Amateur radio
Wed, Oct 28, 2026
In September 2026 I got my amateur radio license! A month later I upgraded my license to the amateur extra class, the highest level in amateur radio. I spent a lot of time studying for the exams, and I'm excited to explore this new hobby!
I passed both the technician and the general class exams in the same session in September. There are 35 questions on each of these tests. I got 32 out of 35 correct on the technician test and 34 out of 35 on the general test. Also I took the extra test the same night and got 25 out of 50. (I hadn't studied for the extra test, but I'd like to note that 50% is better than the 25% you'd expect if you guessed randomly!)
I was assigned the callsign KE2JHA. However, I applied for (and was granted) a vanity callsign, N2COR. (Then I quickly registered the domain name n2cor.com.)
Tonight I passed the amateur extra exam. I got all 50 questions correct!
I became interested in amateur radio after buying an Arduino over the summer. I bought one while reading Python Playground. A couple of its projects use an Arduino.
I wondered if I could use an Arduino to make my own radio. I still don't really know the answer to this, but later I learned about packet radio. Before this I assumed that amateur radio was just old guys ragchewing. Learning about data modes made the hobby much more interesting to me. While studying for the tests, I learned about satellites, which sound like another interesting topic!
So far, I've focused all of my radio time on passing the exams. Now that I have the extra class license, this is what I'd like to pursue:
- working on some of the projects in Best of Arduino Projects for Ham Radio
- something involving packet radio, if it's not already included in the above book
- making my own VHF/UHF antenna
- contacting the ISS and/or making contacts via satellites
- possibly buying and assembling a QRP Labs QMX+ transceiver