I was granted my Technician license in June of 2007, thanks mostly to the persistence and support of the local club, LARC, and later upgraded to a General license in April of 2011. I originally got my license for community/public service, and I've since enjoyed many other aspects of the hobby.
APRS
APRS, or, Automatic Packet Reporting System, is a digital communications method we Amateur Radio operators use to send packets of data quickly and easily.
You can learn more about it on Wikipedia, or on the official APRS website.
You can view the APRS google map, or see where i've been recently, using my phone, or my mobile radio. Do keep in mind that you'll only see my mobile radio APRS trail when I hit a digipeater that's connected to the internet.
Amateur Radio
What is Amateur Radio, you ask? In essence, it's an amazing hobby that doubles as a public service, is practiced worldwide, and even in space!
Just as there are professional radio operators (Public Service, Pilots and Air Traffic Control, Marine radio, Military, and so on) there are also Amatuer Radio Operators, people who use radio communications for pleasure, sport, public service, science, or more!
You can learn more about it from:
Call sign fun
As most hams do, we always have some little joke about each others call signs, and mine is no exception. My own rendition goes like this:
The "K" and the "4" were given as I was in the US (All US call signs start with K, N, A, or W, and were well into the "K's" for my time era) and I was in region 4, Southeast US. So the "random lottery" letters were "I", and "WIN", which I like to point out means, "I WIN!" :)
Yes, the FCC says i'm a winner. :P
If you're interested in joining a local event, check out the Tour De Cure 2023 Bicycle Ride scope!