W7RWP

I partake in the hobby of ham radio for many reasons. Below I will list the reasons in order, starting with the most influential.

​

1. It all started with my Dad.
My Dad was first licensed in the 1970s as WB7PEM. He let that expire and was re-licensed in April of 2004 as KE7ANZ. He came back to the hobby so that he could send emails to family and friends from his sailing vessel while vacationing out of cell phone/wifi range. He was able to send very detailed emails from remote locations. Years later in 2015, he and I switched to the vanity ham calls of W7RWP and W7LWP. Ever since I received the first email from him over ham radio I knew someday I would partake in the hobby. The system/software he used was Winlink 2000.  Click here to learn more about how exactly email over ham radio works.

​

2. SHTF & Emergency Communications (EmCom)

Big earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, volcano eruptions, flash blizzards, wars, nukes, and any other disasters you can think of that will knock out communications to where your precious cell phones will instantly become paperweights. Tell me you don't want to reach out to family and friends in the advent of something like that...I dare ya!

There are Ham radio groups/clubs that become official extensions of things like FEMA to pass information between HQ and satellite operations during a disaster. Take Hurricane Katrina, lots of hams helping out there. Recently, we can look at events like Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico where cell phones are still down in many areas. See here how hams have contributed to these situations.

​

3. You put a fence in front of me; I'll climb it. Exclusivity? Yes Please!

I'm generally in favor of doing things that will give me a leg up in this word and separate me from the rest of the schmucks out there. Yes, I just called you a schmuck, sorry about that.

​

4. Nerd Alert: Tie radio with computers!

I'm a computer / IT / general technology nut. Ham radio is a natural progression for folks wanting to send signals to things to make those things do other cool things. Like what, you're probably asking. Well, visit my projects page and take a look and how I utilize this exclusive hobby to feed the addiction.

​

5. Competitions, achievements, clubs, conventions, community

Like any mainstream hobby, ham radio has foundations, groups, clubs, etc, that will gather in the name of the hobby. It's always fun to discuss the nuts and bolts of your latest project with like-minded individuals. Sign me up.

In terms of competition and achievements, it's pretty neat to make far off contacts with folks and then compare that to others and see how you did. Or, maybe you want to see if you can contact someone in every country.