Before I went into any topics, I wanted to outline some of the goals I have for this blog. This is mostly to assist you in navigating through everything, but also to give readers a heads up as to what you will see here in the future. This is important since not all blogs are the same or offer the same focus.

My Focus

I want the focus of this blog to be education. More specifically, learning radio techniques or information that I learned through trial and error. This will be education through product reviews, tutorials, successes/failure reports, etc. I want to leave it a little open ended as this will allow for a diversity of material. At the end of the day, the blog should be to inform the reader of my experiences and allow for learning through that experience to allow for an informed decision on the part of the reader. Meaningful failure is a powerful learning tool. If I can give you my current thought process, you may be able to find a way to expand on this to make an improvement. The only thing I ask is that you stay in the conversation. Leave a comment or send me an email. This way, we can both learn.

What This Is Not

This is a place for others to learn. Learning is not promoted through condescending comments or personal attacks. There are products which I’ve purchased and enjoyed that others do not like, and vise versa. This doesn’t mean that your opinion is invalid. It just may not fit my use case. For example, I think the technology in the Icom IC-7851 are amazing. It is an example of what companies should strive for with high-end radios. I would never purchase one myself, because it isn’t a portable radio that I could use with SOTA activations. Compare the Yaesu FT3DR and VX-6R. For at home or around town use, the FT3DR is the Rolls-Royce of HTs, yet I would not take it to Michigan to do research in the dunes. The VX-6R is a more robust radio for that situation. I like to think of it as tools in a tool belt. Just because I say that I wouldn’t purchase a radio doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. It also doesn’t mean that you can hide behind the anonymity of the internet to attack myself or anyone choosing to read/comment. We are all people. This is about learning. If this blog doesn’t fit what you need, move on. There are a lot of amateur radio websites and one of them has to have information you need. I’ve never read a nasty comment and thought, “You know what? The guy who said I look like ET when he is dying is right. I should take an IC-7800 on a SOTA activation. Why didn’t I ever think of that?” Disrespectful and nasty comments do not help move the conversation forward.

How to Participate

I’m not here to sell you a product. If I own a product, I’m giving you my personal experience. Leave a comment about your experience if you own the same product. It may provide some insight that will inform a reader to make a decision. If you see me doing something wrong, leave a comment or send me an email. I can always go back and edit a post. I can always make a new post that follows up. I have a post planned for APRS. When I first started with APRS, I used the 9600 baud rate. After some trial and error, I found out that APRS uses 1200 and not 9600. After I changed one setting, APRS worked for me. If I would have had this blog, it would have been easier to read the comments or check my email and made a simple fix.

Another way to participate is to chat. I realize that there may be great distance between us but with the power of the internet and digital radio, we can communicate like we are sitting next to each other. Echolink is an option. So is WiRES-X nodes. Anyone who has browsed through the WiRES-X node list has seen all of the rooms that are empty. We can jump into one and have a conversation. I’m open to hearing what everyone has to say.

Sponsorships

If this blog gets bigger, I’m not against taking sponsors. That being said, I will not take a sponsorship from a company that directs my content. I’m not here to read off a script. I’m here to be honest with my experience. If a product needs work, I need the freedom to give feedback. Giving false or guided information to readers can lead to lower consumer trust in the product but also lead to lower confidence in myself. I will also be straight-forward with sponsors. Sponsors will be identified and sponsored content will always be labeled so it is easily noticed.

How Can You Support

You can support by reading and engaging in the blog. Share my page with anyone who may be interested. I plan to make a YouTube channel and will post when that is live. At the time of this writing, the cameras and equipment are on their way. I’m only waiting on some memory cards for the camera and voice recorder. When these are in, there will be more images. The YouTube channel name has been reserved, but no videos have been post. You can support through YouTube by subscribing. I have no plans to start a Patreon. I’m not against Patreon, but it isn’t for me. I have a comfortable living and don’t want to treat viewers differently because they pay. None of my content will be locked behind a paywall. There is no charge to learning.

There will be other opportunities for support in the future. Keep an eye out for when this information is posted. I will update this section with that information in the future.

A Thank You

Finally, thank you for even reading. I am just one person on a planet of 7+ billion people. If I can make a difference in someone’s life, I’ve met my goal of bettering the world. Not all blogs are good quality. I want to provide readers with honest information in a quality format. There will be improvements, hopefully all are for the better. It wouldn’t be possible without readers. So thank you for taking time from your day to read.