Years ago, 1994 to be exact, a coworker urged me to study then test for my amateur radio license. A few months later I went to the Highway Patrol Troop Headquarters (the nearest testing site at that time) and passed with flying colors.
Years went by, life got in the way, and I let the license expire. I’m not sure what but something’s urging me to get back on the air. Not wanting or needing to spend $1000s on new equipment, I thought I’d start out small and build from there. I’ve been away for a long time and have learned of some changes that surprise me; Morse code is no longer required for any of the license classes and there is a much larger selection of equipment from which to choose.
I opted to go cheap. Dirt cheap. That is until I’ve re-familiarized myself, relearned what I’ve forgotten, and most importantly, passed my test and received my license.
I bought a BaoFeng UV-5R, setup Chirp, and programmed in local frequencies/repeaters, NOAA weather stations, etc. and I even use it to listen to the local talk radio station. As an extra precaution, I disabled the Push-To-Talk button to prohibit any accidental transmitting. Not the highest quality radio but it’s serving its purpose very well. Once the testing and licensing is complete, I’ll upgrade appropriately. I’m aiming for this autumn and might even submit a Schedule D to be reissued my original call sign.
