I am in my mid-40's, married, with 8 children. My family and I live on 5 acres outside Marion, TX. I got into ham radio due to my interest in electronics, which started when I was 12. I am a software developer by trade. I enjoy peace and quiet, nature, and a slow pace of life. I avoid the big city as much as possible. I was born in Illinois, but moved to Texas in September 2004. I'm pretty well assimilated by now, but still don't have the accent. Then again, my wife is a native Texan and she doesn't have the Texas accent either. We are all home 24/7. I work from home (well before COVID) and my wife is a stay-at-home mom. My children are all homeschooled.
I have been a ham since November 2019. I look forward to making many QSOs, acquaintances, and friends in the ham community! I also look forward to learning more about electronics, amplifiers, RF, antennas, etc. in this hobby. I know through-hole electronics are old school, but that's me. I haven't taken the plunge into surface mount electronics yet. There's a lot you can still do with through-hole discrete components. Playing around with transistors, capacitors, inductors, resistors, ICs, etc. is something I've always enjoyed for some reason. I took years off at a time, but always found myself coming back. Each time I'd go deeper and learn more. I just can't stay away.
If you're feeling generous, and want to buy me some through-hole electronics components on my "wish list", please feel free!
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/25M2B8RERL1UO
If you have some broken equipment "for parts", or you have old school (through-hole) electronics components lying around that you no longer want/need, and you'd like to send them to me, I'd be delighted to receive them! Please feel free to send me any junk you don't want:
Matthew McDevitt
367 Stagecoach Hill Dr
Seguin, TX 78155
I love the Forrest Mims books on electronics. I own several, and am currently reading and working through them. Would you believe that Forrest is a "local"? My wife has actually heard of him, and she's not into electronics at all. Unfortunately I can't say I've met him in person.
I log all my contacts in QRZ.com, Logbook of the World, and eQSL.cc. If there's another FREE one I'm missing, please let me know!
What parts of the hobby interest me? Many of them. Probably my biggest interest is in through-hole discrete electronics. After learning the fundamentals of electronic components years ago, I'm finally learning some basic building-block circuits. I've learned a ton since early 2019. I am also getting into antennas and RF theory. I have built 2 homebrew antennas, and all the masts I've used to install them. I have been learning CW, one lesson every day on the Morse Mania app (currently practicing recognizing 3-letter words). I set up FT-8 (WSJT-X on Linux) with my IC-7300 and have been getting lots of QSOs that way. I still need to install a cord on the straight key I bought at a ham fest, so I can dive into CW. I want to do more SSB/phone, but my life is pretty busy right now with all the kids, maintenance of our buildings and acreage, full-time software developer job, etc.
Overall, I see myself exploring all/most areas of the Ham Radio hobby. I like HF and the more local VHF/UHF; I want to get into CW, I certainly like DIY, I like phone contacts but also FT-8. I'm not into SOTA, probably because my acreage is already in an elevated area (we have a great view). I'm not into mobile, probably because I'm always at home and seldom find myself in a car! I have noticed that one's background, skills, and circumstances all serve to direct each person into different area(s) of the broad Ham Radio hobby.
ANTENNA: I have a 9' mountain of dirt upon which I've built a mast complex: 2 metal poles (electrical conduit) as well as the main event, (2) 4x4 treated lumber embedded in concrete exactly 4" apart, to bolt a 3rd 16' 4x4. This will be my tallest antenna. The problem is getting it raised up. I need to rig some mechanism (pulleys, etc.) to raise/lower this tower, and then I'll be all set to install antennae on the top of this large wooden mast.
My current antenna is an OCFD 40-20-10-6. It also tunes on 30, 17, 15 and 12 with my IC-7300 built-in 3:1 tuner.
I haven't met many hams who have taken my exact path when it comes to antennas: If I can only put up a 26' mast, I want to place it on the top of a 9' mountain of dirt. Literally building a mountain is easier for me than putting up a 60' tower. I own a tractor and am digging a pond. So all the dirt is being used to build up a mountain, which is currently about 9' tall. I need to post pictures of my current antenna setup.
RADIO: Icom IC-7300 for HF, Yaesu FT-1900R for VHF 2 meters, and a Yaesu FT-70D handy-talkie with a replacement Diamond antenna for VHF/UHF.
OTHER EQUIPMENT: I just have 2 power supplies, one for each radio. SEC-1223 for my Yaesu (used as a base station) and an Astron RS-35M linear power supply for my Icom. I currently have no external antenna tuner and no amplifier. I have a Nano VNA for antenna analysis, but I haven't used it yet. Most of my other equipment is electronics-specific: Rigol DS1202Z-E oscilloscope, multimeters, LCR meters, soldering station, and what not. I also have a working (but needs refurbishing) Tektronix 465B oscilloscope. Some of the knobs need cleaning and the unit probably needs some tantalum capacitors replaced, but it basically works.
HAM RADIO EQUIPMENT PHILOSOPHY: I don't buy any ham radio equipment used. Why buy other peoples' problems, paying 80% or 90% of new, when I can pay 100% of new and get brand-new, no problems, state of the art hardware, and full factory warranty? Sometimes you even save money going the "new" route, due to discounts and promotions! Regarding genuinely cheaper (much older) $400 and $500 HF rigs: why buy 1/20th or 1/30th the radio for 1/2 the price of a fully-featured, modern radio? I've seen guys go that route, and they end up spending a bunch more money on upgrades, repairs, and more radios. For example, $200 to make an old Yaesu work with (some) digital modes, which puts the total cost within spitting distance of an IC-7300 or a Yaesu FT-991A. I've also met (IRL and online) many good hams who unfortunately had to learn this wisdom the hard way. I've seen guys get scammed, get radios stolen, lose money AND radio to scammers, get faulty radios, etc. I have been EXTREMELY happy in this hobby thanks to this philosophy which I embraced at the outset. I was an easy decision; I quickly learned that most used ham equipment was way overpriced, and it was a no-brainer for me to decide to opt-out of that losers' game. I bought my Icom IC-7300 in December 2019, and I won't need to spend more money on "radio" for a long, long time. I can focus on other things: antenna, amplifier, grounding, masts, morse code, microphones, speakers, electronics hobby aspect, etc. I want and need to have "HF rig" crossed off my list for a long time: when I bought my Icom, it was "one and done".
I am also a stickler for not spending money on training, apps, memberships, services, awards, bling, swag, etc. I only have so much personal money to blow on Ham Radio, and I prefer to spend all of it on permanent equipment. I'm a child of the 90's and have been on the Internet since the very beginning. So I know what a wealth of information is available there. I do prefer old-fashioned books to reading text on a screen; I simply don't buy many books. For example, I didn't spend anything on my ham license study beyond the $15 testing fee. Thanks to the Internet, it's not necessary to fill your bookshelves with hundreds of dollars of books to get some good, useful knowledge in your head. Youtube has awesome videos, you can download pdfs of many books, visit countless free websites, and download many free Android apps. I have a laser printer and a 3-hole punch, and I'm not afraid to use them.
NEXT GOAL: Get 80M antenna built and installed.