First 2m QSO's were a blast!

The day my license showed up on the ULS (May 21st, KC9NRN is on the air!!) I set my 746Pro for the FRRL 2m repeater and said "KC9NRN Listening" after I heard a break in the current conversation and got back........ nothing... I was thinking, why aren't they responding?? I called out again during a break and nothing, now I'm thinking I can't hit the repeater so I verify the input frequency and pl tone and everything looks good so I call out again and nothing. Me and a few others suspected the repeater wasn't getting my pl tone but since I never used the FRRL repeater, or any repeater for that matter before I didn't know what to expect from it.

I ask my wife to listen on our scanner on 147.210, she heard nothing so I figure ok, switch to simplex and send directly to the output frequency and she heard me LOUD and clear (sorry hon!) so she turned it off and I began calling "KC9NRN Testing" and also calling out that I was using simplex. I finally got a response from KC9NJI and then shortly after a few other guys who heard me from pretty far away. But, no matter what I tried when using duplex with the correct offset and pl tone nobody could hear me, or more accurate the repeater couldn't hear me. After a while I decided to perform a reset of the 746Pro and try again, success!!

It’s been working fine ever since! Now that that has been resolved I am going to be working on a new antenna system. Not having a large backyard is hampering what I’d like to do. If we stay at our current QTH I may purchase a crank up tower, I’ll be discussing it with the guys at the FRRL on 2m and during the next meeting.

A shout out to the LARC VEC - THANKS FOLKS!!

I want to say a big thanks to the LARC VEC (http://larcmdorg.doore.net/vec/) for providing the opportunity for people to take their Tech or upgrade test at the Dayton Hamvention. They were all courteous and professional and provided a lot of encouragement for those of us who never tested before, they also did it free of charge, amazing!

Considering the amount of people who showed up for testing these people kept a smile on their face and a professional attitude all through the event. Thanks again!

Dayton Hamvention!

So, it's Saturday and I'm in Dayton Ohio for the Hamvention. I took my Tech test this morning and passed. I thought about going straight back and going for the General but decided against it since I haven't studied near enough to hope to pass.

My wife and I walked around the inside and outside exhibits and found many items that would have been worth buying but found the prices were much higher than normal so ended up just buying some books. She now thinks she would like to re-learn CW so we picked up a book and will be buying a better keyer than she has from her Army days.

We are heading home in the morning feeling refreshed I hope! I passed my exam woohoo!! Starting this week I start studying for the General so I hope to have that one nailed down by the end of June.

73's

Erik