Personal Growth In Ham Radio

November 21, 2010

A new ham radio operator experiences fear in many forms as s/he progresses in ham radio experiences. Perhaps the first is asking – can I REALLY pass this ham radio exam? And after passing the Technician license exam – the fear returns. Can I really pass the General license exam? It gets more intense when they sit for the Extra Class license exam.

First contacts also produce fear for many ham radio operators. I remember my first contact. I sort of just wanted to know if I had programmed my new handheld ham radio correctly. I turned it on after reading the manual, programmed it and then – nothing! I heard nothing… After all that work of getting ready to take the license exam. A trip to Milwaukee, WI from Green Bay, WI to take the exam. Buying a new ham radio. All the excitement and anticipation. And then… NOTHING! Maybe everyone was just listening I surmised. Maybe if I let people know that I was “on the air” someone would respond.

To my surprise – someone did! Not knowing quite WHAT to say I just advised that I was testing the radio and ended the conversation as quickly as possible before I could screw anything up!

I was a bit afraid when I tried my first contacts on HF as well. Getting used to talking to just one person is one thing. But busting a pileup across continents is quite another thing. After a bit, I got the hang of it and now feel I do just fine at it.

Building and testing your first antenna is another point for fear to enter into one’s life. Now that you have a license you realize it would be pretty easy to fry either the radio, the antenna or yourself! I passed through that phase for the time being. I suspect running my first high power amplifier will be a similar experience.

Now life comes full circle of sorts. I have recently volunteered to help a group of hams put on a ham radio license exam preparation course in 2011. It’s scary because I learned from commercial material – prepared by people that do this sort of training every day of the week and make quite a nice living from it. This is my first time at it. Logic dictates two things. My license and experience give me the credentials to be in front of the room teaching. And my lack of experience in teaching this class dictates otherwise.

The fear is that I be able to deliver the technical knowledge in clear concise ways within the time allotted. The pride will be in seeing new wanna-be hams get their licenses. I do not want to disappoint…

Stay tuned!

Jon Kreski, AB9NN

http://www.HamRadioResources.com

http://www.Twitter.com/AB9NN