Congratulations!

Great job haertig!

I got my Technician (then it was called the “No Code Technician” or “Tech-“) license about thirty years ago. About ten years ago I upgraded to General. I’ve signed up for an Extra Class license study group; even if I don’t upgrade soon I’ll enjoy learning more.

Did you take your exam during the pandemic? If so, how was that managed?

No. I slipped my Technician exam in right before things got bad, on Feb 8th. Right after that I started my General class, but that got canceled halfway through due to the pandemic. Starting that General class up again is currently still on hold. I am signed up for the restart, and also for the Extra class that will come after General. But I don't know when either of those will happen. They did not have licensing exams in my area for several months, but those have opened up now, and many Saturdays you can find some place in the area hosting an exam these days.

I am thinking I maybe should go ahead and get my General on my own, and then take the class later. Since the FCC will soon start charging $35 to process a license upgrade. Maybe I can sneak in General before that new licensing cost takes effect.

I like the classes because they are a lot of hands on training. Not just a review of material in the book. In the Technician class we erected antennas, ran cables, hooked things up to radios (Icom 7300's) and then did exercises using the radios under direct supervision and training by the class instructors. We measured SWR, tuned antennas, learned how to use some internet tools to check atmospheric conditions then tuned in to hotspots of activity (listen only for that part). Some of this hands on was maybe more General license type of stuff than Technician, but they were introducing us to the hobby as well as teaching the material needed for the Tech license.

We had a bunch of handhelds and the class spread out outside and practiced contacting each other under supervision. Got to try lots of different radios (that's where I found out that I liked the Yaesu FT-60R as my first choice for a handheld). It was funny that the vast majority of the students seemed quite shy to get on the radio the first few times. But that was part of the class - having a trainer with us and walking us through the process so we felt more at ease. After the class they gave each of us students a radio. OK, it was only a Baofeng UV-5R, but still, it was a nice gesture to give those to us - already pre-programmed with the useful frequencies in our area. This was an incentive for us to join the local club that put on the training class, which I believe ever single student in the class did.

So after that great experience in the Tech class, I want to take the General and then the Extra class as well, simply for the hands on and camaraderie. Book learning on your own will get you a license, but I definitely like the classes. I don't have any plans to get into HF quickly (that will probably take me at least another year), so I don't really need General, let alone Extra. But it's fun learning, so why not?

What an awesome-sounding class!

OK, I'm showing my age, but I very much miss the Palm PDA environment where everything was kept local - on my PDA and synchronized on my PC, and NOTHING was kept in a cloud. Back then all the synchronization was done via a cord, but today it could be done via Wi-Fi, or better yet via Bluetooth (so if my Wi-Fi was done it would still work).

I'm in the process of removing use of certain companies' products from my life, and am struggling to find a nice way of keeping and managing my email, contacts, calendar, and notes. My ever trusty Palm PDAs did that just fine.

I'm also looking for a non-Android/Apple smartphone, but I fear there is really no such thing. I just read that the Blackberry might be coming back. I never had one, so I don't know how those worked from a data storage standpoint.

There are ways to do this, there are tools like foldersync that can keep files up to date, CalDAV for your calendar, etc.



https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/

Sorry to be late to this party; just joined the forum.

I'd like to point out a book that specifically addresses digital legacy-- Take Control Books publishes "Take Control of Your Digital Legacy."

(My connection is only that of a purchaser of quite a few books from Take Control.)

Take Control of Your Digital Legacy is almost 200 pages (in any e-format) specifically addressing the question of how your loved ones/heirs will deal with your electronic ephemera.

The link above will give you a table of contents and generous preview of the book.

I've bought several copies for my less tech-savvy family members; they've found it useful. I've found it useful to not have to repeat myself and do all the training that's in the book!

And yes, even though I think of myself as very capable tech-wise, I picked up some good tips also.

Hope this is helpful!

How fireproof are your home cloud servers? Never have all your data "on-site" anywhere - if that means your home or office, always have a an off-site backup. My cloud storage setup ALWAYS have another device that is NOT kept in my house synching away.

Big hint: Anything that involves SSH - or command-line - is a non-starter. Linux anything is not for mortals, not even Ubuntu or similar desktop distros. I run a Linux Laptop for some ham radio & SDR stuff. It's not for normal people.
"Headless" anything is a non-starter for normal people. It needs to be a drive/folder that is recognized by Windows or Mac.

I have a really good and well-tested "how to get to my data if I'm not here" program...sadly, this is a public forum and I won't discuss it here, but I can give you basic principles:

- Don't go overboard with encryption. Most of your data is useless to anyone but you.
- Write down/print out the things needed to "cold-start" your accounts from nothing. QR codes, recovery codes, and the like.
- Keep these instructions outside your home, in a physically secure area that is fire and weatherpoof.
- Have no less than 3 copies of your data at all times, with at least 1 "off site"

Paper.
Paper.
Paper.
Did I mention PAPER?

Print the backup codes.
Screen Shot and print the QR "starter" codes for 2-factor authentication.
Print the instructions. Put them somewhere VERY safe and NOT in your home.