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Got on the air for the first time ever this evening on the Baofeng GT-3TP on the 447.275MHz repeater in Fort Collins around 9pm local time. The conversation tonight was diverse and interesting before I ever got on the air: from portable power options and a primer on the differences between many types of batteries, to solar power, Thundershirts at PetSmart, Army radio school, and British English slang... all topics that related to me, so I finally decided to chime in.
Later in the evening, from about 9:45pm until after midnight, there were a few local hams who were looking out for meteors from the Perseid Meteor Shower. This spotting activity was also part of a school research project. I helped out from Fort Collins, and spotted a few that others did not see.
The combination of the first conversation, which tapped into so many of my personal experiences with the meteor spotting activity, made this perhaps one of the most memorable nights possible for me to get on the air for the very first time.
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