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K9PTF Paul T. Frey Chelsea, AL QCWA # 38313 |
Born a Hoosier (Indiana) got the radio bug when I was in High School. Had a CB License but cannot remember the call sign. But; I had a Hallicrafter CB-3A that was powered by a Radio Shack regulated power supply and feed a ground plane antenna mounted on a 10 foot water pipe.
While the radio has been lost the power supply is still in use here. I wanted to get my ham ticket but, I'm a code dummy.
In the early Nineties I met my Elmer N9IMV, silent key now. He worked with me for over two years trying to learn code. No luck; then NO CodeTechnician became available and I just studied and walked in Naval Avionics on a club night and took the test and passed. I got my ticket in July 25, 1995 (KB9LEN), Then in 2005 May 15 I walked in and upgraded to General after testing at Birmingham ham fest.
I didn't make any HF contacts but, started to purchase some equipment to get on HF. I had the IC-735 from the first days before licensing as my Elmer said "You'll end up on HF so, get a transceiver and take mic off until you get your license." It would seem he was right. I just finished getting my Hustler 4BTV with a DX Engineering 17 meter add-on mounted and tuned November 11, 2016. I am now trying to make my first QSO on HF. But, I digress;
I got the ham bug again in 2011 when I became a founding member of HCARC Amateur Radio Club (KK4BSK repeater) at University Of Alabama at Birmingham. I started using Echolink on my cell phone. Got my Vanity call sign, K9PTF, when they dropped the fee for Vanity Call Signs; it arrived October 2, 2015. I got interested in D-Star in April of 2016 when I got a ID-880H and followed it with an ID-51Anniverary Edition. I am a member of the K4DSO repeater and now have a DV MINI 4 and an ID-51APlus2. I love the clear voice on digital radio but, hate the R2D2 of packet loss.
Update: I passed my Extra exam on 04-20-2019 on or about 14:00 hrs. Central Daylight Savings Time at the:
Helena Sports Complex
110 Sports Complex Rd
Helena AL 35080
VE's : KF4IOL, WD4IGK, W5JRL Big Thanks to ALL who encougaged me to go for EXTRA! Now all of YOU out there GO UPGRADE!
K9PTF/AE
July 28, 2020