CQ, CQ, CQ. This is AJ6BD.
I officially have a callsign. I can now legally broadcast on the amateur radio bands.
I’ve been building radios since I was ten (really). I had plenty of help from my mentor, who taught me more than I realized there was to know about electronics, AC theory, signals, modulation, ionospheric propagation, phasors, oscilloscopes, and calculus. It was with his help I built that infamous Tesla Coil for my 6th grade science project.
Despite all that, I never got into the transmit side of radio. There used to be a formidable requirement to send and receive Morse Code at a particular rate, but the FCC dropped that requirement around 2007.
Recently, I’ve experienced an uptick in interest in electronics, and a little nudge from W6RQ at work I brushed up on the materials and went in for my test. Actually three tests, which I somehow managed to pass.
So as I write this, I’m in the unusual position of having an “Amateur Extra” license, but never having had a QSO (over the air contact).
If you’re into Ham radio, leave your callsign in a comment below. Maybe you’ll be the first I make contact with. :)
73, (best regards)
Micah
AJ6BD