I enjoy radio in the broad sense: talking to people, seeing where a signal reaches, working from a park, learning another mode, and putting the equipment together well enough that the whole station behaves.
How I got started
I became licensed on December 9, 2020. I passed Technician and General on the same day, then earned Amateur Extra in January 2021. In October 2021, I became an ARRL Extra Class accredited Volunteer Examiner.
I originally became curious about handheld radios and the license required to use them. That question opened a much larger subject: RF circuits, antennas, feed lines, propagation, digital modes, emergency communications, and a community of people who were willing to help me learn.
What I operate
I still enjoy voice on HF, VHF, and UHF. I also operate FT8, FT4, JS8Call, Winlink using several transports, VarAC, DMR, D-Star, APRS, and CW. My DMR Radio ID is 3183918. I am still developing my CW head copy, but I have made real CW contacts from parks and intend to keep improving.
I have also worked several amateur-radio satellites. That remains an area I want to continue exploring rather than something I claim to have mastered.
Current home station
The primary HF radio is an Icom IC-7300. For VHF and UHF, I currently use an Icom ID-5100. An older station photograph may show the IC-2730 that preceded it; the rest of that station remains substantially recognizable.
The permanent VHF/UHF antenna is a Comet GP-3 on an adjustable support currently around ten feet and capable of extending to roughly fifteen feet.
For HF, I can switch between a DX Commander Rapid—modified to include 40 meters—and an EMCOMM-series end-fed half-wave. The vertical is generally the choice when I want lower-angle, longer-distance coverage. The end-fed can be arranged to favor NVIS and closer regional communication.
Portable operation
Portable radio is where many parts of the hobby come together. A useful station requires more than a transceiver: power, antennas, coax, logging, computers, audio connections, weather protection, tools, and enough spare adapters to solve the problem that was not supposed to happen.
I operate Parks on the Air primarily using SSB, though I have also used FT8, CW, VHF/UHF simplex, and other modes in the field. I enjoy building a station that can be set up without depending on a permanent structure and can support another operator who arrives without every piece of equipment.
