My name is Jim, I’m a Technician since December last year and I live in the mountains of NC. I have a couple of radios that I’m currently playing with, a Yaesu FT-450D and a Yaesu FT-8800. I also have an assortment of the usual Baofeng and Wouxun HT’s. My base station antennas are a 10 meter dipole and a Diamond X300a.
When I first started playing with amateur radio in December my primary interest was in long distance QSO’s but lately I have taken more of an interest in the local 2 meter contacts. I’m at approximately 3,700’ elevation level and while pretty much blocked by mountains to the North, I have a good shot out to the South. My 2 meter antenna is hanging about 60’ up a tree so I have some good height and it’s surprising how well my signal gets bounced between the mountains and into areas that you would just not think possible. Normal 2 meter contacts for me are anywhere between 15 miles and 150 miles, but I can hear repeaters as much as 240 miles away that I’m working on getting in to.
I’m retired for the most part but when I worked (2 years ago) I owned a software company that wrote and supported specialized software designed to move and track money through the ACH network. My current interests (besides amateur radio) include solar power generation, heating/cooling with natural/passive sources, and GSD’s.
If this hobby sorts out like the others I’ve had, I’ll have lots of questions so please bear with me. At 62 I take constructive criticism fairly well, so don’t be afraid of hurting my feelings.
Hello everyone!
When I first started playing with amateur radio in December my primary interest was in long distance QSO’s but lately I have taken more of an interest in the local 2 meter contacts. I’m at approximately 3,700’ elevation level and while pretty much blocked by mountains to the North, I have a good shot out to the South. My 2 meter antenna is hanging about 60’ up a tree so I have some good height and it’s surprising how well my signal gets bounced between the mountains and into areas that you would just not think possible. Normal 2 meter contacts for me are anywhere between 15 miles and 150 miles, but I can hear repeaters as much as 240 miles away that I’m working on getting in to.
I’m retired for the most part but when I worked (2 years ago) I owned a software company that wrote and supported specialized software designed to move and track money through the ACH network. My current interests (besides amateur radio) include solar power generation, heating/cooling with natural/passive sources, and GSD’s.
If this hobby sorts out like the others I’ve had, I’ll have lots of questions so please bear with me. At 62 I take constructive criticism fairly well, so don’t be afraid of hurting my feelings.
Hello everyone!