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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2019 Head of the Charles Regatta

Image
On Saturday, October 19th, 2019 and Sunday, October 20th, 2019, I participated as a volunteer in my first ever Head of the Charles Regatta, I visited the Regatta a few years prior to becoming a ham, but this was my first time being there long term. This was the fifty-fifth edition of the Head of the Charles, which first began in 1965. The Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) is the world's largest two day regatta. Outside of the major league team sports and the Boston Marathon, the Head of the Charles is probably one of the biggest sporting events in Boston. To quote rowing coach Susan Saint Sing: Regattas such as the Head of the Charles in Boston and the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia are to the rowing world what the New York Marathon and the Boston Marathon are to running. Myself and two volunteers on a walking team. The job of the amateur radio operators at the HOCR is to be the radio communications for the volunteer first aid teams on shore and on the saf...
Read more

Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Survival Tips

Image
I've participated in the Boston Marathon for the past two years and here's some survival tips for new hams. This is inspired by  W3ATB's original Survival Guide.  (Although it should be noted that the guide has been superseded by newer documentation.) Be prepared As the Scout Motto goes, BE PREPARED . The Boston Marathon is probably the preeminent public service event in all of amateur radio. (My opinion, of course.) Mind you, the course spreads over 26.2 miles from Hopkinton, Massachusetts to Boston, Massachusetts. You need to be prepared in various ways. 1.  Make sure your radio is programmed beforehand. Whether you have a top of the line Kenwood or a bottom of the barrel Baofeng or somewhere in between, make sure it is programmed with the various repeater and simplex frequencies before the event. Make sure you have the offsets and tones correct also. You don't want to be hand punching in frequencies and tones on the front panel at the volunteer meetup...
Read more

TSA's Radio Infrastructure

Image
As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts , I work for TSA, the Transportation Security Administration , the federal agency charged with protecting the nations transportation systems. Today, I'm going to give you a little overview of the agency's two-way radio systems. Sensitive Security Information Before I begin though, I must go over Sensitive Security Information or SSI . SSI is a designation used by TSA which is coded in federal regulation that states that SSI "is information that, if publicly released, would be detrimental to transportation security." SSI is essentially sensitive but unclassified information. As I work for TSA, I am automatically a "covered person" who is required to protect such information. Therefore, I am limited in what I can I use and say on anything that is considered SSI. However, most of the sources I'm using for this blog post are publicly available third-party sources which are not SSI or if it is a TSA source...
Read more