KD0CIJ - My Amatuer Call Sign

 Many years ago I was introduced to amatuer radio by a friend of mine, "Richie The K."  Rich and I both worked at the Radio Shack at the South County Mall in St. Louis.  We both shared a love for anything that was electronic, digital, or otherwise gadgetry.

Rich and I use to close the store together so it was just a natural thing for the both of us to tear the CB radio airwaves up on the way home.  As I recall we both lived in or around Arnold so we were hardly ever out of range of each other.  Later Rich got his license and call sign and was able to operate the amatuer bands.  Many many years later I studied for my technician license online.  I decided to take the online practice exam until I could get 100% on it 100 times in a row.  It took me about 3 weeks but I did it. I went down to the club meeting and took the real thing.  I passed...with a 100%

I bought myself a Yaseau Ft-2800m, programmed it by hand, and hit all the local repeaters in southeast Missouri.  I had an antenna I had actually mounted on a long stabilized piece of pipe that was about 35 feet off the ground. With that rig I could hit repeaters in lower St. Louis from Bloomfield, MO pushing 60 watts.    I have also operated a number of handhelds as well.

I currently have several Baofengs, a Talkpod A36plus, and an Anysecu UV-K5.  The last two being my favorites. 

I recently got my GMRS license as well.  I will talk about that in a future post.

Amatuer radio has been very enjoyable for me.  I hope to find a club to join soon that is fairly close to my area.  

My grandpa gave me and my cousin a set of walkie talkies years ago that operated on CB channel 14.

One of the best toys I ever had. The ones I have now have hundreds of channels and work on repeater systems and require licenses issued by the govt. my amatuer call sign is KD0CIJ. And my GMRS call sign is WRXP988. Using EchoLink I have talked to other operators all over the world. I have even used my radios to pick up signals from satellites that were converted by my computer to live satellite weather images.

Where I Was & Where I Am

 

My name is Jason Curtman.  I find myself just a few months away from turning 53 years of age.  While my body has had some bumps and bruises, even an amputation which happened about 5 yrs ago (I lost the front half of my right foot) my mind still feels like I am in my late 20's or maybe even early 30's.  A lot of things have changed over the years.  I have had a lot of jobs in my life.  Working for Ronald Reagan and his campaign when I was 16, cleaning out car wash pits, mowing yards, bussing tables, cooking pizzas, working private security, running a printing press, police officer, fugitive extradition agent, corrections officer, police chief, customer service representative, radio show host and now recruiting.  I have travelled a lot. I've seen a lot of people.  I've done a lot of things.  

This new blog has a two fold purpose, at least for now.  To recap the old, to consider and plan the new.

I hope you enjoy these memoirs and considerations.  I have a lot to offer in the way of thoughts, experiences and even recommendations and reviews.

In the meantime, check out some of my other sites and interests I have had in the pasts. 

www.highnoonbbq.com 

This is my latest endeavor and there is a lot of really cool things there!

www.ourfantasticwebsite.com

www.jasoncurtman.net