N6BOA
ABOUT ME (because it is always about me... :)
I got interested in Ham Radio when I met and married
my husband, John. Prior to this I had little to
no awareness of ham radio.
My birth and childhood QTH was Santa Barbara, California and I can recall going to Goleta beach with my dad (in the mid 60s) in the evenings and watching men with gear set up near the waves and wondering what they were doing. My dad said they were radio folks. He couldn't tell me much about them. They had heaps of equipment and antennas but I don't recall much else. One man told me he was talking to people in Europe. I was too young to really understand what he meant (I was born in 1961). That was all, I never heard more about this kind of radio until meeting John in March 2001.
John is a fire captain and is responsible for the fire department communications and electronic workings. He is quite savvy with radio hardware and programming. He is also quite savvy with electrical components and their workings. I learned John was a ham (in more ways than one! LOL...)
We do a lot of jeeping in the Rubicon and John thought it was a good idea for me to have access to ham radio while we are up there. After all, cell phones are useless in those mountains. Often I hike about while he is working to "push" jeeps through the Rubicon so he wanted me to be able to get help, should I need it. John works as a "rock roller" for Jeepers Jamboree and Jeep Jamboree. I decided in August of 2003 that I would study for the Technician license. I got my first callsign, KG6TEW on December 16, 2003. I thought that was pretty cool. On 31 March 2005 I earned my General Class ticket and applied for my vanity callsign, N6BOA. That following June, I earned my Extra Class License.
For our first anniversary, John got me a Yaesu FT-8800R for my truck and for Christmas 2004 he gave me a Yaesu FT-60 handheld. I already had a Vertex 150. I am using the Alinco
DX-70TH as a base station for now. I have the Alinco EDX-2 auto tuner and a 9 band Butternut vertical antenna mounted rooftop. Im currently working to increase my code speed... my send speed is heaps faster than my copy speed!
I teach high school chemistry and I found a way to make Quantum Chemistry/Physics more intersting for my students - introduce them to ham radio!
I belong to:
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Out for a ride on our horses
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Barb's Page
I have travelled the USA and world fairly extensively and I hope to make HF contacts around the world (when I can upgrade my equipment). My favorite places have beenVietNam, the Galapogos Islands (off the west side of the South American plate) and Australia to name just a few.
73 de N6BOA!
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License Class:
Amateur Extra
(Links provided soley for convenience; I receive no compensation of any kind for providing these links)
Please sign my guestbook!
WORLDTIMESERVER.COM
If you want a great way to learn Morse Code, check out this link:
Click on CW Trainer!
ARRL accredited Volunteer Examiner
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My visit to the W1AW building in Newington, CT: 10 October 2005
(The ARRL)
Good prices on radio stuff here:
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Island hopping in the Galapogos Islands
(John must be eyeing the Blue-Footed Boobies)
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View from our backyard: The Crystal Range of the Sierras.
Click for current UTC
"I'd rather push my Ford than be driven by a Chevy!"
My 'neck truck!
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Me with my evil pitbull! J-Dawg
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Rebuilding the repeater after having it down for more than a year: A few repairs were in order. Now to find a "new home" for it.
This is my livingroom: Most XYLs would balk at this but lucky for John, his XYL is a ham! Rock on!!!
J-Dawg admires the UHF antenna - a temporary one for now. The quality antenna is in storage at this time.
There isn't much my multi-talented husband can't do. For my birthday this month (March) he designed and built this awesome tire rack for my spare. It had to be strong enought to hold a 40x17" M/TR with a 17" beedlock.
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Two strong latches: One at the base of the bumper John built (right) and one at the top of the rack (above and below) with a joint welded to the roll cage for added strength and reduced jarring.
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My '94 JY that will soon look like a CJ (after I replace the front grill and hood with those of a CJ this summer - 2007).
For info on my lift that John and I did together last summer (2006) see my webpage (click here) and go to the bottom of the page.
I will install a Yaesu FT-8800R before the next trip to the Rubicon!
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June 12, 2007 - Voila! What was once a YJ is now a CJ! John is quite the Jeep cosmetic surgeon. The grill, fenders and skirts, and hood all had to be custom fabricated. The radiator had to be custom built and the fan completely changed. Many long hours of problem solving, design, and fabrication went into this YJ-CJ conversion. It isn't as easy as it looks.
My YJ-CJ
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The YJ before the face lift.
