Welcome aboard, Howard.

In case you didn't know, belief in magic is a necessary requirement for all
Amateur Radio operators. Of course, you didn't see a question concerning magic
or metaphysics on the test you took to obtain your license, but in your heart
you will come to believe in that powerful, intangible force.


All of us in the hobby have felt its influence at one time or another. Some
night when the band is dead as a doornail you'll be tuning aimlessly, not
expecting to hear a single signal because NOTHING could be coming through at
that hour. But then, rising out of the noise like a ghost, there will be a faint
call from another stalwart explorer thousands of miles distant. You pounce,
establish contact and both of you marvel at the fact that the conversation is
taking place at all. A few minutes later, however, the signal vanishes as
quickly as it came. Your rational mind will shrug it off as a quirk of
propagation, but that little tingle in your gut will tell you otherwise.


If you could travel back in time to, say, 1208 AD, you'd probably be burned
at the nearest stake for even suggesting that two human beings could communicate
with each other over great distances without a physical connection. No doubt
they would accuse you of dabbling in magic -- and they'd be right!


As Amateur Radio operators, we work feats of magic every day. Many of us
have become jaded about our powers and we tend to dismiss them as commonplace.
We hardly think twice when we use our equipment to sommon the elemental forces
of the universe. But every so often we need to pause and remind ourselves of
what we are really doing. We need to remember the essence of what drew us to our
unusual avocation in the first place: the wonderful magic of wireless
communications.

Welcome to the Magical Hobby



73, de Hans, K0HB