Why Amateur Radio?

I've always had a fascination for electronics. Ever since I was a young boy I was tearing apart things I got for Christmas to see what was inside making them work.

As I grew older, I discovered a CB radio in my grandfathers shed which was under a pile of pipe and old boards. I pulled it out and plugged it in and it worked. I didn't have an antenna so I went up to my local Radio Shack and bought one to use with it. Back then, Radio Shack was the go to place until Amazon was born. I never really liked the etiquette on CB. It was always very unprofessional and to me just a lot of noise.

At that time I didn't know about amateur radio. Several years go by and I got a job doing IT help desk work where a co-worker of mine (KC8UQF) introduced me to amateur radio. He became a great friend and that lead to me getting a license (KD8CHM) and a mobile radio. I joined the ARPSC in Oakland County Michigan where I participated in meetings and events and met some great people in the hobby.

Fast forward a few years. I got married and moved out of the state of Michigan to Texas for my wife's post doc where we lived for 8 years. I got out of the hobby for close to 10 years until we moved to Maryland where we live now.

I decided to get a vanity call sign (W5JER) as a way for me to begin the hobby again with a fresh start. I got the vanity a while back and never used it until now.

There's still a lot I have to learn about the hobby and I plan to learn more on my next endeavor with the hobby.