[CQ-Contest] Observations of a young ham

[Jim Brown]

>As a 14 year old who is rather active in contesting, I have a
>few basic thoughts. There is more to come, this was just what
>was on my mind:

Keep those thoughts coming, Marty. And congratulations for getting into ham radio at your age, and especially for doing so at the level where you are.

Your observations are very much in line with my thinking, especially about hooking up with a good club. There are, indeed, some excellent clubs involved in contesting around the world. Here in NA, I think of the Contest Club of Ontario, the Minnesota Wireless Assn, the Florida Contest Group, the Arizona Outlaws, the guys in TN and GA, as well as the bigger clubs like YCCC, PVRC, SMC, and NCCC. And from noting activity during contests, it's clear that there are others.

It's especially encouraging to see all the technical and practical things you're learning. Perhaps they will lead you into a field of study and a career that will take you through life. Or maybe it will be a hobby, and something else will grab your interest. But the great thing is that you're learning a lot of stuff, AND you're learning about yourself -- some activities and technical things that turn you on. THAT'S one of the most important things about being happy in life!

My wife's grandson got into computers and writing code early on -- by fourth grade, he was the IT person for his school, by middle school he had a very useful app at the Apple store, and in high school he got into robotics. In those middle school years, I urged him to study math and physics. I don't know if I had any influence, but robotics, both in a group of other young people and later in high school, caused him to end up at WPI, where he's a freshman. And he's even an assistant teacher for people retraining from other fields whose jobs have been displaced by automation.

I got into ham radio with a good local club at age 14, had my license a year later. It was a great start for my life's work in engineering.

73, Jim K9YC