KI4FAU's Home Page

Back to Gaston Hams "Local Area Hams" Page

Welcome to my web site!

My name is Scott and I live in Bessemer City, NC. I have had an interest in HAM radio since I was about 8 years old, but it wasn't until the Spring of 2004 that I decided to earn my amateur radio license and get involved with the hobby. I took a Technician class sponsored by the local ARES group, successfully passed the Element 2 test, and was assigned the call of KI4FAU on April 13, 2004.

I recently moved from an apartment and into my own home again so much of my HAM activity has been restricted to the 2 meter & 440 bands. So far I have been rediscovering the ham hobby on these two bands since I do not have antenna restrictions, plus I have an excellent location so far as elevation is concerned (approx. 1040' with a relatively clear view in all directions).

I upgraded to General privileges after passing the Element 3 exam on May 12, 2007, but am still "HF challenged" when I'm at home! The challenges of HF and apartment living are behind me now that I'm back in my own home--I just need to take the time to get some HF antennas strung up in the trees and begin enjoying this aspect of the hobby.

If I'm in the car, my radio is on! No matter if I'm driving to work, running errands, or traveling to the mountains or beach, I find the amateur bands help the time to pass by a lot faster.

Depending on the time of day and my mood, here is where you can find me on the air:

	145.230(-) Gaston County ARES repeater, owned by the W4BFB club in Charlotte and located on Spencer Mountain here in Gaston County. This is my usual afternoon "drive time" repeater.
	145.350(-) The primary repeater for Charlotte Area Skywarn, located in Dallas, NC on one of the towers along Highway 321. I rarely talk on this repeater other than to check in on the Piedmont Emergency Training Net, but I do enjoy listening to the late-night ragchew if I can't get to sleep.
	147.120(+) Gaston County Amateur Radio Society (GCARS) repeater, also on Spencer Mountain. This repeater has excellent audio and reaches out very well with 20W of power. By the way, you're not a *"real"* ham until you've made contact with Oscar, W4OXH on this frequency! He's one of the many good people you'll meet on this repeater. I typically monitor the 147.120 on my way to work in the morning though it's usually very quiet. If you're awake and near the radio in the 6:15-7:00 am time frame, ride along with me during the drive to Charlotte!
	444.550(+) The GCARS 440 repeater. Not a lot of activity on here, but I typically am monitoring if I have the radio is on. This repeater has undergone some recent improvements and now has very good coverage for the Gastonia/Shelby/Charlotte region.
	I often wander off to several other 2 meter and 440 machines, especially now that I have the location I do for playing radio at home. Keep an ear out for me, you never know where I might turn up! Once finances allow, I hope to get involved with D*Star on the local machine (443.8625+).

This is my first attempt at creating a web page, so please be patient and check back when you can to see if I'm making any progress!

This page was last updated on 12/10/07.