towers-These guys are right down the street from where I live. I have bought a Butternut Vertical antenna from them, which I still have not assembled, but when it came to probing their brains for knowledge on anything I had a question on, they seemed to have an answer for everything, and were very helpful.
Burghardt Amateur Radio Center-I bought my first tranciever from these guys. Gave me lots of freebies with it, along with a nice Heil Goldline microphone. Very reasonably priced, and I hear their repair service is great too.
AES Radio Supply-One of the large ham radio dealers. I don't buy from them often, but they are there.
Ham Radio Outlet-Another big radio dealer. I used to go to them when I lived in Richmond because they had a store in Woodbridge.
Electronics