20 years a ham

March 26, 2022

TWENTY YEARS AGO, TODAY the FCC sent greetings and I was issued my first amateur radio license, Technician Class ticket, call sign KB1IAR.

Two weeks prior on a chilly Thursday evening, I had nervously sat for, and passed, the Element 2 license exam held at the Red Cross on Gano Street in Providence, RI.

A lifelong ambition, and something I rightfully should have done during my teen years as all the seeds and passion for all things radio were already planted and had taken root, was finally achieved at the age of 35.

Sometime that January I was in my local Radio Shack purchasing materials to erect a long wire antenna for my shortwave radios at the new house I had purchased in Manville, RI when I spotted the Now You’re Talking! Technician Class amateur license guide on the shelf.

I flipped through the pages and thought to myself, why not? The material looked straightforward, most of the technical electronic material was already familiar and I thought that if nothing else it would kind of neat to hold an amateur radio call sign, even if I never actually purchased a radio and got on the air.

This was also in the months immediately following the 9/11 attacks and it seemed like being able to communicate with others should more horrific acts occur, might be a good idea. So, I made an impulse purchase of the study guide and after two or three weeks I felt I was ready to take the test.

I of course DID get on the air pretty quickly. The first radios I purchased was a pair of Icom IC-1000H FM 2-meter transceivers, one I installed in my Ford Focus, and the second went into my first ‘radio shack’ an unused bedroom that served as my ‘man cave’ in our new home. This bedroom conveniently had the access door to the attic which allowed me to easily snake coax from the radio into the attic where I had installed a Ringo Ranger vertical antenna.

After some initial mike-shyness, I finally screwed up the courage to key the mike and put my callsign out there. I was a regular check-in to the nightly George’s Old Timer’s Net held on the Central Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association 2-meter repeater in Paxton, Massachusetts – 146.970 Mhz / PL 114.8.

I also purchased my first hand-held radio, an Icon IC-V8 which was an entry level bare bones 5-watt transceiver for the 2-meter band. The IC-V8 was a distinctive looking radio with it’s green plastic casing and non-rectangular body. I still have the IC-V8 and use it on Tuesday evenings in the warmer weather months to check into the Meriden Amateur Radio Club Tuesday night 2-meter net from the front porch here in Cheshire.

It wouldn’t be long before I upgraded to my General Class license a few months later earning me HF privileges that would allow me to work other hams around the world on the shortwave bands, but today I fondly recall and feel nostalgia for my initial experiences as a Tech.

The past two decades have been nothing short of TOTALLY AWESOME and I expect the next twenty to be just as good! If you are considering getting your ham radio license, I wholeheartedly encourage you to go for it. It’s never been easier to earn that first license and there are many resources out there to help you prepare for your exam. I’d be happy to help point you in the right direction if you’d like – drop me an email at james@ab1dq.com.