The Kool-Aid was DELICIOUS!
A few years ago I purchased a used Yaesu FT-7800R and antenna from a friend
On Thursday, January 10 2013 I took the Technician License test and passed with 33/35!
Today, I finally got my call sign: KK6BQA. Not the most desirable of letters, but I am still mighty proud of it!
While I was studying for the test, I installed my radio. I had it installed once before in the same location, so the power wires were already there, the holes were already drilled, and the new coax just had to be run up to it.
Antenna mount:
Coax run along the roof rack and down through the body:
As an FYI, don't drill a hole there. you will have to drill through the outer skin plus another support structure for the roof.
Antenna on the rack:
I am now 9'6" tall with that antenna.
The radio's new home:
The giant speaker is going away soon...
The mic will get a magnet on the back so it will stick to the center console.
So how did I pass the test?
I read the No-Nonsense Study Guide from here: http://www.kb6nu.com/tech-manual/
The kindle version is 8 dollars, the PDF is free. I will donate some money to the site because it was honestly the best way for me to study. I read through the technician guide about 5 times. The stuff on electricity and much of the stuff on RF I already knew from engineering and physics classes. I took some practice tests, but they only helped me judge what needed more studying and to me, were not nearly as useful as the previously mentioned guide.
I did take my general test at the same time. However, I had not studied at all for it. I knew about half of what was on the test, but there were some very specific questions about procedural things that I did not know. I will be taking that test in a few weeks, using the study guide as my learning source.
So now it's just a matter of learning how to use the radio! I think that will be the most difficult part of this journey.
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