Being my first radio contest, I think it went quite well. I ended up making 34 contacts over a 24-hour period, which was still fun. Mind you, this was between doing other things — not just me glued to the chair all day and night. I'd wander in and out, and depending on band conditions I'd sit down for 15 minutes and log a few contacts.
The Colorado State University (CSU) Amateur Radio Club was doing maintenance on their W0QEY repeater and I volunteered to help.
My family was in New York for a wedding and we had a chance to visit ARRL Headquarters in Newington, CT to see W1AW! We got a tour of the building and saw the testing lab and all the departments.
My first HF station — a used Icom 746 bought off Craigslist that came with an Astron SS-30M power supply. Word of advice: don't buy radios off Craigslist.
The pocket analog radio, known by the bland model number SRF-39FP, is a Sony “ultralight” model manufactured for prisons. Its clear housing is meant to prevent inmates from using it to smuggle contraband, and, at under thirty dollars, it is the most affordable Sony radio on the prison market.
This was my very first attempt at contesting. I participated in the annual ARRL Rookie Roundup with the help of John Wells, KB0NE.
