N4MQU

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Amateur Radio

 

N4mqu at the shack

N4MQU Mark Gibson VFN #72 BH #19 sitting in front of his ham radio in his office.

My new (2023) Rockingham station is up and running!  The video of the antenna installation is on my Rumble Channel . You may be hearing me from home or a portable station most likely on a Parks on the Air activation. Click on the link for details of my activations.

My home station is a Icom 7100 with a   I like the 7100 because  it has HF/UHF/VHF all in the same unit but I do understand why you would want to have a different radio for UHF/ VHF.  I have used the 7100 portable and operate Satellite  with it. When I got my license we had to learn Morse code and I am so happy I did. I don’t use it too much but happy I know it.  I also still remember simophore from scouting.  I am an astronomy and radio merit badge counselor if you need my services.

I had a great time with the scouts thru the OARS  Here is a YouTube with the scout making a contact in Germany 

Back in the late 70’s I was attending an astronomy event with telescopes set up in a rural area in Virginia. My friend needed to call his home and at this time there were no cell phones like we have now. There was a ham that was attending the star party and he pulled his HT out and made the call. I was impressed. Using my friend and his brother as elmer’s (The Wright brothers Don and Jerry) I learned Morse Code and received my novice license.  That’s right it took two people to get me up to speed.  A job opportunity moved me to Raleigh where I eventually upgraded to General, Advanced and now Extra class license. Upon moving to a home in Angier, I had to put up an antenna.  My landlords 12 year old son (NC4RA) volunteered to climb the tree to put up the antenna. It turns out he is now a ham because apparently he was impressed by the hobby. I had lost touch with the family until I had met him on the radio. He remembered listening to the rebroadcasts of the space shuttle that the hams were doing at the time. I enjoy many different operating modes in amateur radio. I enjoy checking into the Virginia Fone Net and my number is 72.  This net is held each evening at 7:30 PM and 4:00 PM on 3.947 MHz. I am also a member of Bandhoppers  and a net control station. My number is 19.  Bandhoppers merges social media and ham radio to encourage operating on different modes.  We have a regular net on various frequencies on Tuesday  night.

Do you have a telescope and an amateur radio license or are interested in both?  Check out Astronomy Meets Amateur Radio.  

I am the team leader for the Five County VE Team and the Richmond County ARC VE Team Be sure to find the nearest no charge amateur radio VE resting session near you.  https://www.laurelvec.com/

If I am on the air I usually monitor the  Carolina 440 repeater , or the K4RNC 146..955 with a tone 88.5 of  and either 146.52 or 146.58 simplex frequency.

Parks on the Air

I participate  with Parks on the air (POTA).  I had always tried to answer someone when I heard them call parks on the air so when we started planning the camping trip and a friend wanted to activate the Staunton River State Park, I finally activated my membership in September 2021.  I was surpised to find I had 26 contacts that is the reason for the awards close together.

  1. Silver Hunter 9/13/2021
  2. Bronze Hunter 9/13/2021
  3. Gold Hunter 9/13/2021
  4. Platinum Hunter 9/19/21
  5. Diamond Hunter 9/25/21

I have been licensed since 1980.  How did I get started in amateur radio? I was at a star party in the middle of nowhere (near Tidewater, VA) so I could view some astronomical objects away from city lights. I was about 25 years old at that time and a friend needed to call home. This was before cell phones so my friend Don Wright used his amateur radio to allow my friend to call home. Shortly after that event I started studying for my license. Speaking of ham radio, are you currently licensed or do you need to upgrade? For free? Be sure to navigate to my Five County Ham Radio Enthusiasts club page. A lot of information on how to study and resources you can use for this new adventure you are about to take. The FCC allows Volunteer Examiner Clubs to charge a fee to help offset the cost of processing the exam. I never felt right about charging. I had noticed a couple of years ago one of the biggest Hamfest does not charge. I started checking and found out the Laurel VEC did not charge. I found out who to contact and after getting information I signed up. It turned out I started the first free team in North Carolina.

I am also a member of the Johnston Amateur Radio Society (JARS).  In 2018 I was interviewed about the Hambulance a converted ambulance with radio equipment on the Amateur Radio Newsline .

I started a new Facebook group called  Astronomy Meets Amateur Radio. This group is for individuals interested in astronomy and amateur radio. 

 

Recent Posts

  • NC K-6934 #11 Pee Dee River State Game Land
  • K-8010 #29
  • NC K-6854
  • NC K-6849 Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site
  • NC K-6934 #10 Pee Dee River State Game Land
Widgets
Sep
12

NC K-6934 #11 Pee Dee River State Game Land

NC K-6934 #11 Pee Dee River State Game Land What a morning! And at first I didn’t want to go.  Everything went perfect only 4 throws using the strong arm method. IC-706MKG HF/VHF/UHF All Mode Transceiver LDG AT-200 PRO II Antenna Tuner MFJ-1984HP, ENDFED 1/2 Wave 40-10M In the videos you will hear tips on…

Sep
10

K-8010 #29

I believe I had a record stay at this park. I operated almost 4 hours.  After I made sure I got my activation in (10 contacts) I was able to relax. I used my MFJ-1984HP, ENDFED 1/2 Wave 40-10M & IC-706MKG HF/VHF/UHF All Mode Transceiver.  I had a couple of DX contacts Scotland and an…

Sep
09

NC K-6854

I was going to set up my Endfed but threatening rain made me think better of that it turns out no rain.  I got activated  but I was begging. Thanks to p2p and hunters

Sep
09

NC K-6849 Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site

NC K-6849 Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site IC-706MKG HF/VHF/UHF All Mode Transceiver MFJ Short HF Mobile Ham-tenna Tip buy uxcell Knurled Thumb Screws, M4x10mm Flat Brass Bolts Grip Knobs Fasteners for PC, Electronic, Mechanical 10Pcs I was fighting rain today so I operated from the car using the ham-tenna.  I was happy I got…

Sep
08

NC K-6934 #10 Pee Dee River State Game Land

NC K-6934 #10 Pee Dee River State Game Land I had to take off for a couple of weeks but I am back.  I wasn’t able to get any contacts with my  MFJ-1984HP, ENDFED 1/2 Wave 40-10M for some reason so I switched to my MFJ Short HF Mobile Ham-tenna. I made contacts on 15,…

Aug
26

VA K-7796 Hickory Hollow State Natural Area

VA K-7796 Hickory Hollow State Natural Area Park #52 for me The travel app overshot my park turned into a public school.  Luckily I caught a brown park sign out of the corner of my eye.  The trees at the park seem to make up for the humidity and I was pretty comfortable.  Thanks to…

Aug
24

NC K-8010 McKinney Lake State Fish Hatchery #28

NC K-8010 McKinney Lake State Fish Hatchery #28 Always fun showing a new person POTA.  Olivia OJ  (KE8WDY) completed her third activation and was introducing her dad Bill (N6WL) to his first POTA activation. I made 14 contacts but due to conditions we each struggled with passing the microphone around we lost the other station.…

Aug
19

NC K-6934 #9 Pee Dee River State Game Land

NC K-6934 #9 Pee Dee River State Game Land Today I used MFJ-1984MP ENDFED 1/2 Wave 40-10M W4JE modified. And the MFJ-1984HP, ENDFED 1/2 Wave 40-10M. Just seem like I was getting low signal reports from my first 10 contacts so I switched when I got the park confirmed. I guess I waited in case…

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