There' a new ham in town

Another Fort Wayne Hamfest came and went and this time I took the plunge and got my technician license. Fortunately for me, I passed and I get to start transmitting as soon as my call letters come in. I wish I had known they let you take as many levels as you want as long as you keep on passing. My goal was to get my technician license and that is what I got which is good but I could have gone further on the same money. The important thing is that I got my foot into the door and I can aim for the other two levels next year.

There was one thing that made me kinda sad though, I could tell that the economy has really been taking its toll. The number of vendors at the hamfest seamed to be really down from the ones I have been to earlier. I do not know what that means for the further of the hamfest but I am hoping it continues or grows as things hopefully get better. At worst, I hope it just means it goes to a smaller venue and continues on. It takes money and attendance to keep any convention going. Money is tight and I am not seeing that change anytime soon unless it is going to tighten up even more. I would absolutely love to be wrong on this. I just hope things like hamfest do not fall in the mean time. I have enjoyed them in the past and now that I got my initial license there, I am always going to be fond of them.

The biggest help in studying that I had was an app for my android phone called ham study. It is portable so it let me study anywhere and the information I got from it was spot on. I will definitely be using it to go for the general and the extra class ticket.

Speaking of where I want to go next with being a ham, I am hoping to go to next year's hamfest and get the next two upgrades to my license. I am also going to trying to get my equipment so I not only know where it is but also set up and ready to go do whatever projects and abilities that I want. It is definitely going to be a year of research, learning and skill obtaining. I have scanners that I will using to listen with to more than just the police bands. I will setting up Echolink and other computers programs to do the digital side of the hobby with. I will also be trying to learn more electrical stuff so I can be more than just an appliance operator. I do not know how much of a home brewer I will be but to know nothing of the equipment I am using is not my style either.

Before getting my license, I was scared of trying to get my license. Now that I have it, I both excited and scared to start exploring what I can do in the realm of ham radio. Hopefully, I can report back here after I learn a few things. It is a big world out there.