Notes

My Ham Radio Origin Story

This is the origin story for where my ham radio journey began.

Early Radio Memories

Deep down inside, I have always craved adventure. I think it’s hardwired into the heart of man, and for some of us adventure is just a natural part of life. For others, like Bilbo and Frodo, we need a little nudge out the door.

I have enjoyed radio since I was a kid. I was introduced to CB radio by my uncle, who was a truck driver and traveled all over the United States. I would ride along with him, and we would talk on the radio to other drivers from all over. My uncle would take me to CB jamborees, and we would meet some of the people we had virtually met on the radio. As a kid, this was a lot of fun, and it’s something that just kind of stuck with me.

As a young man, I always had a CB radio in my vehicle. I would mostly listen on long trips, mainly to truck drivers and the occasional base stations along the way.

Finding Amateur Radio

It was during the “Covid Years” that I got interested in ham radio. I didn’t know much about it, but I started thinking about being prepared in the event that internet and cell service weren’t available. How would I make contact with my family if something happened? How would we get information? And on and on.

I was introduced to cheap online shopping and found radios that claimed a communication distance of up to ten miles. I thought I had found my solution. My first purchase was a Baofeng UV-68P-M handheld radio, and I was excited when it arrived because I thought I had solved all of my communication problems. Little did I know.

When it arrived, I opened the box and started reading the manual. At that point, I found out I needed some kind of license to do more than listen to the radio. That’s when I started researching what kind of license I needed.

I don’t know if things have changed since then, because I haven’t looked, but my searches led me to GMRS. For a small fee, I could get a license that covered the whole family. I’m all set now, or so I thought.

Online, I had read about repeaters and programming the radio to increase my radio footprint, so I started reading forums on Reddit. There is one universal truth on any radio forum on Reddit: you will quickly be informed that you need an Amateur Radio License to transmit.

Learning the Hobby

In December of 2025, I got my first amateur radio book, The ARRL Technician License Manual, and I started reading it. I was honestly overwhelmed at first. Radio has its own vocabulary, and I was excited to learn it all.

Along with the manual, I listened to audiobooks about radio. A really helpful one for me was Ham Radio for Dummies by H. Ward Silver. That book talked about far more than just talking on the radio. There were digital modes to explore, bouncing signals off the moon, and all kinds of things I had never considered. This was far more than I ever thought amateur radio could be.

I was struggling to understand all of this new information, so I started researching again and found that Dave Casler, KE0OG, had videos on YouTube that explained the material in the manual. This is where I really began learning the material instead of just studying for a test.

I have always been a lifelong learner and a good student. I studied hard, and soon all of it was starting to make sense.

I set myself a goal to get my license in January of 2026. I scheduled my test and worked hard. Then I received an email in January telling me that my test date had been canceled. That was a real blow to my plans. I was ready and prepared, but there wasn’t much I could do.

Rather than getting discouraged about it, I decided I would simply study for the General license as well, and that’s what I did.

Getting Licensed and Discovering HF

In February of 2026, I passed both the Technician and General exams and was licensed a week later. By then, I was more than comfortable programming HT radios and listening to local nets.

I joined the club where I took my exams, and my first contact was a check-in to my club’s net.

Studying for the General exam was my introduction to HF radio, and I was excited to get on the air to see what that was all about. I bought a Xiegu G90 HF radio and put a long random-wire antenna in my backyard.

This opened up a whole new world for me. Quickly, I had digital modes running, logging set up, and I was looking at all of the other things I could do. HF privileges still felt limited to me, so I got my Extra class license a month later, in March 2026.

As of this writing, I have been licensed for close to eight months, and I have learned and grown in so many ways. I have studied and built all kinds of antennas. I have upgraded gear. I have changed my setup over and over again.

Each time I learned something new, I tried to incorporate it into my operating.

The ham radio community is great, with people from all over sharing information and helping the hobby grow. It has become much more of an adventure than I ever imagined.

Why I Built This Site

So, why build a website?

I have the urge to contribute and give something back for all of the joy I have found in the hobby.

Actually, it is much more than just a hobby, because once you begin, you quickly realize that it can drag you into many other hobbies, including electronics, kit building, 3D design and printing, and probably a few others that are slipping my mind right now.

My plan is to share what I’ve already learned, what I’m learning now, and some of the mistakes I make along the way, with the hope that it will save others some time and effort.

Until next time, 73 from the lab.