What Brought You into Ham Radio?

 It is often asked by the Ham Radio community: "What Brought You into Ham Radio?" The answers are as varied as the Ham Radio community. The Eagles' Joe Walsh got his license so he could figure out how guitar amplifiers work. Many got their licenses to enhance their public service capabilities; many have served in events such as the MS Bike Ride and in times of natural disaster. Others got into the hobby through the hobby of building electronic kits, other radio related hobbies, friends, family members or folks in their houses of worship. The list is endless.

For me, Ham Radio is a natural extension of the radio-related hobbies I have been partaking in since my youth. I started discovering distant AM radio stations in the late 1970s. One discovery in 1980, that of a Radio Moscow relay from a 150 kW transmitter in Urbano Noris, Cuba (call sign CMKV) on 600 kHz (even with a 1,000-watt local on 590), opened up a whole new world...that there was more than one side to the world's story. That progressed into shortwave radio listening; I bought my first shortwave receiver, a Realistic DX-60 with AM, FM, CB and three shortwave bands, in October 1981. Before long, I was also DXing the AM broadcast band, sending for verifications from the likes of WWL 870 New Orleans, KOA 850 Denver and KNX 1070 Los Angeles. The following summer, I began DXing the FM broadcast band (the first verification coming from WSMI-FM 106.1 Litchfield, IL) and broadcast TV (the first verification came from KFVS 12 in Cape Girardeau, MO). I began DXing the Amateur Radio bands in the spring of 1983; many of the Hams I got QSL cards from encouraged me to get my license. These activities allowed me to gain an understanding of how signals propagate throughout the radio spectrum, which was of great benefit to me in my later years, even as a broadcaster. 

Another influence in my decision to become a Ham came from family. A second cousin on my mother's side of the family was a Ham Radio operator for over four decades, first from Rogersville, MO (east of Springfield), and later from Hollister, MO (near Branson). He was also a CB Radio operator, with the handle "Alligator Man". He gave me the handle "Alligator Boy", which I later updated to "Alligator Junior". When I was vacationing with my parents in Hollister in 1977, he pointed me to the home of another CB operator with the handle "Rock Farmer". He had Heathkit radios in his shack and in his vehicle. He even taught me the letter "Z" in Morse Code. He also repaired television sets in Springfield, MO for a living. 

Adding a Ham Radio license (I was first licensed as a Technician in 1992, upgraded to General in 2007 and Extra in 2012) has given me many experiences. My first public service was helping out with communications in Saint Charles County, MO during the Great Flood of 1993. I followed that up with helping out during the 1994 VP Fair in downtown Saint Louis, MO. I've also been in a number of contests over the years, and participated in numerous Field Day activities (Field Day is held in the last full weekend of June). Field Day gave me the skills to have 32 DXpeditions (all of "sprint" length) between 2018 and 2024.

No matter who or what influenced you, Ham Radio is a hobby that will give you so many things to keep your spare time occupied.

A QSL card from my second cousin, received in 1981

My Ham Radio station, taken in July 2021