Today I passed my Technician class Amateur Radio exam, qualifying me for a license to transmit on a number of frequencies and get more involved in an area that has long interested me. I tried the General class exam too and came within a few points of passing it, but I will have to try again in a few months after some study.

I earned a few dollars when I was a kid installing antennas, fixing minor problems with radios, and helping people in the Citizen’s Band community.

I even tracked down a guy who enjoyed antagonizing other folks on the air once by putting my magnet mount antenna on the back bumper of my car to make it directional and driving the car around while he chattered away. My hunt took me out of town, and soon I verified that he was living in a little “suburb” area and I pulled up in front of his house, and asked him to look outside. He was very surprised, but invited me in to see his rig. I was a little hesitant, but this older gentleman turned out to be a pretty decent guy who was just lonely and living with his sick mother and we enjoyed talking about radios for awhile as he smoked an aromatic pipe of Captain Black. He said I would make a good ham someday in parting, since I was clever enough to use my car in this way.

It’s a great way to make new friends, radio, and I look forward to getting back on the air.