First entry

This is my first attempt at creating and managing a blog, but the experience will likely be similar to extensive email correspondence I conduct with past, present, and future students, and with other hams. This blog will focus on some of my experiences and plans related to amateur (ham) radio. Phil, AC7NB, and I (N7QMT) have been teaching introductory ham radio license classes for over 15 years, and we've had nearly 600 students during that time.

Several of our former students became very active in ham radio, and two served in recent years as Vice President and President of the local ham radio club. One other former student is currently Vice President and will serve as President next year.

Many of the students keep us posted on what they are doing in ham radio, and it is fun watching folks grow in their abilities.

My intent with this blog is to capture some of the things I'm working on and share some of my experiences, including trips down blind alleys. The creative process, like building software or performing basic research, does not follow a straight path. My ham radio interests mainly focus on emergency communication, but other aspects of the hobby interest me as well.

Some recent and current projects include:

• Building an emergency dual band portable J-pole antenna designed by W2IK (www.w2ik.com). I built one that works well, and have material for one more when I find the time.
• Casually entering contests on HF. Due to some current technical issues, my highests QSO count was under 50 for a single contest
• Working towards Worked All States (WAS) and getting the contacts confirmed. So far I have 47 contacts with 46 confirmed. After I finish WAS basic I will work towards Five band WAS.
• Working towards DXCC. This requires contact with 100 or more foreign entities. To date I have 14 contacted with 9 confirmed.
• Training church communicators so they are able to help area church leaders during communication outages and emergencies. We are making progress, but still have a long ways to go.
• Planning and publicizing two upcoming har radio classes. We have a general upgrade class coming in a month, followed a few weeks later with a technician class in a nearby city.
• Installing a short crank-up tower in my back yard. After I dig a hole and fill same with concrete, my signal should improve quite a bit.
• Adding digital messaging capability to my station. Am at the planning stage only right now.
• Working with AC7NB to define and build a power system that will allow me to operate without the power grid.
• Creating a mini-grid contest for my county that will operate on 2-meter simplex, probably in the fall.

As you can see, I have lots of plans and dreams, and have some projects well underway.