Tim's Radio Shack – N9BRV

Original Post: December 31, 2012 KC9WZF

Well, another year about gone, well at least at the time of this post it is! It has been a while since my last post but I have been real busy with Ham radio interests and of course the Holidays have taken some time up as well. I would like to mention in this post that my sweet wife Lora bought me a radio for Christmas this year. This is my first radio and i have been learning all about since Christmas, which is why I have not been posting much here lately. My first radio is a Baofeng UV-5RA and it is a Handheld or HT as we call it and it was made in China. This radio has proven already to be a pretty nice little radio for the money. I have been able connect with other Hams in the area and have already used it in a Net Emergency Standby situation when the “Blizzard of 2012″ hit us the other day. Thanks to Ben Burris – KC9QEW for helping me learn how to program the radio through a computer software interface and USB cable. I now have my own software and cable and it is very easy to program the radio. Ben also has been so kind as to let me borrow a directional VHF antenna which I was able to temporarily install in my attic so I can hit repeaters a bit further away. At this time I have also ordered from China, a new longer antenna “Rubber Duck” that will be here in a couple of weeks. It will allow a bit more mobility and I’ll be able to get out a little further with my signal as well!

So with all this fun, I’m going to have to get back to the business of studying! Yes, I have a test to take in a couple weeks, to be exact.. it is the “Amateur Extra Class” exam and wow is there a lot to study and remember. So It may be a while before I post on here again. I have been studying a little but it is time to really get down to business. If I get passed this exam I’ll have full privileges on all the amateur radio bands and then I can really get down to learning more about this awesome hobby/craft! So if you are reading this, I wish you a Happy New Year and I hope 2013 is very kind to you! 73′s to you all.. this is KC9WZF, clear..

Original Post: December 21, 2012 KC9WZF

Well, I took a few days to study for the General Class Ham Operators exam! I just passed the Technicians Class exam on the 1st of December and the issue date was the 7th of December, a date I should be able to remember, don’t ya think?! Anyway, as I do with about everything I get into I hate to just stop when there is more learning and more to do with the subject in which I am interested! So, I took a few days and just really hit it hard studying so I could take the exam on the 19th of December. Well the 19th rolled around and Ben Burris and I went up to Anderson, Indiana and we both took and passed the test! My study paid off as I aced the test, not that acing it really matters because all you really have to do is get a 74% on it and you are good to go! So, now I am a General Class Ham Operator and guess what… yup you guessed it, I am studying already for the next exam in the line up. This next test is a tough one as there are many more questions in the pool of questions I am studying. The test itself will be a 50 question, multiple choice test. I am confident that with my dedication to study, I’ll pass this one as well. The test is supposed to be held on the 16th of January 2013 but if I don’t feel I’m ready, there is another one 10 days later on the 26th. I was going to wait until February 2013 to take the “Extra” exam but I feel that is too long to study and memorise the material and then maintain it in my old memory. So we will see how the study goes on this one! I am taking a bit of time out over the holidays to spend some time with the family but I will have times when I can study just a bit as well. With all this said, I’ll try to get in here and update a little more often to keep everyone up to speed on my progress!
73 – KC9WZF

Original Post: December 12, 2012 KC9WZF

Here is a pdf document on some different Radio Antenna’s that can be built! It is a worthwhile read, at least for me it is!!!

MENTORFEST_ANTENNA

73 – KC9WZF