Weekly Update #2

So this has been a really long week. I haven't had the time to go on air much, but did make a few contacts today. I had to go from the warm and sunny south to the cold and congested north. Very unpleasant.

On the plus side, I was finally able to save enough and sell enough toys to afford my new toys!! So headed my way is an Icom IC-880 D-Star 2 meter / 70cm dual bander and a Yaesu FT-857D all mode HF/VHF/UHF mobile rig. Hopefully they will be waiting for me when I get home.

Thankfully the price of silver has gone up quite a bit since I dabbled in coin collecting.... OK, OK I was actually about $150 short so I used some of my everyday money, but I will make up for that by selling my FT-2900... or will I? It might be nice to keep a single bander just to have around.... and it starts all over again!

I have a few plans on how to make them look good, be accessible and functional all at the same time. When I install them, i'll upload some pictures.


Contacts this week: KB8FMW, KD8OQM and NA4D.

Until Next Time DE WW1F 73's.

Adventures in Morse Code: The Resolution

You non-hams may not know this, but Morse Code is no longer required to obtain even the highest class of US Amateur radio license. For you techno-nerds out there who can build the world's fastest computer out of an old tv and some solder that's great news. BUT for me, I sort of feel like I was cheated out of a really great experience. It is human nature to take the easiest way to the best result and that's what I did. I have been a licensed ham for about 16 years and I have never been forced to learn CW (Continuous Wave, Morse Code, Code, call it what you will.) Well that is going to come to an end.

I, Yes I, WW1F shall make it my New Years Resolution to learn Morse Code! And I am going to go a few steps further. Not only will I learn CW, but I will copy the W1AW Qualifying Run, get the ARRL Code Proficiency Certificate AND not stop until I have the 40 WPM endorsement on that certificate! AND I will communicate with another ham using CW!

To keep myself honest I will keep my blog readers abreast of my progress and when I receive my Code Proficiency Certificate and QSL card for my first CW contact I will scan them in and post them here on this blog.

WISH ME LUCK! 73's WW1F

Morse Code Resources:
ARRL's Tips to learn morse code (great links and resources)
ARRL Code Practice Files
ARRL Your Introduction To Morse Code CD's
ARRL Morse Code Operating for Amateur Radio
Learn Morse Code Audio Files

If anyone knows of any other helpful resources, PLEASE let me know and I'll add them to this post.

The Rig in my Rig

This is just going to be a quick post about my rig (radio) in my rig (truck). I am an over the road trucker so I spend several weeks at a time driving the country. I eat in my truck, sleep in my truck, and rag chew in my truck. For several years I basically had no radio and was a VERY inactive ham, but the greatest thing about driving a truck is that it takes most other distractions away. With that in mind I thought it would be a terrific idea to get a ham radio in my truck. So I shopped around and found a nice Yaesu FT-2900R that works GREAT for the truck. It has 75 watt high power, is relatively compact (I have had smaller) and is super easy to use. The size of the radio itself was perfect because it wedges perfectly into a cubby hole built into the dash of my 2012 International Prostar. With a programming cable and some software I can easily hit every repeater I come across.

Is it ideal? No. I want to get an HF rig (probably a Yaesu FT-857D) and swap out the FT-2900 for a dual bander (I am eyeing an Icom ID-880H which would also give me D-Star capability.) But for the time being I am quite happy with the performance of the FT-2900.

Stay tuned for future upgrades to my mobile "Shack."  73's WW1F

Weekly Update #1

This week I was pretty busy. I went from Wisconsin all the way down to Florida and back over to Louisiana. As I write this I am sitting in the parking lot of a Lowe's Home Improvement in Monroe, LA. I had some great rag chewing conversations with several guys and gals when I was down in Florida and had quite a few good contacts as I made my way through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. My little 2 meter is sure pulling its weight. I think I am heading to South Carolina over the weekend so I'll program in some repeaters and go to town on the rag chewing.

I am doing some research on upgrading the rig in my truck. I am thinking giving up my nimble little 2 meter for a dual band ARPS or DSTAR in addition to an FT-857D with an ATAS-120 antenna system. Another truck driver who is also a ham got me interested in DSTAR, something I frankly knew very little about before he demonstrated for me. If I do upgrade, I hope to do so before Christmas. We'll see what happens.

Contacts this week:
KB9KRT, W1ABT, KA5USN, KK4QDP, WB4UHW, KF5WTU, N5SPL, W5DXZ, W5PRL and KC5LK.


Until next time DE WW1F. 73's!

A Little About Me

So here we are at post #1... or #1.2 or #2.... depends on if you consider the introduction a post...

I thought I would use this entry to take the time to tell you a little bit about me. Where shall I begin? In the beginning God Created the Heavens and the Earth and <fast forward hundreds of thousands of years> I was born in December 1982 which makes me almost 31, although I am mentally about 7. I was raised in Oklahoma, with short bouts of Texas and Kansas thrown in and had a relatively boring, typical childhood.

I first got interested in Amateur radio because of my uncle Tim, formerly KC5QYD (No, he isn't SK, he just sort of got out of the hobby.) I was licensed as a Tech Class Ham in the summer of 1997. That was good enough for me for 11 years. Then in the Summer of 2008 I got my General ticket at the Columbia University Amateur Radio Club's VE Exam in New York City and became AB2ZZ. Three months later I decided to try for my Extra (Also at Columbia University) and boom! Here I am! I kept AB2ZZ for quite a while, then chose to go with a vanity. For about a month in 2013 I was NZ2V before becoming WW1F, a call which I have actually started to like pretty well.

I was formerly an auditor for the New York Mets but for the last year and a half I have been driving an 18-Wheeler across the United States. For a ham, there is no better occupation. I have 10 hour stretches of time when its just me, a microphone and a steering wheel. Toss in a repeater directory and life is good.

So that's me in a nutshell. Stay tuned for more exciting tales from WW1F!!!

Introduction

So this is my new blog. It's all ham radio, and all me. I thought I would just write a quick blog entry before I got into things to tell you what the blog is, and what it isn't, so here goes:

What the blog is:
1. Shameless self promotion of ME! That's right. its all about me. The things I do, the other hams I contact, and generally what's new in my life.
2. Fun. The blog will not have a REAL posting schedule, although I will try to post at least one entry per week. It might be more, it might be less. I am a fairly busy guy but when I have down-time, I have a LOT of it.

What the blog is NOT:
1. Advertising. Sure, I might have some ads eventually and maybe even some links BUT I am not an advertising guy. I created this blog more just as an extension of my hobby in Amateur Radio. Any links or things I talk about are because I use those things, listen to those podcasts, have those radios, etc. Althought the links I do post are generally things I find REALLY helpful, so you might want to check them out.
2. A job. That's right! Amateur radio is AMATEUR! Amateur Blogging is AMATEUR so all this is just for fun. I hope you enjoy reading it and get a little something out of it.