First Contact
Saturday, August 30th, 2008A young man in my neighborhood went down to the Utah County ARES Field Day outing. They were setup to teach the Radio merit badge. He got so excited about the whole thing that he went, found himself a book, studied, and took and passed the test!
By the time I met up with him, he had his license (Welcome aboard!) and was looking for help deciding which radio to get first. I went over to their house one evening and … well, you know me, I explained and enthused and went on about the hobby.
He and I have been corresponding via email and talking on the phone whenever he has a question. I invited him and his parents to come over anytime to get on the air to experience a little HF.
Today, about half-an-hour before we left for Day 3 of the DeHart family reunion, he called to see if this would be a good Saturday to try HF. We were pressed for time, but it gave me an excuse to <ahem> unpack my rig that had been packed since Field Day. I got it setup and we started dialing around.
We tried a little CQing on 20 meters but had no takers. (Probably a little early in the day.)
We moved down to 40 to try our luck there. We found a couple of conversations in progress, so we slid down a little further to find a free frequency. I had been doing all the calling up to this point, to show him how it was done, but now it was his turn. I wrote out how to call, using my callsign, and handed him the mic.
I think he was a little nervous, but like a trooper, he keyed up and called. 
CQ CQ from N7GMT, November Seven Golf Mike Tango…
He only called two or three times when we got an answer:
N7GMT N7GMT this is KF7FA, over
I could almost read the question in his eyes, “Yikes! Now what do I say?”
I whispered to him some simple things to say, and KF7FA, Larry, was very friendly and helpful, holding up his end of the conversation. We found out he lives in Lake Davis, CA, which is about 45 miles north of Lake Tahoe. We did the basic first-contact stuff, exchanged weather and such. He encouraged my young friend to start studying for his General license, to which he responded that he already was. We thanked him for returning our call, wished him well and signed off.
Afterwards there was that little gleam in both our eyes. That is what Ham Radio is all about. Sending your voice out into the aether and having someone else answer you, and you hold a conversation. Total strangers, becoming acquainted, and sometimes becoming life-long friends — even if they never meet face-to-face.
For the log:
30.Aug.2008 16:50Z (10:50h local) – KF7FA, Larry, Lake Davis, CA; Weather 72°F and clear.
Thanks again, Larry! Congratulations and come again, A.