Made my first official contact

[PewPewChris]

Went out back from my walkout basement as I have most nights to scan and listen to frequencies. I have been able to listen in on 443.100 and tonight, without my HT showing anyone speaking, I clicked that PTT button and I got my first hit on the repeater. I called out a second time and got a response from a nice gentleman acknowledging my radio check and that I was coming in clear. I was honestly surprised I would hit a repeater that is a hair under 50 miles from my location.

Two questions arise from that first contact:

#1: I was taken surprise anyone answered me...I didn't have a moment to digest who I was talking to, much less, remember their call sign. Do you all write call signs down as you make contact or track in some manner.

#2: I assume its natural out the gate to not know what you are saying with any sort of confidence? I did get my call-sign out at the beginning of the radio check and when signing off.

 

[K4EET]

Hi @PewPewChris,

Congratulations on your first QSO!!!

Answer #1: I log 100% of my HF QSOs (domestic and foreign) and 100% of my VHF/UHF QSOs involving a foreign station that accessed a local repeater via any means. I also log 100% of my digital QSOs involving a foreign station that I communicated with through my VHF/UHF hotspot. The reason that I log these QSOs is because they are the types of contacts that will possibly request a QSL and for that I need a record of the QSO. All other QSOs with Stateside stations I do not log.

Answer #2: Your first contacts out of the starting gate will involve a mixture of excitement, nervousness, forgetfulness, tongue-tied speech, etc. where anything is possible during the QSO. That is natural so don't worry about it. Before long, you will become a pro at QSOs. Just try to remember that in addition to identifying at the start and finish of a QSO, you also need to identify every 10 minutes on longer QSOs. I have confidence in you that you're gonna do just fine!

73 my friend, Dave K4EET

 

[merlin]

Congrats, you are out of the starting gate.

 

[AK9R]

Two questions arise from that first contact:

#1: I was taken surprise anyone answered me...I didn't have a moment to digest who I was talking to, much less, remember their call sign. Do you all write call signs down as you make contact or track in some manner.

#2: I assume its natural out the gate to not know what you are saying with any sort of confidence? I did get my call-sign out at the beginning of the radio check and when signing off.

Congratulations!

1. If I'm home, I usually have a note pad (I old-fashioned steno pads) handy where I jot things down for short-term memory purposes. Logging ham radio contacts is a rabbit hole of its own. Some people get really serious about it and there are several software packages available for logging. I usually don't log repeater contacts.

2. Yes. It's called "mic fright". You'll get over it with experience. Try to think about what you want to say before you say it. Try to not waste the other guy's time with things that might not be interesting to him. Try to engage the other guy by asking about his hobbies, interests, or activities.

 

[vagrant]

Talk about radios and antennas. You’re sure to have that in common. Perhaps ask about the repeater and if they know the average range it has for a mobile, or home station.

 

[ladn]

Finally--Now you're made your first QSO!

#1: In the rare instances when I do HF, I'll log (most of my contacts) in a paper logbook for no better reason than "just because". Sending out paper QSL cards has become a quaint anachronism that's economically unsupportable, but I have been known to send out QSL's electronically.

#2: Did you see any black helicopters or black Suburbans heading for your location? The radio police aren't going to tag you for a rookie error of not identifying properly. Learn from it and do better next time.

It's considered gauche to call "CQ" via a repeater the same way one might do on HF, and don't get into the habit of asking for a "radio check" to initiate a conversation. It's ok to throw out your callsign and say you are a newly licensed ham looking for a QSO.

As to what to talk about--you can ask the other station how long they've been a ham or what led them down the ham radio pathway. As previously mentioned, there's always tech talk about radios and antennas, too. Hobbies make interesting on the air fodder as well. Generally avoid topics such as politics or religion.

73!

 

[kg4ehv]

Good job, I keep a paper log, but keep a notepad next to it just to jot stuff down.

 

[jwt873]

Congrats on QSO #1

I have the world's worst short term memory. If I'm talking to someone for the first time, I usually jot down the call.. I also keep a note pad on my desk and I also keep one in my vehicle.

 

[VA3WEX]

Congratulations! Welcome to your new addiction

 

[PewPewChris]

Thanks. I'm setting up my base station here and there over the coming days. the first sign of a few days of good weather and I'm going to test my antenna placement, etc. Once I land on the spot, I'll get everything grounded, "officially" run into the house view a window and go from there.