AB1JU
The Amateur Radio Site of AB1JU
About Me
I started in Amateur Radio in the later part of 2008.
I took a technician class at the Beardsley Zoo, located in Bridgeport, CT. There were about 10 people in the class, and the instructors went through everything that could be on the test. A really great class.
I took my test on November 6th, 2008 and I passed! Then I was handed the General test, and I passed that too!! After that, I was handed still another test, the Amateur Extra. Wow. That was tough, but again, I managed to pass!!!
I was issued the Amateur Extra License AB1JU the next Wednesday, November 12, 2008. What a great morning that was! I checked the FCC database nice and early, but apparently I get up earlier than the FCC, as it wasn't there yet. I checked again after getting to work, and there it was... AB1JU! I couldn't wait to get out of work so I could start talking. I had a loaner 2 Meter handheld that I had been using for listening, and now I could use it to talk!
My equipment now consists of a Kenwood TH-F6A HT radio, a great little tri-bander. Upon recommendations from others, I also got the SMC-34 microphone / speaker, which has the volume control and the three function buttons. I also got the programming cable so I could download the free software from Kenwood. Nice touch, Kenwood! While waiting for the new radio to arrive, I pre-programmed it in the software. When it finally arrived, I plugged in the cable, and BAM! I was ready to go. I also installed a Comet Tri-Band mobile antenna on a Diamond motorized mount - no dinging the antenna in drive-thru's or parking garages for me!
Later, I added a Icom 7000, a Yaesu 7800 and a Kenwood D710A to my arsenal.
In late 2010, I got an older Kenwood 2-meter radio and put up for testing my own echolink simplex link. After testing in CT was completed, I hooked it up for Michele in North Carolina as KB1UNY-L. Surprisingly, there wasn't echolink on any of the area repeaters. Then, in 2011, I upgraded the Kenwood with a Maratrac and added PL / DPL capability to our setup.
About Me
My name is Brian and I was born in Illinois in 1968. In 1976 we moved to Fairfield, Connecticut. In 2011 I moved to Hays, NC where I now reside.
I am a computer person by trade, a "techie" so to speak and I have always been fascinated by radio. I worked for a while in the early 1990's at a commercial radio station, but it just didn't pay that well. So, back to computers I went. Now, with my amateur radio license, I hope that my fascination with radio will be rekindled.