Steve Holder (KC1VOA)
How long have you been a Ham?
I passed my technician license test in October 2024, on the day of Game 4 of the World Series, which I also attended (Go Yankees!). I studied for and received my general license in January 2025.
What mode(s) within Amateur Radio do you enjoy operating?
I’m a strong believer that we are all students and always learning. I have been studying CW for the better part of the past year, and still consider myself to be a novice. It’s an easy mode to learn and a hard one to master. My goal is to become a master CW operator so that I can effortlessly activate POTA and SOTA using CW. You’ll also find me FM on the local repeaters, and playing FT8 when I’m distracted by other things like work. I have been known to occasionally call CQ on SSB, but that is definitely more rare for me.
Describe your involvement with GSARA.
I’ve been a member since I got licensed in 2024, I recently signed up for the next 5 years since this is such an amazing group of people with a ton of opportunities to learn, and get involved. While my involvement for the past year has only included attending meetings, and Summer/Winter field days, I hope to get even more involved in the years to come!
What is one piece of advice you would give a new Ham?
Explore EVERYTHING! There are so many facets to this hobby, and you never know what you might actually be interested in until you try it. A few things that I got into that I hadn’t considered when I got licensed include: CW (Morse Code), Satellites, Portable Operations, POTA/SOTA, Fusion, and DMR.
Also, STOP WORRYING about the darn antenna! Get it up, and get on the air! I spent many months obsessing over getting my HF antenna right in the small space I have here in Manchester, only to later realize I should have just thrown a wire in a tree in the first place.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I am a man of many hobbies, some stick, some don’t. Ham radio, and especially the GSARA group, has been an awesome discovery for me. There are some amazing people in this community, and I’m very happy to be a part of it!