The guy flying the kite had been a Ham 40 years.... pretty sure that was the most fun he had ever had in the hobby.... People were still talking about it weeks later. Someone who knew him said he took his gear to the FLA Keys hoping to work Europe but got skunked because there wasn't good wind while he was there.....
Huskyrunner you should SO upgrade to General class. I read somewhere that due to covid 19 you can get tested online.... I'm thinking that change was only last Month....
If budget is tight there is a ton of great quality used gear for sale now... Hams are like rifle loonies only worse.... everyone is always wanting to trade up.... and since SDR has come on strong outstanding analog radios are now selling for pennies on the dollar.
If you can find a ham club in your area they could help you find gear for sale locally..... I dragged my wife along as a study buddy. We got our tech and general at the same time. The local Elmers were helping me with the scavenger hunt for all used gear to put a station together.... I figured it would have been selfish to spend much money on a hobby that was going to be a 95% John hobby.... Jayne is kind of introverted by nature.
Jayne is a family practice doc. At one of the first meetings we went to a retired ER nurse told a story about how 40 something years ago one of her husband's socially challenged engineering pals made a snarky remark about how she could never get her licence because a woman would never be able to learn Morse code..... her husband knew she was mad so he bought her the code study tape and she turned out to be a natural...
At the end of the meeting Wanda came over to introduce herself and she asked Jayne if she was just there to support me or if she was going to get her licence too.... Jayne said "Oh no... I'm getting my licence too!" I came home knowing the tide had changed and ordered a brand new radio the next morning and we have been adding radios amplifiers and better antennas ever since.....
Jayne wanted to study for the extra class exam almost right away.... I am not a technical person at all... the general class licence really isn't that hard but the extra class study guide gave me chest pains.... I figured I'd have a better chance of parting the Red Sea than passing the extra..... Jayne passed with flying colors and I didn't make the cut.... it took a year of being made sport of by hams literally around the World for needing my wife to pass me as third party traffic if I wanted to work the extra class frequencies (where most of the really cool DX happens)... before my male ego couldn't take it and I managed to pass the extra.....
