Greetings from Kalamazoo CountyComparitively new to the world of ham radio, I've been jumping right in. I received my Technician license in December 2014 aftering taking a class by John Tucker WB8ZVV at the Red Cross in Kalamazoo. Soon followed with my General upgrade in March 2015 at the Crossroads Hamfest in Kalamazoo. I'm currently studying for my Extra - might as well knock them all out. Since being licensed I've had several really great folks in the community elmer me along. I don't think I would have experienced as much in radio without the care and oversight of some very fine people. I now call many of these people friends and I look forward to making many more in the years to come. Recently I've been delving into the world of digital radio with a Raspberry Pi 3 + MMDVM modem. Paired with that I'm using an Icom ID-51 Plus and Yaesu FT1DR to access both the D-Star and YSF networks. For FM I'm using a Wouxun KG-UV920P (suprisingly a very good little radio) and Kenwood TM-281. My real passion however is HF and I've made ton of contacts. I running a Kenwood TS-450S with a Kenwood MC-60 desk mic - what a great starter radio. It feeds a Buxcomm OFC Windom that is good through 80m and is about 45FT in the air.I occasionally participate in the 3905 Century Club or the OMISS nets, depending on my availability. I earned my ARRL WAS on 40m within quick order of getting that windom up in the air. Currently the might wind has rendered my HF capabilities null, so until it warms up a bit, I won't be scanning the bands. I'm hoping to get this changed soon however.
Affiliations:
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Mall City Contest Group - ARRL November Sweepstakes 2015 Paul KK4IMJ, Dustin N8RMA, Garrett KC9LVT, Gary WA8MCD (standing) |
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APRSSome of the things I enjoy doing is hiking and camping. With that, I've found a real appreciation for APRS. This tool is incredibly useful in helping my friends and family know where I am while out trekking and could one day be a true lifesaver. When describing APRS to people, they usually look at my funny and say "well yeah but doesn't your cell phone do that?" which is a fair statement, but also one that could be said for many aspects of amateur radio. Being able to relay location information via radio when out of cell range is pretty neat honestly. Icom ID-51A: N8RMA-1 Yaesu FT1DR: N8RMA-7 When in urban areas with good D-Star coverage, I can usually be found on my Icom IF-51A. When outside of D-Star coverage I will usually use my Yaesu FT1DR, which has traditionally APRS beaconing capabilities.
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