This page tracks my progress for the 100 days of HAM challenge.
Between December 18th, 2022 and March 28th, 2023, I will spend 1 hour everyday to learn about HAM radio. I will work towards preparing for the Amateur Radio Service licensing exams, and learning how to operate a radio. I am doing this because I am interested in communication technologies, and I think radio is a cool alternative to the internet. By the end of 100 days, I hope that I will be a licensed radio operator.
At the end of each day, I will post a short Twitter-like message in one of the squares below to announce my progress. You can see the status messages by clicking on the green squares.
This challenge was originally inspired by the 100 Days of X by Alex Kallaway. However, unlike the original 100 Days of X challenge, I will only keep my progress semi-public until the end. I made this decision based on Gollwitzer et al’s research presented in the paper When Intentions Go Public.
Day 1 - December 18, 2022
Today, I spent the entire hour doing practice questions on HamStudy.org. I was able to establish a baseline and determine where I stand in relation to the Technican Exam. I was able to see 56% of the exam question pool, and I got 33% of the questions right.
Day 2 - December 19, 2022
I continued to practice from questions in the exam pool today. I have now seen 87% of all the questions, and I have 51% correct. I will need at least another 23% to pass the Technician exam.
Day 3 - December 20, 2022
Today, I finished going through the entire Technician exam question pool with an aptitude of 65%. I attempted a practice test, and I got 31/35. If it were the real exam, I would have passed.
I will study until I can consistently get 85%, and then move on to the General exam.
Day 4 - December 21, 2022
Today, I continued to do practice questions, and I increased my overall aptitude to 76%. I looked at the exam breakdown, and saw that 17% of the exam will be on subelement T1, so I drilled down and achieved an aptitude of 90% for that section. I got 33/35 on my practice test.
Day 5 - December 22, 2022
Today, I read chapters 1 and 2 of the ARRL General Class License Manual. I also continued practicing questions for the Technician exam. My overall aptitude is 81%, and I got 34/35 on my practice test.
Day 6 - December 23, 2022
Today, I read chapter 3 of the ARRL General Class License Manual. I also practiced subelement G2 questions for the General exam. My aptitude for G2 was 72%, and I was able to cover all the questions.
I did a practice Technician exam and got 33/35.
Day 7 - December 24, 2022
Today, I read Chapter 4 of the ARRL General Class License Manual. I also did a Technician-level practice exam, and I got 33/35.
Day 8 - December 25, 2022
Today, I spent an hour drilling questions for the Technician exam. My overall aptitude is 91% now, and I got 34/35 on my practice test.
I will spend more time next week to prepare for the General class exam.
Day 9 - December 26, 2022
Today, I read Chapter 5 of the ARRL General Class License Manual. I also did a Technician-level practice exam, and I got 34/35.
Day 10 - December 27, 2022
Today, I read Chapter 6 of the ARRL General Class License Manual. I also watched some YouTube videos on FT8 and using WSJT-X.
I did another Technician-level practice exam, and I got 35/35.
Day 11 - December 28, 2022
Today, I read Chapter 7 of the ARRL General Class License Manual. I also watched some YouTube videos on CW, CW keys, and how to use the WinLink client to send/receive emails.
I did another Technician-level practice exam, and I got 35/35.
Day 12 - December 29, 2022
Today, I read Chapter 8 of the ARRL General Class License Manual. I also learned about sending and receiving QSL cards, both physically and electronically.
I did a Technician-level practice exam, and I got 34/35.
Day 13 - December 30, 2022
Today, I read Chapter 9 of the ARRL General Class License Manual. I also read about ARRL membership options, and I started thinking about designs for my QSL card.
I did a Technician-level practice exam, and I got 35/35.
Day 14 - December 31, 2022
Today, I did practice questions for the General exam. I saw 42% of the question pool, and I have an overall aptitude of 26%.
I also got 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 15 - January 01, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Technician exam. I increased my overall aptitude to 98%.
I also got 32/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 16 - January 02, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the General exam. My overall aptitude is now 37%, and I have seen 60% of the question pool.
I also got 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 17 - January 03, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the General exam. My overall aptitude is now 53%, and I have seen 86% of the question pool.
I also got 34/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 18 - January 04, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the General exam. My overall aptitude is now 65%, and I have seen all of the question pool.
I also got 34/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 19 - January 05, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Technician exam. My overall aptitude is now 100%.
I also got 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 20 - January 06, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the General exam. My overall aptitude is now 72%.
I also did my first General practice exam, and I got 32/35. I got 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 21 - January 07, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the General exam. My overall aptitude is now 78%.
I got 32/35 on my General practice exam, and I got 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 22 - January 08, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for both the General and Extra exams. I have an aptitude of 85% on the General exam and an aptitude of 31% on the Extra exam. I have seen 54% of the Extra questions.
For the practice exams, I got 34 on my General, and I got 35 on the Technician.
General Exam Practice Statistics:
Extra Exam Practice Statistics:
Day 23 - January 09, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Extra exam. My overall aptitude is now 43%, and I have seen 74% of the questions.
I got 32/35 on my General practice exam, and I got 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 24 - January 10, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Extra exam. My overall aptitude is now 58%, and I have seen 99% of the questions. I also read Chapter 1 of the ARRL Extra Class License Manual.
I got 32/35 on my General practice exam, and I got 34/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 25 - January 11, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Extra exam. My overall aptitude is now 63%, and I have seen all of the questions. I also read Chapter 2 of the ARRL Extra Class License Manual.
I got 32/35 on my General practice exam, and I got 34/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 26 - January 12, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the General exam. My overall aptitude is now 92%. I also read Chapter 3 of the ARRL Extra Class License Manual.
I got 33/35 on my General practice exam, and I got 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 27 - January 13, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Technician exam, and my overall aptitude is still 100%. I also read Chapter 4 of the ARRL Extra Class License Manual.
I got 35/35 on my General practice exam, and I got 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 28 - January 14, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Extra exam. My overall aptitude is now 68%. I also read Chapters 5 and 6 of the ARRL Extra Class License Manual.
I got 31/35 on my General practice exam, and I got 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 29 - January 15, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Extra exam. My overall aptitude is now 73%. I also read Chapters 7 and 8 of the ARRL Extra Class License Manual.
I got 42/50 on my Extra practice exam, 33/35 on my General practice exam, and 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 30 - January 16, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Extra exam. My overall aptitude is now 77%. I also read Chapter 9 of the ARRL Extra Class License Manual.
I got 48/50 on my Extra practice exam, 33/35 on my General practice exam, and 33/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 31 - January 17, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the General exam. My overall aptitude is now 95%.
I got 46/50 on my Extra practice exam, 32/35 on my General practice exam, and 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 32 - January 18, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Extra exam. My overall aptitude is now 81%.
I got 44/50 on my Extra practice exam, 34/35 on my General practice exam, and 34/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 33 - January 19, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Extra exam. My overall aptitude is now 84%. I also signed up for a Amateur Radio License Exam for this upcoming Sunday.
I got 48/50 on my Extra practice exam, 31/35 on my General practice exam, and 35/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 34 - January 20, 2023
Today, I did practice questions for the Technician exam. My overall aptitude is still 100%.
I got 47/50 on my Extra practice exam, 32/35 on my General practice exam, and 33/35 for my Technician practice exam.
Day 35 - January 21, 2023
Today, I revisited all of the questions in the Technician and General exam pools. I also revisited 168 questions from the Amateur Extra exam pool.
I got 46/50 on my Extra practice exam, 34/35 on my General practice exam, and 35/35 on my Technician practice exam.
Day 36 - January 22, 2023
Today, I finished practicing the rest of the Extra exam pool questions.
I also took the HAM radio license exam, and I passed all three. I got 35/35 for the Technician exam, 33/35 for the General exam, and 48/50 for the Extra exam.
Day 37 - January 23, 2023
I researched ways to learn CW/Morse Code. I tried G4FON, Just Learn Morse Code, and IZ2UUF Morse Koch CW.
I did some practice, and I was able to achieve 95% on the first 2 characters at 17WPM/17WPM using Just Learn Morse Code. Starting tomorrow, I will use IZ2UUF for practice.
Attempt 1 Performance:
Attempt 2 Performance:
Day 38 - January 24, 2023
Today, I got my call sign from the FCC. I read the documentation provided to me by the VE team after I passed the exam, and looked into QRZ and their jumpstart program. I also practiced Morse code, but I am still at 3 characters. I found it difficult to copy code at 20WPM speed/20WPM spacing.
Day 39 - January 25, 2023
Today, I tried to sign up for Logbook of the World, but my application was rejected because my callsign was still too new. I also followed the flyer the VE team gave me and applied for a discounted QRZ-1 radio.
I practiced Morse Code, but I am still working on three characters.
Day 40 - January 26, 2023
Today, I was able to request a certificate from Logbook of the World, and purchase a QRZ-1 from GigaParts with the QRZ Jumpstart program. I also finished the design for the back of my QSL card.
I practiced decoding M, K, and R in CW, and I am slowly getting better.
Day 41 - January 27, 2023
Today, I designed the front side of my QSL card. I used DALLE-2 to generate the image, and then I added my call sign. I also looked into ways to print it.
I practiced CW again, and I am making progress towards mastering the M, K, and R.
Day 42 - January 28, 2023
Today, I prototyped a CW trainer to help me learn Morse code. My trainer can replay sounds, and it gives feedback after every word so that I can hopefully learn quicker.
I scored over 90% on M, K, and R. I will move on to a fourth letter tomorrow.
Day 43 - January 29, 2023
Today, I updated my CW trainer to use the MVP architecture. This will make my application more scalable as I add more features.
I scored 99% on M, K, R, and S when I practiced today. I will move on to a fifth letter tomorrow.
Day 44 - January 30, 2023
Today, I watched some YouTube videos about making my first contact on a repeater.
I also practiced CW, where I drilled M, K, R, S, and U. I got 96%, so I will add a sixth letter tomorrow.
Day 45 - January 31, 2023
Today, I received my QRZ-1 Explorer radio. I was able to tune into the local repeater and listen to the net held by the local radio club.
I also made some UI improvements to my CW Trainer, and practiced 6 letters. I only got 82%, so I will be practicing them again tomorrow.
Day 46 - February 01, 2023
Today, I practiced M, R, K, S, U, and A on my CW trainer and got 96%. I will add a seventh letter tomorrow.
Day 47 - February 02, 2023
Today, I practiced 7 letters using my CW trainer and got 96%. Tomorrow, I will add an eighth character.
I also followed up with an email to join the Lake Washington Ham Club, but I have not heard back from them yet.
Day 48 - February 03, 2023
Today, I went on RepeaterBook.com, and programmed some local repeater stations into my radio.
I also practiced Morse Code, but I only got 88% in my practice session. I will continue to practice 8 letters tomorrow.
Day 49 - February 04, 2023
Today, I joined the Lake Washington Ham Radio Club. I also tuned in and listened to their daily net.
I tried to add configurable settings to my CW trainer, but it is still WIP.
I practiced Morse code, and I achieved 96% on 8 characters. Tomorrow, I will add a 9th character.
Day 50 - February 05, 2023
Today, I tried to make my first contact on the Lake Washington Ham Club Health and Wellness Net, but no one was able to hear me. I will check the CTCSS and try again Tuesday evening.
I also practiced CW, where I got 96% on 9 characters. I will add a 10th one tomorrow.
Day 51 - February 06, 2023
Today, I practiced 10 characters on my Morse code trainer, and I got 90%. I will add an eleventh character tomorrow when I practice.
Tonight, I will also check the programming on my radio, so that I can try and join the LWHC Health and Wellness Net tomorrow evening.
Day 52 - February 07, 2023
Today, I was able to make contact with the net control running the evening LWHC social net. I found out that my radio times out after 1 minute, so I will need to check how to change it.
I also practiced 11 characters of CW, and got 90%. I will add a 12th character tomorrow.
Day 53 - February 08, 2023
Today, I practiced 12 CW characters and I got 98%. I will add a 13th character tomorrow.
Day 54 - February 09, 2023
Today, I got a letter from the ARRL, but it turned out to only be an advertisement for their membership. I am still waiting for my LOTW code.
I also practiced 13 CW characters and I got 94%. I will add a 14th character tomorrow.
Day 55 - February 10, 2023
Today, I looked into the Mike and Key Electronics Show Swap and Meet, happening on the first Saturday of March.
I also practiced 14 CW characters, and I got 100%. I will add a 15th character tomorrow.
Day 56 - February 11, 2023
Today, I attended the LWHC monthly meeting where I listened to a talk about HF propagation. I also attended their Health and Wellness net, where people shared their plans for the weekend.
I practiced 15 CW characters today, and I got 98%. I will add a 16th character tomorrow.
Day 57 - February 12, 2023
Today, I practiced 16 CW characters, and I got 96%. I also changed the keyboard on my phone to a Morse code layout. Surprisingly, I was able to type with it, albeit slowly. I will add a 17th character tomorrow.
I also attended the LWHC net where they talked about the Super Bowl.
Day 58 - February 13, 2023
Today, I practiced 17 CW characters, and I got 100%. I will add an 18th character tomorrow.
Day 59 - February 14, 2023
Today, I practiced 18 CW characters, and I got 96%. I will add a 19th character tomorrow.
Day 60 - February 15, 2023
Today, I practiced 19 CW characters, and I got 98%. I will add a 20th character tomorrow.
Day 61 - February 16, 2023
Today, I emailed the Radio Club of Redmond, and I got permission to attend their meeting this Saturday.
I also practiced 20 CW characters, and I got 90%. I struggled differentiating between f and v. I will add a 21st character tomorrow.
Day 62 - February 17, 2023
Today, I practiced 21 CW characters, and I got 98%. I will add a 22nd character tomorrow.
Day 63 - February 18, 2023
Today, I attended the Redmond Radio Club meeting, and I had a lot of fun learning about advanced FT-8 techniques. I got a link to the club's past newsletters, where I learned about the CW Hotline.
I will purchase one, so I can practice Morse code over wi-fi.
Day 64 - February 19, 2023
Today, I updated my profile on QRZ.com, and I purchased a CW Hotline morse code keyer. I am looking forward to receiving and building it.
Day 65 - February 20, 2023
Today, I bought 3D printing filament and a Pixie CW radio kit. I also researched ways to build antennas for 20m and 40m operation.
I found a Shark stick which I think I can mount to my car, and then I can try POTA.
Day 66 - February 21, 2023
Today, I practiced 22 CW characters, and I got 96%. I noticed that the 50th word is always short, but the program choses words with lengths between 1 and 7 randomly.
Day 67 - February 22, 2023
Today, I looked at different Morse code keyers, and I practiced 23 CW characters. I got 96%, so I will move on to 24 characters tomorrow.
Day 68 - February 23, 2023
Today, I looked at different Morse code keyers, and I practiced 24 CW characters. I got 82%, so I will continue to practice 24 characters tomorrow. I confused "," and "/" a lot today since they sound similar.
Day 69 - February 24, 2023
Today, I received my CW Hotline morse code keyer kit in the mail. I inventoried all of the parts so that I can build it tomorrow.
I also read the assembly instructions and the operating manual.
Day 70 - February 25, 2023
Today, I soldered my my CW Hotline morse code keyer kit. Soldering the microcontroller was hard, and I think I should get leaded solder next time because it has a lower melting point.
Tomorrow, I will print and assemble the case.
Day 71 - February 26, 2023
Today, I finished building my CW Hotline morse code keyer kit, and I was able to test it on the VBand.
I am still printing the case, but it will be done in several hours. Afterwards, I will assemble the entire board together.
Day 72 - February 27, 2023
My case finished printing last night, and I was able to finish assembling the CW keyer.
Today, I practiced sending Morse code on VBand, and I am now able to send CQ as well as my call sign.
Day 73 - February 28, 2023
Today, I printed out a chart of all the Morse code characters at the library. I also practiced keying Morse code following some worksheets I found online.
Day 74 - March 01, 2023
Today, the monthly newsletter for the Radio Club of Redmond came out, and I read it. I also watched a seminar about CW Academy, and I am considering enrolling in their basic class.
Day 75 - March 02, 2023
Today, I activated the QSO bot on VBand, and I was able to make call CQ to it. However, I was not able to hold an entire converation because it did not understand me.
Day 76 - March 03, 2023
Today, I received an email about a sale for vertical antennas at GigaParts, and I did some research to see if I could use those antennas to get on HF. I also sent an email to the RCR antenna elmers to get their advice.
I will hear back from them tomorrow at the RCR social.
Day 77 - March 04, 2023
Today, I went to the RCR social, and I learned about setting up an antenna in my apartment. I learned that I needed to ensure there is some distance between my neighbors and my antenna, which would be hard.
I am looking into mobile operations and POTA.
Day 78 - March 05, 2023
Today, I practiced 24 CW characters. I got 98%, so I will practice 25 characters tomorrow.
Day 79 - March 06, 2023
Today, I practiced 25 CW characters. I got 96%, so I will practice 26 characters tomorrow.
Day 80 - March 07, 2023
Today, I practiced 26 CW characters. I got 96%, so I will practice 27 characters tomorrow.
Day 81 - March 08, 2023
Today, I practiced sending Morse code on VBand. I also invited some people from RCR to practice Morse code with me.
Day 82 - March 09, 2023
Today, I practiced sending Morse code again, by looking up news articles, and transmitting them with my oscillator.
Day 83 - March 10, 2023
Today, I watched YouTube videos about setting up an indoor HF antenna. I learned that it would be severely compromised, and I may expose my neighbors to dangerous amounts of RFI.
I would not be able to use high voltage. Therefore, I think I may try POTA in the summer.
Day 84 - March 11, 2023
Today, I found out about the Digirig, and I learned that I could use digital modes on my HT with it. I researched the equipment I needed to get on FT8 with my HT, and bought the gear.
I look forward to receiving my Digirig sometime next week.
Day 85 - March 12, 2023
Today, I learned that my radio would not be able to do FT8 because it only supports FM and not SSB. However, I also learned that I could use ARPS, WinLink, and VeraFM, so I will try those modes once my Digirig arrives.
Day 86 - March 13, 2023
Today, I downloaded WinLink Express, and I set up my WinLink account. I was able to send and receive emails using my WinLink account through Telnet. I want to eventually be able to send emails through radio, once my Digirig arrives.
Day 87 - March 14, 2023
Today, I watched some videos on how to set up WinLink on my phone and computer. It turns out there are several different ways to get email over radio. I look forward to trying some soon.
Day 88 - March 15, 2023
Today, I received my Digirig. I downloaded VaraFM and I tried to make a contact, but I was unable to hear anything but static. I will try again tomorrow.
Day 89 - March 16, 2023
Today, I learned that packet radio uses the AX.25 protocol. I also learned that I could encode and decode radio packets using the Dire Wolf software. I look forward to trying this myself tomorrow or this weekend.
Day 90 - March 17, 2023
Today, I went to the Github page for Dire Wolf and read their README. It seems Dire Wolf is a command line program that can do lots of things. I think the easiest protocol to start with is ARPS.
Day 91 - March 18, 2023
Today, I went to the Redmond Radio Club meeting, and listened to a talk where someone built their own amplifier. It was interesting because the speaker described the engineering decisions he made and his rationale. I had a lot of fun talking to the other members of the group.
Day 92 - March 19, 2023
Today, I went to Ham Radio Outlook and looked at the ICOM 7300. I like the screen and the waterfall it produces, but I wonder if I will be able to take it to the park for operation.
Day 93 - March 20, 2023
Today, I looked at portable batteries for mobile operation. I found a company called Bioenno that makes LiFePO4 batteries for Ham radio. Apparently, LiFePO4 batteries are good because they don't expand when they heat up.
Day 94 - March 21, 2023
Today, I looked into the requirements for getting a Canadian Ham radio license. It looks like I would need to take 2 tests to get all of the Amateur Extra privileges.
Day 95 - March 22, 2023
Today, I looked at HF rig bundles. They were all outside my budget.
Day 96 - March 23, 2023
Today, I read an email thread from the Lake Washington Ham Club discussing an article that one of the members sent out. I also got an email from the RCR stating that in-person meetings may be happening soon.
Day 97 - March 24, 2023
Today, I found out about another amateur radio group in my area that focuses heavily on the technical aspects of Ham radio. I want to figure out how I can join that group and attend a meeting.
Day 98 - March 25, 2023
Today, I took some time to clean up my radio equipment. This included my Explorer QRZ-1, my CW/Morse code hotline, my Digirig, and my ARRL licensing manuals.
Day 99 - March 26, 2023
Today, I browsed the internet for cool things I can continue to do with Ham radio after Day 100. I think I will continue to try and do some POTA later this year.
Day 100 - March 27, 2023
Today, I re-read the entries I made over the last 100 days and reflected on my Ham radio journey. I had a lot of fun learning about Ham radio, and I can't wait to try new things in the future.