I took and passed my technician exam last month. I am officially a ham radio operator. I have a callsign now. Doesn't it sound cool, Topgun cool. The test wasn't that difficult. It took me a few hours to read the book and review the test questions. Yes, the questions are in the book. I didn't even need to learn morse code, not yet anyway.
Not sure where this is going to lead me. Is this going to be a hobby or an opportunity to get involved with the community for emergency and disaster communications? I probably need a radio and apply what I learned to really get a feel for it. A friend of mine has been a "ham", in more ways than one, for a long time. He has always been on my case about getting an amateur radio license. He participates in contests, talks about his club, takes vacations to remote locations with tall antennas. Some times I think he is crazy, but I got to admit I was always curious about his passion.
Amateur radio was definitely one of the first applications of social networking driven by technology. I look forward to seeing where my technician license takes me.
I will be taking my general exam this month. Wish me luck.
