My Radio Journal
Where I tell the stories behind the signals.
It’s a mix of amateur radio adventures, lessons learned, equipment discoveries, emergency communications, DMR and APRS, Coast Guard memories, and the occasional strange or funny moment that comes with a lifetime around radios. Some entries are practical, some are personal, and some are simply stories worth telling—but they all come back to the same idea: radio is ultimately about people, communication, and the connections we make along the way.
The $16 Upgrade That Brought My Radios Back to Life
A roughly $300 handheld had left me wondering whether amateur radio from my Brooklyn apartment was practical. Then a Nagoya NA-701 costing about sixteen dollars let me hear one little repeater tail—and changed the direction of my entire station.
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.