Hamventuring into the World of HF

June 4, 2014

Since purchasing my TH-F6A at the Dayton Hamvention, I have been having a blast tuning into frequencies that are relayed to other ham radio operators via repeaters. I have, especially, had luck with the AZ Repeaters EAARS linked system. Given, that I am in East Tucson, the Mt. Lemmon repeater, 146.160, seems to be an easy target for me. I have talked to many hams in Tucson and a few as far away as New Mexico.

But once I became comfortable with "radio protocol" and had firmly memorized my new call sign, including phonetics, I was ready to expand ... into the world of HF ... and W7AH's ham shack. (I only hoped his chair was as comfortable as my Ham Chair ... hi hi.) So, after a crash course in the operation of W7AH's equipment, the big moment finally arrived and I was ready to take my newly acquired HF privileges out for a spin!

First HF QSO

My first CQ call on 20m ("New Ham looking for her first HF contact.") was answered by N3BUO in Venus, Texas. I enjoyed chatting with him and, later, with his friend WA5FWC. Both were great contacts for my first HF experience. They seemed to really enjoy aiding my hamventure and first taste of long distance skywave communications.

Next hamventure goals ... (1) Become proficient operating W7AH's equipment solo and (2) Earn my Worked All States (WAS) award certificate by confirming QSOs with all 50 U.S. States. Stay tuned.

73, KG7LNG