How I got the bug
I have long had an interest in radio, whether it be broadcast, public safety or amateur.
Besides listening to regular AM/FM radio, what got me down this road first started with listening to shortwave radio back in 2009 when I was 19. I started with a Grundig GM300PE Mini World that I bought at local Radio Shack because it was all I could afford. I also bought a copy of the Passport to World Band Radio for that year, which turned out to be last. Even though the book was discontinued, my passion for radio hadn't and I kept listening.
By 2015, I was studying for a Technician license using the ARRL Technician study guide. But, despite my efforts and using the ARRL test prep site I felt I wasn't getting it.
I lapsed for a year in 2016 and in mid-2017 after buying my first digital scanner and first scanner in years, the bug bit again and I buckled down this time. Working for TSA for almost 9 years at this point was another one of my reasons for getting my amateur radio license as we use MARS for EMCOMM purposes at work.
I bought KB6NU's No Nonsense study guides, practiced using HamStudy.org and felt ready!
I took my Technician test on July 22, 2017 through the North Shore Radio Association which I passed and received my first callsign, KC1HXT, on August 02, 2017. Then I was issued W1PAC on August 22, 2017 as my vanity.
And that's my story so far.
Besides listening to regular AM/FM radio, what got me down this road first started with listening to shortwave radio back in 2009 when I was 19. I started with a Grundig GM300PE Mini World that I bought at local Radio Shack because it was all I could afford. I also bought a copy of the Passport to World Band Radio for that year, which turned out to be last. Even though the book was discontinued, my passion for radio hadn't and I kept listening.
By 2015, I was studying for a Technician license using the ARRL Technician study guide. But, despite my efforts and using the ARRL test prep site I felt I wasn't getting it.
I lapsed for a year in 2016 and in mid-2017 after buying my first digital scanner and first scanner in years, the bug bit again and I buckled down this time. Working for TSA for almost 9 years at this point was another one of my reasons for getting my amateur radio license as we use MARS for EMCOMM purposes at work.
I bought KB6NU's No Nonsense study guides, practiced using HamStudy.org and felt ready!
I took my Technician test on July 22, 2017 through the North Shore Radio Association which I passed and received my first callsign, KC1HXT, on August 02, 2017. Then I was issued W1PAC on August 22, 2017 as my vanity.
And that's my story so far.
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