[CVRC] New to Ham Radio :)

[Dick Flanagan]

And a hearty greetings to you, too, Cameron.  Welcome to the always 
interesting world of amateur radio!

The local radio club is the Sierra Intermountain Amateur Radio 
Association (SIERA) http://www.cvhams.com/ headquartered in 
Minden.  There is also an active club up at the lake (Tahoe Amateur 
Radio Association [TARA] http://tahoeamateurradio.com/ ) with members 
from both the valley and lake areas.  Finally, once you get your feet 
wet and want to get involved in emergency communications here in 
Carson Valley, there is the Douglas County Amateur Radio Team 
(DCART).  DCART has just had a change in leadership (usual 
end-of-year stuff), but I am sure you can get your fill of info on 
the team from Sheila Clament KA7AJQ (ka7ajq at aol.com).

I've taken the liberty of hiding a bunch of folks behind the Bcc: on 
this message, all of whom are active in the local amateur radio scene 
and whom I am asking to respond to you directly to join me in 
welcoming you to the area and getting you started in amateur radio 
(how's that for a run-on sentence?  :)

And don't forget you can contact me any time for any help I can give 
or at least give you pointers so.

Dick
--
Dick Flanagan K7VC
http://k7vc.com
dick at k7vc.com



At 01:21 PM 12/20/2010, Cameron <cameronlfarmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>Greetings Mr Flanagan,
>
>My name is Cameron Farmer and I am very interested in learning more 
>about amateur radio.  I am a 27 year old male from Minden and am 
>currently working for Diablo Industries Thin Film on airport 
>road.  Recently for my birthday I received a $20 shortwave radio and 
>listening to the various international stations has really sparked 
>my interest in radio communications in general.  I am ready to delve 
>deeper in this hobby and would like to get my Technician's license 
>as soon as possible.  I came across your contact information through 
>the ARRL website and you seem like the man to get in touch with.  I 
>have just finished reading HAM Radio for Dummies that I checked out 
>from the library.   It has given me a little bit of introductory 
>information but I am curious as to what my next steps should be.  I 
>know I need to study and take the element 2 exam but I am unsure 
>about where and when I could do this. I also have no idea what kind 
>of radio would be good for a beginner and what clubs would be 
>appropriate for a newbie to join.  I am most interested in HF but I 
>have read that a UHF/VHF handie talkie is a good start for a 
>beginner.  Any information or suggestions that you could provide me 
>with would be most appreciated.  Thank you for you time.
>
>Regards,
>Cameron Farmer
>775-309-3597
><mailto:cameronlfarmer at gmail.com>cameronlfarmer at gmail.com