Howdy,

I’m a distributed systems software engineer located in the Tehachapi Mountains of California [DM05rb]. I first attempted to get into amateur radio in the 90’s, but never got around to actually getting a license, and got sucked into the internet industry instead 1. Through the years, however, I have kept up on using unlicensed and commercially licensed spectrum, and in general, similarly aligned tools and protocols in both professional and hobbyist settings.

A couple months back, I was able to get some time to read the right book, self-test with a free android app, and get a Technician License. I’m looking forward to doing more, since it’s a really healthy blend of electronics, socialization and outdoor activity. I’m planning on getting my General when I get a chance to get through the book, but I’m not feeling like I need to rush though.

I setup this blog to keep track of my experiments as I get further along in exploring ameteur radio. No idea if I’ll keep up on it, but it’s a useful parking place for stuff at the moment 2. As most hams already know, there’s a huge range of things to get into, but I’m trying to take my time as I learn on my own at a leisurely pace.

Current Radio Gear:

This is the ham specific tech I’ve been using while getting started and learning. I do my best to not sink a bunch of money into gear when learning something, so have stuck to light investments. If it’s a style and tooling I like, I’ll save up and eventually find it on eBay. I’m not covering any of my unlicensed spectrum gear here because, well, it’s not on topic and there are a million sources for that information.

VHF/UHF Voice Handhelds:

VHF/UHF Voice Automotive:

Software Defined Radios

  • A large collection of RTL-SDR sticks I’ve picked up over the years. RX only.

Packet Experimentation

  • Baofeng UV-5X (cheap enough to open up and break or leave dedicated to the task if it actually works)
  • A few Easy Digi kits

Misc Tech

I could probably write an entire separate blog for other technology tools I use, but I probably won’t. I will add a quick note about what’s bringing this to the internet though.

Blog Tooling:

  • Hugo (blog generation)
  • vim (for editing)
  • gitea (for source control)

I’d prefer to be hosting this blog completely myself locally, on my own infrastructure and 44net, but for now the last mile it is being served via DreamHost just for higher availability since we’re short a datacenter here in Tehachapi, and my last attempt at building one locally failed pretty spectacularly.

  1. After discussing this with a few of my friends my age, this is actually a pretty common experience, and a few of them are getting started on studying for their tests now to join in the adventure. ↩︎

  2. I’m also not planning on using a spell checker on this blog. I’ve found that spell checkers are actively diminishing my ability to spell well when I use them in the workplace. This will probably double as a place for me to keep in practice. If you find yourself offended by a typo, feel free to submit a complaint, it’ll help keep me in practice. ↩︎