Our local LDS Church Stake sent out an announcement last month that they were supporting a Ham Radio Class to enhance Emergency Preparedness and encouraged anyone interested to attend. I was already a Ham Radio Operator, Technicial Class. I came up with a plan. I told some friends of ours, another IT buddy - who had recently expressed interest in becoming a Ham Radio Operator, about the class. I went a step further and said that my wife, Merial, would attend if his wife, Jen, would attend. Then I went home and told my wife, Merial, that Jen would attend only if Merial would attend. They all agreed! Pretty sneaky!
Merial and I and a couple of friends, and other interested parties, have been attending the Ham Radio Class for the last 6 weeks.
Then, last week, my kids came over. My son, Wesley, is 14 years old and is a straight A student. I've encouraged him to study for a Ham Radio License before, but he only showed mild interest.
Well - I told him that he had two days to study and I was sure he could pass the test. I lectured about Ham Radio on the drive over from Utah to Colorado. We arrived in Denver on Wednesday. The last class was on Thursday. I helped Merial and Wesley a lot with study materials. They took practice tests over and over again.
The problem was that I also agreed to upgrade my License from a Technician to a General Class License! I spent so much time studying with them that I left my studying mostly until the night before. I studied throughout the night, and so did my Son, Wes. The next day we had a blizzard, but I was relieved that they didn't cancel the testing session in Franktown Colorado!
Merial and Wesley both passed the Technician Class Test the first time, so they will be getting their Ham Radio Licenses this week.
I failed my first attempt at the General Class. I took a second try and barely passed. If I would've missed one more question I wouldn't have passed! It wasn't pretty for me, but hey... a pass is a pass!
So... I now have a Ham Radio Family!
My son lives in Utah, but now we'll have one more way to communicate.
Merial - Technician Class
Wesley - Technical Class
Bucky - General Class
Very cool!
73 DE KC7CPM
Did I mention that Morse Code is no longer required?
Links:
Ham Radio Licensing
LDS Church and Emergency Preparedness - Official Site
LDS Church ,Ham Radio, and Emergency Preparedness
Welcome to the World of Ham Radio
How Ham Radio Works
Bucky's MicroBlogs from Twitter, Facebook
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1 comment:
Bucky: KC7CPM
Merial: KD0HLP
Wesley: KF7CBU
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