KM6QLM

Given the circumstances, ONLINE testing may be the only way to go... Maybe structuring a week long, online, class to force prospects to immerse themselves and show commitment... with a final timed exam. I am biased here because my wife and brother have been waiting to test for months now with no test dates in the foreseeable future.

So, I've had my Tech license for about two years. My first radio was a Yaesu FTM7250 DR mounted in my truck. LOVED that thing. I learned to use repeaters, program my radio, simplex, a little bit of digital C4FM... and that was it... A friend i made at our repeater club in town introduced me to HF... I was amazed... still am. I operated with him in the room and was hooked... but, i needed to buy another radio, study and take another test (general)... Life was busy, with a new gig... HAM learning and growth pretty much stopped... 2 weeks ago, I purchased a Yaesu FTM 400XDR... I am completely in love with my unit. I was introduced to APRS (same friend) and on a trip to Reno, CA my daughters and ol' lady had fun looking at all the different packets we were picking up and even had a QSL with a station 250+ miles away! Not that amazing, i know, but I am still new and I have to say, this unit is exactly what envisioned HAM to be like when i broke in; Interactive, lots of options, APRS is awesome for our off-road / off-grid adventures (friends can tack me on an app from home), and wires-x? Holy smokes! I talked to someone in NY this morning and someone from Scotland chimed in... Absolute JOY. The local repeater is full of people claiming HF is dying... and I wouldn't know, but i would imagine having mobile units with THIS much "capacity" and versatility on just a tech lic. probably has a lot to do with it. Do not get me wrong... I still want to go General and really explore HF. I am a geek at heart, the excitement I felt seeing my friend answer calls shouting "CQ CQ CQ CQ" I will never forget... What are your thoughts? I'm already thinking of getting a FT2 / FT3D or similar to take on hikes from the truck base camps. I just cant get over how cool HAM is when you have the right unit...

Hey Ham Community, this is an automated post on behalf of our new member: KM6QLM, On behalf of Ham Community, let's give KM6QLM a warm welcome. KM6QLM, we encourage you to browse around and get to know the Community's many sections. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask, as with all things HAM, we all love to give advice 😎 For everyone's information, KM6QLM joined on the 01/29/21; this is their profile: View Member.