Ham Radio!
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Listened to a CB radio lately? Don't bother. What you'll hear is obscenity, rudeness, ridiculous sound effects and endless exchanges of childish venom that would make even Jerry Springer blush.

I wanted to share interesting technologies with my two sons, but I didn't want to pollute their minds with the pornography that CB radio has become. So, after a few weeks of easy study, I passed my Amateur Radio License exam with flying colors, and I have the call sign "KF6ONE".
News flash!
In the spring of the year 2000, I passed both the General and Extra exams, so I now hold all possible privileges for Amateur operators in the United States! I've enjoyed contacts with hams in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Kasikhstan, Hungary, Romania, and Italy. And, of course, plenty of contacts from U.S. hams!

Interested? Becoming a ham is easier than ever! New FCC rules have relaxed the testing requirements, especially for learning Morse code. To learn more, click here.
My own ham radio activities...

Check out these photos of portable ham operation in an Oregon treehouse!

Back in 1999, I upgraded my license to the "Technician Plus" class by learning to read Morse Code at a speed of 5 words-per-minute. I used Ham University, a great piece of software that helps you pass both written and Morse Code ham exams. Besides, it features a picture of a cat, so it can't be bad!
Ham Radio links you should check out...

The
Sierra Repeater Association (SRA) is a local repeater club whose members use a "linked repeater" system. The club is loosely tied to other repeater clubs in the "Cactus Intertie".

The first fellow ham I ever met over the air was George, KJ6VU. Along with helping to lead SRA, he also maintains a pretty cool ham radio web page with lots of good links.

Another of my favorite repeaters to hang out on is WA6TEM. This repeater is nicknamed "Charlie". Some of the most friendly hams can be found on the Charlie repeater, and newcomers are always welcomed!

Over the years, countless lives have been saved, thanks to the readiness of ham operators worldwide. Public safety and emergency service is an important part of the Amateur Service; to learn more about ham emergency services, click here, here, here and here.




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