Ernesto Raices has been interested in radio operation since the 1980s and as a teenager was active on 11 meters (i.e. CB Radio). Radio took a back seat to everyday life when he relocated to Austin in the late 1990s.
A fishing outing to Manor Texas in 2021 brought Ernesto back to radio when he spoke to a Ham conducting a Parks On The Air (POTA) activation in the same park.
Ernesto became a licensed Ham operator in May of 2021, and in the same year, he passed both the General and the Amateur Extra exams.
Ernesto has been a member of the Austin Amateur Radio Club since June of 2021 and has been very active on many local nets since becoming licensed. He also aids new ham operators as a Volunteer Examiner (VE) for ARRL and for the Oak Hill Amateur Radio Club here in Austin, where he serves as Secretary.
Ernesto runs a weekly net on the University Link Repeater System and the Oakhill Amateur Radio Club repeater system, and has helped to run some nets for the AARC as well, including the weekly Elmer Net, routinely run by Jeff, N5MNW.