Time to Get Serious!

Well, Field Day is over and I had a blast operating from home as a “1E” on solar charged batteries. I made quite a few contacts, but my operating time was limited by life events like Church and Birthday parties. I love Ham Radio, but IRL I'm a Christian and a Grandfather and that takes precedence. The bands have been very good lately and I've made a lot of contacts. I was working 20 meters into Europe last night at midnight, and that's generally a very good sign that solar conditions are pretty good. This morning has been gangbusters on both 20 and 10 meters.


But, alas, I'm starting to feel unfulfilled. I thought that my Advanced Ticket would be enough for me, after all why worry about a few kilocycles (there I said it and it felt good!) at the bottom of the bands. I've never been very good at math and that's what's been holding me back from trying for the E-Ticket. I got to thinking about why it took me so long to get my Novice Ticket back in the day, and it was because I thought I would never be able to copy 5WPM. I just shrugged it off until I came back from Europe and my brother-in-law, AG4AF (then WA4IGL) encouraged me and I really put some effort into it. I bought an old receiver and listened to the hams having CW QSO's.


I bought a ham call sign book from the Heathkit store in Baltimore (now, if that doesn't tell my age, nothing else will!) and listened for a while every day. I found out that CW was easier than I thought, and I kicked myself for letting it get in my way.


Now, I'm in the same position with the math, and I'm going to lick this and get my ticket. After all, I'm retired and I have almost all the time in the world! Wish me luck, I'm diving in!