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"I am often
asked how radio works. Well, you see, wire telegraphy is
like a very long cat. You yank his tail in New York and he meows in Los
Angeles.
Do you understand this? Now, radio is exactly the same, except that
there is no cat."
● Attributed to Albert Einstein |
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Thank you!
I have always been fascinated by communications. I still remember the day
when I put together my first "communications device". I took two empty
plastic medicine bottles, cut off the bottom, so the bottles became tubes. I
taped a thin piece of plastic to cover one end, then connected the two
bottles together with some kind of wire. Then I handed one bottle to my
sister, and after stretching the wire, we started talking one at a time,
into the bottle. With a short delay the voice could be heard in the other
bottle... It was so exciting, even the post man passing by stopped and
checked it out.
I was about ten, maybe twelve years old... My "low tech device" worked fine
over a distance of probably 8-10 meters.
But I wanted more! So I dreamed about becoming an amateur radio operator
pretty much all my life. The wonderful possibility of talking with someone
miles, maybe hundreds of miles away always electrified my imagination.
Unfortunately, in my country of birth, Romania, it was extremely hard to get
a ham license. Oh no, it was not the exam you have to pass. You see, there
is no way you can fully control what's said over the air, and communists
didn't feel comfortable letting people "behind the iron curtain" talk with
other radio amateurs around the world. What if they tell others what's
really happening under the terror of communism?
So I had to wait with my dreams until I moved to the United States (1998). I
took my test on May first of 2003, and received my technician license five
days later. I enjoy every moment I can dedicate to this hobby, weather it's
from home or driving around, mostly to and from work.
My initial call sign issued by the Federal Commission of Communications was
KI4AAE, replaced with this vanity call sign in February 2004. |
