My Virtual Elmer: Learning Ham Radio with ChatGPT
ChatGPT has become my always-available virtual Elmer—a patient tutor, reference assistant, and partner in organizing what I learn. Used thoughtfully and checked against authoritative sources, AI is helping me build my station, my Operator’s Handbook, and perhaps the skills to Elmer someone else.
The Night New York Went Dark
During the 1977 New York City blackout, a 13-year-old in Brooklyn helped relay radio traffic for REACT and the NYPD—an early glimpse of the role emergency communications would play throughout his life.
The Contact That Started It All
A childhood visit to a Brooklyn amateur-radio station changed everything. One contact with the Falkland Islands revealed how radio could make the world feel both enormous and surprisingly small.
These journal entries are written with assistance from ChatGPT.
The thoughts, experiences, and final editorial choices are my own.