On the air again after 60 years

I got my original ham license in 1959 (Novice KN9YZO). I was just a kid. My dad bought me a two-meter transceiver and a small yagi. I put the antenna on a bamboo pole and leaned it against the desk in my bedroom. We lived in a high-rise, glass-and-steel building. Our apartment was on the sixteenth floor. My bedroom had a wall of glass facing Lake Michigan.

That first summer was fun. I managed to talk to people in Michigan and Indiana. Pretty cool for a five-watt, two-meter rig.

Sadly, my father died that fall, and we moved back to New York City. My ham days were over. I retired over sixty years later and decided to get back on the air. I took a very good online course (hamradioprep.com), and after two weeks of study and practice tests, I took the Technician and General exams at the same time. Voila! Here I am with my license again. I received my license on May 31, 2023.

My ham shack is my home office. An Icom IC-7300 and a Btech UV-50X2 share my desk with my keyboard and two monitors. I have a 2-meter/70 cm Comet GP-6 on the roof and a DX Champion Classic in the backyard. So far, almost all of my contacts have been on two meters. My location and band conditions have made contact on any of the HF bands very difficult.

It’s a little crowded on my desk, but I manage to work with the radios and my computer that share space on my desk. I’m very happy to be back on the air. I’m grateful to my new friends at the Lake Washington Ham Radio Club for their help and support getting me started.

Why ham radio in the 21st century

My wife wondered why I decided to become a ham. After all, virtually everyone in the world carries a sophisticated two-way radio in their pocket. In the age of the Internet and cell phone, why bother with antique technology?

I thought a lot about this before going for my license. My reasoning makes me sound a little like a doomsday prepper, but I think it is valid. Our digital lifeline depends on thousands of bits of technology scattered across the globe. All have to work perfectly for us to maintain contact.

We live about 25 miles east of Seattle, Washington. We are surrounded by volcanos. We live in the Ring of Fire. Earthquakes and eruptions are a distinct possibility. There’s good news too. Our location gives us a mild climate that is largely unaffected by climate change. The rest of the US is suffering extreme weather that is disrupting travel and communications.

Hams are licensed to operate stand-alone radio stations that are allowed to have high-power transmitters. Ham radio clubs have created networks that don’t depend on the Internet or cell phone technology. In the event our digital connections are disrupted, hams will still be able to reach the outside world. Our portable generator can power our radios and allow us to get and offer help in crises situations.

This is no prepper fantasy. Hams have been coming to the rescue for a century. During hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, and wars, hams have provided communications for emergency workers.

Just like maintaining a supply of water and freeze-dried food for times when we might be isolated, having the ability to reach out with our radios adds a real security blanket to our lives.

I hope we won’t ever need it. In the meantime, I’m making friends and expanding my world through my radios. I have a hobby that can save lives.