Hello again! Its been quite a while sense I wrote anything on here, and +thats mostly because I've been quite busy. But here we are, and I've got a bit +to write something. Something about what I did recently. I became a ham radio +operator! I am a technician class ametuer radio operator, with callsign +KE8TIZ.
+ +Funny thing about the name before we go on, the callsigns are really well +organized and I like how they're laid out alot actually. The leading K means I +am american, and all technician operators are have a 'K'. This does mean, +however, that there are other that have other license classes that have a 'K' +prefix.
+ +Speaking of, a mention of how the classes work is probably worth mentioning. +Technician is the lowest class, and gives you access to several bands of the +radio spectrum, but limits you on the modes you can operate on (FM radio vs +Morse code, for example). After this is general, which unlock alot of access to +the places that you are restricted as a technician. After general is Extra, +which gives you full legal access to the entire ametuer radio spectrum. Each +class requires a class to be taken to determine if you have the background to +operate in both a safe and respectful manner.
+ +So why would you do this? I've wanted to get mine for a while, I just finally +got everything together, and said I'll take it. And it was worth it. The +biggest reason I wanted to take it is for access to certain bands that I will +be able to communicate/experiment on using a Software Defined Radio (SDR). You +can use them for digital modes, but the analog modes like voice are also just +as valid and doable using an SDR. A project I'm very interested in is +Broadband hamnet an attempt +at a decenteralized network using commonly available routers. The idea is to +make a large mesh network to create an off-the-grid type backbone for IP +traffic. Pretty cool!
+ +That's really all I have to say on the topic, however I have covered this +topic in the past (somewhat) on my post regarding +weather satellites. +That endevour is what lead me to this interest to begin with. Its worth a read, +as it really is the stuff that makes you feel as though we live in the +future.
+ +Either way, I hope I've sparked your interest in ham radio!
+ +