Dustin's Story

by Dustin Witjes, WY9Z

Extra in 11 days (once I got serious about it)ǃ

Dustin Witjes, WY9Z

My ham radio journey started when I was about 10 or 12 years old. My parents bought a small cottage in the woods in the upper part of Michigan's lower peninsula. About a year later, the neighboring cottage went up for sale, and a family friend put in an offer. I remember walking over to that house with everyone for an open house and tour, the previous owner still had his furniture and knickknacks in the house. In one room there was a full ham radio set up with radios and technology dating back decades. I did not really know what it was, except for, “Dustin, do not touch anything in that room!” (I did, when no one was looking ;) )

Like many people, I found myself bored with nothing to do during the great lockdown period of 2020. I finished all of Netflix and Hulu, got dangerous at an online board game where bluffing, lying, and backstabbing are rewarded (Diplomacy, check it out. I suggest backstabbr.com (not a typo)), and started playing 18xx genre games as well as wargaming (Advanced Squad Leader). I happened to see something about ham radio when I went down a YouTube rabbit hole, and I immediately thought of the old man’s shack that used to exist in the cabin up north.

I immediately inundated myself with what it all entailed. I felt like a kid again. I went from knowing absolutely nothing, to knowing what I had to do to get licensed. I used various methods to study for the Technician class license, studied for about a week, and registered for my exam. To my surprise, I passed. Two days later I was granted the callsign of KE8RQE. I bought myself a Kenwood TH-D74 and began transmitting, listening, and playing around with the world of D-STAR, and making contacts all through the world. It was exciting to actually talk to people outside of the contacts of my phone, people I would never have met outside of the newfound hobby.

A year later I decided to go for the General class. I again passed after about two weeks of study. To celebrate, I changed my callsign to N8WJD, something with my initials. I then took a very different route, however. I saved up for about a year, and instead of purchasing the traditional Icom or Yaesu radios, I splurged and got myself an Elecraft K4D. I purposefully did not transmit on any HF frequencies until I received that radio, a full year later. I did however spend my time as a General proctoring exam sessions for individuals looking to become Technicians. I am currently an accredited volunteer examiner with ARRL, Laurel, and the Anchorage-VEC. As a General, I couldn’t proctor any General or Extra exams, and this is where HamTestOnline™ came in. Since I was an active VE, they gave me complimentary access, and I started my journey towards Extra.

I used and fell in love with HTO's methodology and systems. Material was presented in such a way that it really drilled the knowledge into you, testing you not only for comprehension, but retention as well. Initially, I studied off and on for several months, making slow progress. However, once I got serious and started studying every day, I was ready for the Extra 11 days later, and passed on my first try. I applied for and received the callsign WY9Z shortly after. (I think I'm done changing callsigns for now, although I wish W9YZ was available.)

A few months later, I heard that HTO was shutting down, and I was saddened because this was some of the finest software I have ever used to get to know one particular subject, and get to know it well. I did not have the capital to purchase it, but I hoped someone would keep it going. And keep going it did!

One day I woke up and decided that I wanted to give back to the ham radio world. I emailed John and asked if I could do something to help him out. He accepted, and I spent the next seven weeks helping John and Ron tweak, rework, and retweak the Extra class study materials to cover the new question pool. It was long and sometimes dry, but we got through it with humor. This is a labor of love. I hope you will find the Extra study materials well-put-together and well-presented, and that they will help aspiring hams to obtain their Extra upgrade. We built this for you. I'm looking forward to future reworks, and to hearing you on the air.

Until our VFO knobs cross paths,

73,

Dustin