As some of you might know, I’m a freelance software developer with a big interest in iPhone and iPad development but lately I haven’t been doing a lot of software development in my spare time.
The reason for all of this can be found almost 30 years ago! When I was between 12 an 15 years old I used to be very much interested in CB radio (27 mc).
So, when previous October (2011) a friend of mine started to play around with CB radio, he got me quickly involved in this! After playing a bit around with the CB stuff, we started talking about getting the amateur radio license. My friend is canadian so it’s a bit difficult for him to take a (Dutch) license exam. For me it was a bit easier (because I’m Dutch), so the end of October I got the study material from the Veron (Radio Amateur Organization in the Netherlands) and studied several hours every day in November.
The 8th of december I took the official government N license exam and I had 0 mistakes; I aced it! The end of December I registered my call sign (PD1CA) with the Agentschap Telecom in the Netherlands. After this I made a quick website (this site) and started to make the airwaves “unsafe” with my Yaesu FT-817 and Yaesu FT-897D transceivers!!
There is still a lot to learn although I think the license study prepared me good for my start in the radio amateur / HAM radio world.
I started my quest for the perfect antenna, took my first steps in digital HAM radio (PSK31, RTTY etc..) and am making my first contacts around the world talking to a lot of people even with the limitations I have with my CEPT Novice license (N License).
The next step will be making iPad and iPhone software for HAM radio, and I’m looking forward to starting this.
Combining my new and my old hobby would be perfect!