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A Hobby Radio Communications Adventure
03-12-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It’s Thursday, and I’m going to try not to do any work today, although my lawn does need mowing. I usually listen to Morse code on the 40-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band, but there’s not much activity on 40 at the moment. Switching to 30 meters - 10 MHz, I do find a few stations. I don’t actually work this band, but I listen occasionally. I’m not, nor have I ever, been one of those operators who feel a need to make contacts all over the frequency spectrum just because it’s there. Let’s see how the day develops. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 5:45 AM - My experience with CB Radio started on Christmas Day in 1964 when I received a pair of Spacephone walkie talkies. My best friend, who lived just next door, and I could now communicate with wireless ease. Well, sort of. The Spacephones had no squelch circuit and emitted that constant, loud “rushing” noise heard when you open the squelch on modern communications receivers. Read more of My CB Radio Daze - How it All Started!
--- 6:00 AM - There are reports that the Indiana legislature has passed a law that takes effect July 1, 2026, restricting or eliminating HOA authority over Amateur (ham) Radio antennas. The short descriptions I've seen say the new law prevents an HOA from enacting “new” rules restricting antennas. Not being in Indiana, and not taking a deep dive into this issue, I have no details for you. Just Google the subject if you’re interested.
--- 6:50 AM - I'm back on 40 meters just in time to hear someone call CQ in Morse code, and another station answer. Now, I have a nice Morse code conversation to listen to as I enjoy my second cup of coffee. On the scanner radio, a local business - using the license-free Multi-Use Radio Service - is discussing a shoplifter. Scanners, buy them once and be entertained for decades!
10:12 AM - I contacted a station in Cuivre River State Park (US-7858) in Missouri on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
--- 12:20 PM - I continue to be amused by the number of people who see a box with dials, a digital readout, and a microphone and automatically call it a CB Radio. I guess that’s better than the young man, around 21 or 22, I encountered who had never heard of CB Radio or Amateur (ham) Radio. about
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03-11-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, and I have a lunch date with a former co-worker. This local burger joint has license plates on the walls and the ceiling. I’m thinking of donating one of my no-longer-used Radio Operator tags to their collection. In my local world of radio scanning, I usually wake to Walmart, a nearby maximum-security prison, the county jail, school buses, city transit buses, a mental hospital, a private waste-collection company, three airports, various FRS, MURS, and GMRS users, and local Amateur (ham) Radio simplex and repeater traffic. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 5:45 AM - I usually begin the day with CW (Morse code) on the 40-meter Amateur (ham) Radio band, but that band is a little quiet right now. So, I’ve put the President McKinley CB Radio on 40-channel scan to await the opening of that band. There will already be local radio trucking traffic to enjoy.
--- 6:30 AM - There are several new users of the Family Radio Service - complete with "roger beeps" - near me, but their short, clipped communications are making it hard to figure out who they are. The comms seem to be business-related. I’m not complaining. This “radio detective” stuff is fun!
--- 8:00 AM - The CB Radio band is up and running! A few Jamaican stations kicked it off on Channel 6, the "superbowl." At least in my part of the world. The ionosphere may have served up a different reality for you. It's all good, though. More channels are coming alive as the world turns.
--- 9:04 AM - I contacted a station in Dames Ferry Campground State Park (US-7858) in Georgia on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
--- 3:00 PM - The burger joint that I was going to donate my Radio Operator license plate to was unexpectedly closed. The note on the door said they were closed for 5 days while they went fishing! I’ll catch them another time. My lunch partner and I executed a “missed approach” and diverted to our alternate lunch spot, a Chinese buffet. You pilots know what I’m talking about.
5:00 PM - It was 1965, and I was in the 8th Grade when I stumbled upon the 1957 book SOS at midnight by Walker A. Tompkins, K6ATX, in the school library. Being interested in radio communications and the proud owner of a pair of Spacephone Walkie Talkies, I checked the book out from the library. I started reading it in the library, and continued on the walk home. Later, I found CQ Ghost Ship and DX Brings Danger by the same author. About 10 years ago, I saw a hardcover copy of SOS at Midnight on eBay. It wasn’t exactly cheap, but I bought it anyway. A few years after that, I found CQ Ghost Ship (1960) on eBay and purchased it. There are updated 1985 paperback versions of these books, featuring more modern equipment, but I wanted the versions that I read in 1965.
--- 9:00 PM - A couple of local Amateur (ham) Radio Operators are rag-chewing on 146.520 MHz simplex. Earlier, one of these guys was talking to a ham on that frequency as he passed through town.
10:00 PM - I'm closing out the day with an American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Morse code practice session on 40 meters. This session sounds like 18 words per minute. I could look it up, but it's not important.
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03-10-2026 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It's Tuesday, and I’ll finish a home maintenance project I started yesterday. It shouldn’t take long, and I should have more radio time than I did yesterday. Last night, I read myself to sleep with a few pages from The Complete DX'er by Bob Locher (W9KNI). It’s one of the few books I keep near the bed. Right now, my Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 5:45 AM - In my town, it’s Spring Break time. The only thing that means to me is the lack of radio traffic from school buses and handheld radios used by the school staff. The school buses can be a hoot sometimes, and I will welcome their return to the local airwaves.
--- 6:00 AM - A few years ago, a trucker issued a "smokey report" on CB Radio Channel 19: "Northbound, you got an Evil Knievel up ahead on the grassy knoll." Another trucker responsed: "He better not mess with me cuz I've got a sack of donuts and I'm not afraid to use 'em.
--- 6:15 AM - Railroad radio traffic has been heavy in my area this morning. They're not the most interesting scanner radio target (unless you're a railfan), but they can sometimes fill a quiet void. My busiest frequency is 160.920 MHz.
--- 7:00 AM - A few days ago, two guys were chatting on a local repeater about some non-radio stuff. I don’t remember the topic. One said to the other that they should get back to talking about radios. It was as if they had committed a mortal sin. I have zero problem with non-radio subject matter. Your opinion on the subject might vary.
--- 8:45 AM - On an earlier blog, I would post "space weather" forecasts. I found it tedious because I had no interest in the subject. I don't cover it here because I still have no interest in the subject. I do understand its importance to many Radio Hobbyists. I have a simplified method that does everything I need: I turn the radio on. Either the band is open, or it's not.
--- 9:44 AM - I contacted a station in Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest (US-8627) in New York on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program.
--- 4:00 PM - The home maintenance item I started yesterday, and planned to finish today, didn’t go as planned. I’ll finish it tomorrow. Not much radio play today, other than the one Parks on the Air® contact I mentioned above.
--- 5:00 PM - Area Amateur (ham) Radio Skywarn® storm spotters are being notified of a possible activation due to approaching thunderstorms. Are you monitoring your area storm spotters on a scanner radio?
--- 8:00 PM - The Amateur (ham) Radio Skywarn® storm spotters were activated, but the thunderstorms split and went around the city. I think our water supply lakes did get some rain, and that's the important news.
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MUCH MORE TO COME!