KC2GIK ON THE AIR AGAIN!

My makeshift 2 Meter setup besides my bed


The antenna is a simple mag-mount on my bed

One of the routines I missed most  when we  moved down to Cape May was talking on 2 meters. My old setup included an outdoor antenna  which did ok getting into the local repeaters and even doing a little simplex work. It worked great especially since my bedroom was on the second fl;oor! Although my signal was spotty at times. I did a lot of simplex work with local hams as well. It was a sad day when the 2 meter antenna came down in Woodcliff Lake. I had been off HF for a year already u p there because of all kinds of complications
.
Months after we settled in Cape May members from the Cape May County ARC came to try to get me on the air with a whip HF antenna, which annoyed my dad because the wire was hanging out the window and the antenna was hanging of the fence which is belongs to out neighbor. When I ask him ifd it was OK his reply was, "Do you plan to contact Mars?", I was going to reply no Uranus but I remembered I needed his permission. Well right after that happened my laptop died and with it any attempts at PSK. I tried SSB contacts  but heard nothing and that meant it was a bust transmitting as well. I eventually told my fellow Cape May hams to come take the HF antenna down. I was depressed about not being on the air but there was nothing I could do. It seemed like a total loss./

As more time passed I got to know members just by listening to the local repeater on my scanner. I got to know some of the hams by voice, just like I did when I first started up north. The urge to get on the air became overwhelming. One day I visited my friends at the Cape May Firehouse, the assistant chief is also the OEM coordinator . I saw a 2-meter radio and asked if I could try it out, make sure it worked. After dropping my callsign a few times, a member of the Cape May ARC came back. We had a great QSO, the folks at the firehouse were happy the radio was getting some use!!. I was ecstatic, every time I heard a conversation on my scanner, I would hop on my scooter,race down to the firehouse to try and catch them on the air. It was cat and mouse game, a game thatg didn't last long

Finally the urge to get on the air was too much. One day I just searched "2-meter mag mount" on ebay,  picked the closest location and did a "Buy-it-now". Part of me couldn't believe I did it. A few ,,days later the package arrived in the mail. With some assistance from Dad I was on the air within minutes. I made my first contact on the air/. It was a real relief!! FINALLY SOMETHING!!

For all you hams out there if you're ever in Cape May County I monitor the 146.6100 (-.600) repeater with a pl of 141.3. If you're in the area, drop your callsign. Catch you on the air.........73 de KC2GIK



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