just listening

Just starting in on the radio waves. growing up and even now the cb has always been on. now at 41 years old i am just starting in on this as a hobby. got myself a cheap sdr on the laptop and just listening for now. i was amazed today sitting here at home 700 block taylor rd windsor pa and being able to here you guys like you are sitting right next to me. no joke i am using a cheap $65 amazon ant, 40 ft tv coax, and a $25 rtl-str dongle. ant is a 4 section car ant i have about 40 ft off the ground on cheap lowes ant posts. putts elevation around 480 ft. my name is David wickenheiser. just wanted to reach out and say hi from lower windsor pa. we hear you loud and clear. THANKS

Hello David! Welcome to the 146.985 repeater. My name is Jim and my callsign is AF3Z. I'm not too far from you; I live across the river between Mount Joy and Marietta. You can probably find out more about me via the web, especially on qrz.com.

I had to look at a map to see where Windsor is and I found out that I have driven through there a number of times. That's a much nicer trip than taking I-83 ;-). Also, I found that the road is high enough that I was able to talk on the 985 repeater for a quite a while as I travelled south. I'm not surprised that you could hear us so well.

I'm glad you are enjoying the RTL-SDR. They are amazing little things! I have one of those as well, but I haven't used it lately. Enjoy your listening. If you decide to get an amateur radio license, it sounds like you could reach the .985 repeater. And if you do that, there are some very knowledgeable people on... and they are very helpful. There another repeater which you probably already found: 146.970. That is so close to you that you won't have any problem hearing them. It is located north of Rte 30, not too far from Hallam and Wrightsville.

If you have any questions, feel free to be in touch... here, or by email: AF3Z@ARRL.net.

Thanks for getting on here and saying hello! -Jim