Hello! My name is Marino. I am 49 years old and live in SE Portland (Woodstock neighborhood) with my wife Laura and our two young men, Bruno and Giulio. I am originally from Italy from a town in the northeast of the country called Treviso, not too far from Venice.
After completing my studies (Computer Science) and starting work, I moved to the States in 1993, first to Chicago, where my wife worked at the time, and later in the same year to Portland, where her family is originally from. I work in Information Technology as a System Engineer in Wilsonville for a major local company in the electronic design automation business.
I became interested in Amateur Radio a few years ago after a tragedy involving a California family lost in the southern Oregon wilderness. It took me a few years to act upon this emergency preparedness urge and finally in July, 2013 I took and passed the Technician exam.
From there the path has been the same beaten by many before me: the first trip to the local radio store (aka The Candy Store), the programming of the first HT, finding the frequencies of the local repeaters, listening – lots of listening. And, the experience of the first check-in, the frustration about not being heard and more trips to the store to get a better antenna, more cables, more books and so on.
Along the way something happened. I met people. Welcoming people; people helping out; and people explaining things and willing to see past the blunders of the new operators.
With time I realized how much dedication and passion for amateur radio there is in these individuals: the guy who every day orchestrates the rag chew net around commute hours; the folks who every day tirelessly and with infinite patience teach the art of passing formal NTS traffic; the repeater operators; the folks who teach classes in preparation for the license test; the guy who coordinates a VE team; the perpetual tinkerers and experimenters; and those who organize the work of others.
Despite all the jokes about amateur radio operators being a dying breed, I see encouraging signs all around me. Prompted by renewed focus on emergency preparedness, more people than ever are approaching this hobby. More and more “computer techies” are learning about the world of RF; exploring the airwaves by using a $20 digital TV USB dongle and turning it into an SDR receiver.
Overall I am very impressed by this Multnomah ARES group. We are a diverse bunch with people of all ages and backgrounds. Our leadership team is strong and I believe our growing ranks are proof of its effectiveness.
As for myself, this journey of exploration continues. After passing the General test this past January, I have started tuning into the HF bands. Every day I find something new to learn, forcing me to push myself harder and I could not be happier.