The adventure of my life right now, affords some luxuries with regards to time and freedom. While the work we have to do with Filmmaker For A Cause is demanding, we also have an opportunity to explore hobbies new and old. One of my newest hobbies is amateur radio, also known as ham radio. Since childhood electronics and technology (particularly hardware) have fascinated me. I remember standing in awe looking at the back of a television and its antenna, curious as to how the picture arrived.

Fast-forward twenty years and I found myself wanting to try ham radio, with the idea to engage with/ learn from, other amateur radio operators from around the world. I completed the necessary licensing about a year ago, and during the last year I have mainly listened and read everything I could about radios and antennas. While in La Paz, I met a fellow ham, and he had his station in his truck. It was awesome to casually talk to Oregon from Mexico one night, the awe of my childhood returned. With a trip back to the US on the books (more on that later), it was a good time to go shopping.

While I have my call sign, AC9IY, I still have to admit that getting on air is actually pretty intimidating. The licensing education focuses on a lot of theory, and regulatory concerns, vs the day to day operation of your actual station. The biggest decision continues to be what equipment to take on the road. I have been reluctant to install a radio in the cab of MogTug, because I don’t want to have to sit in the cab to operate it. I see this as a fun hobby to do from the beach or a hilltop. The second major consideration is size. We don’t have a lot of free and empty storage space. I needed something that would pack down well. And lastly I was looking for something that would be fun and inspiring to operate. With that criteria in mind, and a year of research and observation, I settled on a Elecraft KX3 transceiver and a PX3 Panadapter! More on both of these and more later. But for now, I consider my ham radio journey officially underway.

– RandallB3