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Hello, and welcome to my amateur radio page!. My name is Tiffany, and I received my Technician Class License on May 9, 2018. I had taken the exam the previous week at the Beardall Senior Center, which was hosted by the wonderful people of the Orlando Amateur Radio Club. I was quite excited that afternoon when I came home from work and checked the FCC database, and saw my callsign for the very first time! Along with the excitement, I also felt nervous as I prepared to key up my radio. My first transmission was something along the lines of "This is KN4MDI in Orlando, Florida. CQCQCQ. I'm a brand new HAM!". From there it got easier to talk to people and I had previously been listening on the WA2UPK 444.800mhz repeater which is connected via IRLP to the East Coast Reflector. I purchased my first VHF/UHF handheld radio, an Icom ID-51A Plus 2 and spent some time reading the manual and learning the menu and features. I also purchased a telescoping dual-band antenna to replace the rubber duck that came with the radio, and also aquired a dual-band magmount whip antenna which I placed in the window. Both antennas have given me better TX clarity and the magmount in the window seems to pick up VHF frequencies quite well. I'm still new, and I don't know what my SWR is since I have no meter to measure it, but so far my coommunications have been well received. I am looking forward in learning more about D-Star and have already connected my radio to a RaspberryPi and configured it for rig control via flrig and I'm just beginning to learn more about fldigi, a software package used for digital modes. I am currently studying for my General Class License and hoping to take the exam in early June, in which case I will update this page. I've watched several videos on YouTube for learning more about the hobby. Although online videos have been helpful in studying for the exams, I feel that www.hamstudy.org has led to my success in preparing for the exam. Previous to my interest in amateur radio, I have been interested in computer technology, and have done everything from programming to network administration and computer repair. I am amazed to find the technical aspects that overlap between computers and radio. I will update this page sometime in June 2018, after the general exam, and until then you can visit my general purpose website at www.tiffanyhagerman.com. ![]() |