My First Amateur Ham Radio Contact Attempt

With my freshly-awarded ham operator's license and a new radio, I tried getting on the air for the first time. It didn't go exactly according to plan.

[saltydawg]

Got my callsign yesterday morning, and made my first 3 contacts today on the local repeater. Everyone was quite welcoming!

[jamesdinsmore]

Thank you for sharing this in such an honest and transparent way. I am embarrassed to say I got my license in 2014 and have been so socially awkward and afraid of making a fool of myself that I have not yet made my first contact. Your candidness has encouraged me to try again.

[stevechamberlin]

Thanks for all the comments! Yes, I was nervous over that first contact. I'll be honest, after a few weeks on the local repeaters my interests have changed and I'm less interested in casual chatting on repeaters, but I'm doing other things. I put a dual-band antenna on my home's roof, so I could join the weekly nets of ham clubs from the comfort of a chair and desk. I configured my radio to scan police, fire, marine, and other service frequencies in addition to the amateur radio repeaters and simplex frequencies. I've made three SOTA activations of nearby summits. I tracked the ISS's orbit and heard its transmission when it passed overhead, decoding several SSTV images they sent. And I've become interested in CW (Morse) operation, studying hard to master Morse code fast enough to be useful for making contacts.

[waarradio]

Welcome to the hobby, Steve! The whole "why isn't this working?" <find more info> "ok, it will work now! wait... why isn't it working?" <find more info> "it works!" is, in my experience, something you'll run into a lot with ham radio. it's as rewarding as it can be frustrating. hope you catch you on the air once you jump on HF!

[RomeoG]

Man it put a huge smile on my face when you got that first response! This is motivation for me to get certified! Always wanted to get into Ham and I think I am finally taking the dive!

[ozzie_goat]

Congratulations! I'm a CB person myself but I enjoy seeing new hams.

[dmcaudio]

Congratulation, this is YG3BCO from Indonesia, 73

[ChunkStyle]

Thanks so much for posting this! I'm studying for my technician license exam now, and I already get nervous when I just think about making my first contact. Looking forward to joining the community of this great hobby soon!

[glennwillems]

Welcome on the air, sir! Congratulations and greetings from Belgium from Glenn ON4WIX near Antwerp.

[craigmaxey]

So cool! Congrats to getting your license…you do not realize that you just opened a bunch of doors and your life from here on out will be so much fun. It’s a lifestyle!

[johningram]

Wow, this video is so helpful to the beginner. Very typical of first contact attempts, I'm sure. I really appreciate your willingness to share what appears to be essentially unedited. With all you left in, I can't imagine what you would have left on the editing room floor :) I didn't even decide to pursue a technician license until today. Haven't even bought my first radio yet. But the North Carolina disaster and complete lack of communication over there inspired me that this is a good skill to have, even if I don't use it much. Especially with entry-level equipment being as cheap as it is now. Thanks!

[xeric]

I also just got into ham radio with a handheld and my first contact was horrible! I have not pressed the button since then... I listened to a handful of regular old-timers on a local repeater for a few weeks and decided to make first contact with them. They proceeded to tease me and misdirect me in how to speak into my microphone so that I would sound super loud and muffled for their amusement and when I said my 73's, They mocked my loud muffled transmissions for a good 5-10 minutes.
These days I mostly just scan local repeaters and listen to ISS whenever it passes over.

[spacemanspiff]

I think I've seen three or four new hams youtube their very first contacts and I gotta say, good on ya. Mic fright is a real thing. As is the difficulty of making a contact on UHF/VHF. Really pleased me to see you were successful.

[skaramicke]

I’ve had my license for 8 years and made my first real QSOs in the past few days. I admire your effort of getting contact asap! Like ripping off a bandaid.

[RonanKearney]

AAAW MAN. That's class. I made my first qso a few months ago. 2m and 70cm are great but you need to get on HF for some serious radio fun. I've hit 30 countries on my first 6 weeks of HF MI7RXD. 73'S and well done on attaining your license :)

[applejacks]

Ham radio is a blast! Welcome to the club and down the ham radio rabbit hole, Congrat's!
I have the FT-65 in my line up as well, good lil radio!

[ethanrodriguez]

Very cool that you would put yourself out there like this. Took some courage, I'm sure. But glad you did. Mic fright is real!

[johnstephenconway]

That's my father in law, N6FG Frank in Pacifica! He helps take care of the repeater (WA6TOW) there, welcome! I am KI6GDQ, John in Davis. There is a whole northern California emergency net that is active in the central valley...

[darkstatehk]

Seems ham radio is making a resurgence! I loved this so much, the excitement is passing that basic exam and going onto those "forbidden" frequencies for the first time. For me, its like passing a driving test and getting into the car and deciding where you want to go next. A bit weird, but life is weird anyway :)

[Windmill]

I made my first contact last year. You’ll find the ham community very welcoming. Congratulations on getting your license. It’s a big achievement. General is where a lot of the action is at, but Technician is very practical and gets your feet wet.

It’s a license to learn!