I'm On the Air - Around the World

On Saturday morning, I passed the exam to upgrade my amateur radio license to General Class.  For those of you not familiar with ham radio, General gives you privileges to use high-frequency or HF radio bands.  If you've ever listened to a shortwave radio broadcast from another country, you'll know that radio waves at these frequencies can travel a long, long way.

Today I put up my first HF antenna - a 120 foot  length of wire nestled high in the trees along the edge of our yard.  I then plugged it into the Yaesu FT-857d in my Jeep and called CQ or "calling any station."  K4KZS, Pat from Alabama responded, and we had a short conversation or QSO.

At the moment, most of my interest in ham radio centers around amateur radio emergency service or ARES, so as I build my station at the house, I'll be focusing on ways to keep communications up during power outages.

Are you interested in ham radio?  A great place to get started is the American Radio Relay League.  Or just leave a comment below.