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I've had an amateur radio license since I was 14, and I got it through a collaboration with our local radio club and the boy scouts. I don't use my license enou

I've had an amateur radio license since I was 14, and I got it through a collaboration with our local radio club and the boy scouts. I don't use my license enough, but I love having it. One of my absolute favorite memories growing up was when we did a camping trip during a field day. A field day is basically an annual global contest to see who you can contact and how far you can reach out. We setup a massive portable antenna in the woods, and I stayed up ALL NIGHT on one of our more powerful SSB radios reaching out to people all across the world. Like Ukraine, Denmark, Ireland, Australia, and more (I'm in the US). Young me was so fascinated with talking with those people, that I'm pretty certain it was one of the first times I experienced sonder. SDR is fun, but no where near as rewarding as using analog.

jdshaffer 6y ago
CQ field day, CQ field day! Did the same thing when I was about 13... that was a blast -- camping in a big field with a bunch of other hams... Great memory! -- KA3TMV
nlh 6y ago
1000% this. Same story - was one of the highest of highlights of my ham youth. The local club’s field day operation happened literally a day after my license arrived in the mail and I vividly remember staying up all night totally immersed in this crazy hobby that I’d only been reading about. Huge fancy Kenwood and Icon HF rigs (the amazing ones I could only dream about buying as a 12 y/o), tons of people having fun, and CQ Field Day CQ Field Day into the wee hours. Super fun experience and memory. (Ps - DE K2KD)
entropea 6y ago
ARRL Field Day is the best! I just got back from this years Field Day two weeks ago and its still really active and a large event even though band conditions are really very poor. One year I setup a VHF/UHF log periodic and was able to get 5-10 people to get confirmed contacts with astronauts on the ISS. It was probably the most exciting time I've had in amateur radio, and definitely not something everyone gets to do in life.

jdshaffer 6y ago

CQ field day, CQ field day! Did the same thing when I was about 13... that was a blast -- camping in a big field with a bunch of other hams... Great memory! -- KA3TMV

nlh 6y ago

1000% this. Same story - was one of the highest of highlights of my ham youth. The local club’s field day operation happened literally a day after my license arrived in the mail and I vividly remember staying up all night totally immersed in this crazy hobby that I’d only been reading about. Huge fancy Kenwood and Icon HF rigs (the amazing ones I could only dream about buying as a 12 y/o), tons of people having fun, and CQ Field Day CQ Field Day into the wee hours. Super fun experience and memory. (Ps - DE K2KD)

entropea 6y ago

ARRL Field Day is the best! I just got back from this years Field Day two weeks ago and its still really active and a large event even though band conditions are really very poor. One year I setup a VHF/UHF log periodic and was able to get 5-10 people to get confirmed contacts with astronauts on the ISS. It was probably the most exciting time I've had in amateur radio, and definitely not something everyone gets to do in life.