What use is an F-call?

Having a license, or rather, getting a license is an activity that is relatively simple. I've heard it said that people fear public speaking more than death and zombies.

Keying your microphone is about as public as you can get, but compared to public speaking, there is a pay-off. You don't actually have to look at your audience and you can do it from the safety of your bedroom if you so desire.

As I've said in the past, I've keyed my microphone many, many times. When you listen to me you might not realise that every time I key my microphone is a first time of sorts all over again. When I talk on air, for example, to start this segment today, I had to take a breath, compose myself and key my microphone and start talking.

As an added bonus, I'm reading from a script, so I know when I've made a mistake, even if you don't.

As I'm speaking to you now, I have butterflies fluttering through my stomach, I'm wired, and if I'm not careful, I'll sound like a speeding train, talking at a million miles an hour.

The flip-side of that, is that you normally don't hear any of the internal dialogue I'm having. I key my microphone and just start talking.

If you've never done that, then the idea of saying something on-air can be daunting. The more you hesitate, the harder it gets and the more you might fear the actual process, never mind the technical aspects of setting up your station.

There are a couple of things that you might do to make this a little less terrifying. First of all, you might consider that the process of keying your microphone for the first time is something that you've already done several times in your life. You spoke on the phone for the first time, you met a stranger, you were asked a question in a meeting. Keying your radio is the same thing.

Every amateur has had to go through the process, and, in addition, there are radio nets around where you can do this with people who have only just gotten their license too.

So, don't be afraid of your microphone, the trick is not to give in to whatever is holding you back, but to take a breath and give it a go. I look forward to hearing you on-air, Zombies notwithstanding.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB