Congrats! Been following since you first started the vlogs on great men!
Suggestion on something to put on your radar. Consider looking into amateur radio. Since you're using these things in EMT and Aircraft it might be helpful to get yourself licensed and learn a bit more about the communication tool you're using on a regular basis.
You can test online it's very easy and fast plus very little cost. I think $15 per test x 2 tests. I got a general license this year and it took me just a few days of review for the first test, then passed the general a week or two after with no background in this stuff at all. Just look at hamstudy.org, you could do this in Uruguay or wherever.
License is good for 10 years so you can take your time experimenting whenever. I was chatting with a guy 2,000 miles away last night over JS8Call, a digital mode keyboard to keyboard. It ran flawlessly for several hours before I shut down. I have hit listening stations out of Uruguay but no successful 2 way communication yet (bit random finding someone on in various places), but it was encouraging the listening station could pick me up from the midwest!
It could be a nice tool to have in place to stay in contact with your family down there if infrastructure ever went down. With JS8Call you can drop message with another station if your folks were offline at the time you were transmitting and leave them a kind of radio mail they could pick up later and vice versa. It's a pretty handy tool for someone like yourself that's often thousands of miles away
oh duh, I also ordered the book! I have two boys, 14 and 16 years old. They do not want to attend college and be saddled with crushing debt so I'm excited to get this and read it with them
I've worked with a number of radios, I joined a club and saw a lot of gear in the last 6 months. Most are pretty insane, tons of features and crap that I am sure do amazing things but being new to all this I needed a radio that was simple but still run on HF to do interesting to me things like communicate over hundreds of miles or more and not cost a ton
I got the QRP Labs QMX, digital mode is super simple, switch it to morse code CW mode and again super simple. It supports voice but that was added on recently and you need to solder together specific parts etc. blah blah.
Digital and CW are the bread and butter of the QMX and it's very easy to use plus is under $200 for the radio built by experts overseas in Turkey I think. I got 2 of them and both are amazing. I was on the air first night without issues using FT8 and it supports JS8 too only restriction is 5 watts max output. It gets your feet wet though so you can learn. Also it runs off a 12v battery, car or motorcycle battery will work perfectly so saves you more money there.
Just get the QMX, have QRP labs assemble it, get an end fed antenna, hook it up to a laptop with a car battery and start to monkey around. 5 watt max output also means your not going to hurt anything or anyone else on the air as their stronger signals will frequently stomp you out, but that's ok. Better to start small than big and cause issues for others
I'm using an icom 7100 now so I can push power up higher but I had to get a special battery for it, charger, and I got a used radio so I didn't have to pay full retail price but it was still $800 just for the radio. Boy its neat though. I had issues with it at first and had to get a toroid for the feed line from antenna to stop interference, so it took a month or two to figure out all the settings and make it happy
Anyway, point is I think easiest cheapest way to start is that QRP Lab radio as it's freaking solid. Run it on digital modes so you can learn about all the radio things, solar weather, antenna stuff, etc.
I'd also recommend a nano vna to test the antenna make sure it resonates at the frequency you intend to run. If not you could break the radio. Its cheap too, maybe $40, and you can use it to build a jungle antenna for handhelds too. If your local and need to talk to your dad or who ever you can use a small pocket uhf/vhf radio by lifting a home made antenna into a tree to get you 30+ miles range.
here's a video showing what I did to fix the interference, that's not me in the video but he's the guy who ended up helping me solve the problem. I used a 240-31 toroid, I think he suggested a 240-43. Both work just fine and I bought two, one for the coax feedline off the antenna, and a second I used on the usb cable like he demonstrated in the video:
There’s really no set age to start it. You could start as young as 14 or 15 years old by focusing on the academics and activities (chess, learning a second language, scuba diving, learning an instrument, studying martial arts…).
But, even someone that young can start the 16 cycles we lay out in the book. For example, one of the cycles in about getting your private pilots license…something a 15 year old can achieve (before they can get a drivers license!). There are challenges to being that young and going through the program — no doubt parents would have to sign liability waivers with the different companies that host the courses, but it’s entirely possible to start at that age regardless.
I started when I was 18, but wish I would have started 3 years sooner.
We are working on getting the audio version done at the moment. It may take a couple weeks because we might have to do it ourselves, but we are on the case. It’ll be done soon!
One question: you're two years into a four year program... will there be a follow-up book, say something like a retrospective, on how this preparation lets you engage the world, like the Edmond Dantes/Count of Monte Cristo ideal, that you have been modeling?
That’s a good question - one that has come up, but I haven’t put much thought into. I’d say that there will be a good opportunity to publish a book reflecting over the The Preparation, adding important insights, speaking on lessons learned, and analyzing the benefits and outcomes from the program.
Also, I’m looking forward to getting your thoughts on the book!
I am exited to buy several copies, for my son, my nephews and any other young men I come across who are searching. Thank all of you for your efforts, wisdom and experiences that made this book possible! It’s SO needed right now.
Congratulations, Maxim, on all you’ve done and on everything you will accomplish. This book is a log awaited antidote to the conventional path, and a welcome remedy for those who read it and put its precepts into practice. Book review of “The Preparation”:
Congrats! Been following since you first started the vlogs on great men!
Suggestion on something to put on your radar. Consider looking into amateur radio. Since you're using these things in EMT and Aircraft it might be helpful to get yourself licensed and learn a bit more about the communication tool you're using on a regular basis.
You can test online it's very easy and fast plus very little cost. I think $15 per test x 2 tests. I got a general license this year and it took me just a few days of review for the first test, then passed the general a week or two after with no background in this stuff at all. Just look at hamstudy.org, you could do this in Uruguay or wherever.
License is good for 10 years so you can take your time experimenting whenever. I was chatting with a guy 2,000 miles away last night over JS8Call, a digital mode keyboard to keyboard. It ran flawlessly for several hours before I shut down. I have hit listening stations out of Uruguay but no successful 2 way communication yet (bit random finding someone on in various places), but it was encouraging the listening station could pick me up from the midwest!
It could be a nice tool to have in place to stay in contact with your family down there if infrastructure ever went down. With JS8Call you can drop message with another station if your folks were offline at the time you were transmitting and leave them a kind of radio mail they could pick up later and vice versa. It's a pretty handy tool for someone like yourself that's often thousands of miles away
oh duh, I also ordered the book! I have two boys, 14 and 16 years old. They do not want to attend college and be saddled with crushing debt so I'm excited to get this and read it with them
Thank you, I remember!
That's also a great idea. I have the website saved on my computer so that I can get around to doing that sometime.
I've worked with a number of radios, I joined a club and saw a lot of gear in the last 6 months. Most are pretty insane, tons of features and crap that I am sure do amazing things but being new to all this I needed a radio that was simple but still run on HF to do interesting to me things like communicate over hundreds of miles or more and not cost a ton
I got the QRP Labs QMX, digital mode is super simple, switch it to morse code CW mode and again super simple. It supports voice but that was added on recently and you need to solder together specific parts etc. blah blah.
Digital and CW are the bread and butter of the QMX and it's very easy to use plus is under $200 for the radio built by experts overseas in Turkey I think. I got 2 of them and both are amazing. I was on the air first night without issues using FT8 and it supports JS8 too only restriction is 5 watts max output. It gets your feet wet though so you can learn. Also it runs off a 12v battery, car or motorcycle battery will work perfectly so saves you more money there.
Just get the QMX, have QRP labs assemble it, get an end fed antenna, hook it up to a laptop with a car battery and start to monkey around. 5 watt max output also means your not going to hurt anything or anyone else on the air as their stronger signals will frequently stomp you out, but that's ok. Better to start small than big and cause issues for others
I'm using an icom 7100 now so I can push power up higher but I had to get a special battery for it, charger, and I got a used radio so I didn't have to pay full retail price but it was still $800 just for the radio. Boy its neat though. I had issues with it at first and had to get a toroid for the feed line from antenna to stop interference, so it took a month or two to figure out all the settings and make it happy
Anyway, point is I think easiest cheapest way to start is that QRP Lab radio as it's freaking solid. Run it on digital modes so you can learn about all the radio things, solar weather, antenna stuff, etc.
I'd also recommend a nano vna to test the antenna make sure it resonates at the frequency you intend to run. If not you could break the radio. Its cheap too, maybe $40, and you can use it to build a jungle antenna for handhelds too. If your local and need to talk to your dad or who ever you can use a small pocket uhf/vhf radio by lifting a home made antenna into a tree to get you 30+ miles range.
here's a video showing what I did to fix the interference, that's not me in the video but he's the guy who ended up helping me solve the problem. I used a 240-31 toroid, I think he suggested a 240-43. Both work just fine and I bought two, one for the coax feedline off the antenna, and a second I used on the usb cable like he demonstrated in the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwdEZlHSmjg
What is the best age to start this book?
That’s a great question.
There’s really no set age to start it. You could start as young as 14 or 15 years old by focusing on the academics and activities (chess, learning a second language, scuba diving, learning an instrument, studying martial arts…).
But, even someone that young can start the 16 cycles we lay out in the book. For example, one of the cycles in about getting your private pilots license…something a 15 year old can achieve (before they can get a drivers license!). There are challenges to being that young and going through the program — no doubt parents would have to sign liability waivers with the different companies that host the courses, but it’s entirely possible to start at that age regardless.
I started when I was 18, but wish I would have started 3 years sooner.
Hi Maxim, any idea when is the audible version coming out in the Uk? Thanks
We are working on getting the audio version done at the moment. It may take a couple weeks because we might have to do it ourselves, but we are on the case. It’ll be done soon!
Congratulations Maxim! I just placed my order and I can’t wait to read it.
Thank you! Cant wait to hear what you think!
Max........we are all proud of what you have accomplished; and I congratulate you on this book coming about. I know it will be a great success!
Thank you, Lauran! Very much appreciated.
Sounds great, can't wait to read it.
One question: you're two years into a four year program... will there be a follow-up book, say something like a retrospective, on how this preparation lets you engage the world, like the Edmond Dantes/Count of Monte Cristo ideal, that you have been modeling?
That’s a good question - one that has come up, but I haven’t put much thought into. I’d say that there will be a good opportunity to publish a book reflecting over the The Preparation, adding important insights, speaking on lessons learned, and analyzing the benefits and outcomes from the program.
Also, I’m looking forward to getting your thoughts on the book!
By the time Maxim is 30 he'll have many stories to tell and lessons to teach. This might be the way to do it.
I am exited to buy several copies, for my son, my nephews and any other young men I come across who are searching. Thank all of you for your efforts, wisdom and experiences that made this book possible! It’s SO needed right now.
This book can change their lives. I’m excited to hear what it will do for your son and nephews.
Thank YOU!
Congratulations, Maxim, on all you’ve done and on everything you will accomplish. This book is a log awaited antidote to the conventional path, and a welcome remedy for those who read it and put its precepts into practice. Book review of “The Preparation”:
https://jdbreen.substack.com/p/the-preparation-002
Thank you, JD. I appreciate it, truly. Your review is fantastic!
Thank you, Maxim. You’re an inspiration.
Thanks Maxim i just placed my order. Congrats mate
Thank you, Adam! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.