Late last year, an Amatuer Radio Class was offered for free at our church. We just had to pay for the book and a small fee to take the test. Totally oblivious I was to what amateur radio was, I took the class. About a month later, I bought myself a Christmas present of a Yaesu Submersible VX6 with a 19 inch long flimsey antenae. Right now, Desiree is attending the same class at the Mission Viejo Stake Center. She seems interested in passing the test and being licensed now. I am glad.

Now just to get this straight, I personally have no interest in talking to people down the street nevertheless all over the world. That just is not my thing. But this item was purchased for emergency preparedness. Every Sunday night at 9:00 pm, all of the people in our stake who are involved in the amateur radio emergency response system call in to test our radios and to test the network.

As a beginner not ready to spend $1,500, I got this simple hand held radio that puts out about 5 watts of power for roughly $300. With my 19 inch flimsy antenae, I can hear some of the people on our net from my home, and the net controller can hear me just fine. If I go to the top of the hill overlooking all of Laguna Niguel, I can hear everyone. When I use the rubber duck antennae that comes with the radio from my home, you might as well throw the radio away – I can barely hear the net controller and he can barely hear me. This radio will work fine for getting the local messages in the event of an emergency.

Eventually, I will upgrade my license to General and purchase one of the big dog radios with a monster antenna. When that happens, I will be able to talk all over the world by using one of the frequencies that bounce off of the ionesphere. Then I can be a real player in communications during emergencies and perhaps be an instrument for the church in whatever rescue efforts they are engaged in.