Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

Chapter 149: Chapter 97: Hardcore Teletubbies

Li Younan drove to Chengdu, and then he had to pick up two online friends.

He met these two through a forum.

Li Younan thought it would be best to have one or two acquaintances lead the way to the event, so it wouldn’t be too dull.

After all, although he had the skills of a pro, he was new to this circle and not very familiar with some of the rules or conventions.

Of course, the two young girls had no objections to this.

The two ”hams” (amateur radio enthusiasts) he met online both had an A-level certificate and were planning to take the B-level exam.

Li Younan thought they would be middle-aged because most people interested in this hobby tend to be middle-aged.

Both of them came from other provinces, and Li Younan picked them up at the train station.

Lu Xiaolan stretched her neck and saw the two of Li Younan’s online friends, curiously saying, ”Wow! Two Teletubbies!”

When the two young people with backpack antennas appeared in view, Li Younan was somewhat surprised, as they were so young, looking even younger than Lu Xiaolan and Xu Liya.

Xu Liya, being extroverted, said upon stopping the car in front of them, ”Hello, Makka Pakka!”

Li Younan was a bit speechless and found it difficult to comment on her behavior, which had a charming blend of children’s and educational channel vibes.

After pulling the two into the car and having a brief chat to confirm identities, Li Younan drove towards the event location.

They were all young and quite outgoing.

While Li Younan was quietly driving, the four of them happily started chatting.

A boy wearing a baseball cap, let’s call him ”Little Duck Cap,” was trying hard to explain the principles of radio transmission to Lu Xiaolan and Xu Liya.

This was basic physics knowledge from middle and high school, though it involved some practical operations that Xu Liya and Lu Xiaolan still found a bit challenging to understand.

”So, it’s like skipping stones, reflecting again and again, is that what you mean?”

Lu Xiaolan was learning quite seriously.

Little Duck Cap nodded, ”Something like that.”

After chatting for a while, while driving, Li Younan also joined the conversation.

He asked curiously, ”How did you two get interested in amateur radio?”

Indeed, it’s a very niche hobby, and even in China with its huge population, there are only a few hundred thousand enthusiasts.

Little Duck Cap explained, ”My home is right next to Huaqiangbei. Over there, you can casually buy a bunch of parts from a street vendor and assemble a radio yourself, just like playing with clay. Everyone can do it, so it’s reasonable to like this thing.”

Lu Xiaolan and Xu Liya were a bit stunned.

Xu Liya said, ”You’re bragging!”

Little Duck Cap, unaffected by Xu Liya’s charm, snorted, ”Does Chengdu not have this?”

Little Duck Cap’s companion also nodded, ”I thought the atmosphere in Chengdu would be better.”

Li Younan curiously asked, ”Why would the atmosphere in Chengdu be better? And why did you come all this way to Chengdu to take the exam?”

The two looked at each other, and Little Duck Cap chuckled, ”Coding, circuit board design, radio waves, it all comes down to transmitting information in binary.”

”When you talk about binary, you have to mention those two numbers.”

Lu Xiaolan and Xu Liya looked puzzled, ”Which two numbers?”

Little Duck Cap said, ”The two numbers that Chengdu has the most of.”

After a moment’s thought, Li Younan and his friends suddenly realized, and everyone laughed.

”You’re just being regional biased.”

After laughing, Xu Liya said indignantly.

As the conversation was going smoothly, Little Duck Cap suddenly asked Li Younan, ”By the way, are you here to take the exam too?”

Li Younan blinked, not answering immediately.

When he met these two high school students on the forum, he hadn’t mentioned that he was a C-class certificate holder.

After all, telling a stranger upfront that you have a C category certificate might sound show-offy and pretentious.

Moreover, there are very few C certificate holders, and people might not believe it if you said it out loud.

Li Younan just wanted to find some like-minded friends and learn about this circle.

When discussing attending this event, Li Younan didn’t reveal his purpose, only saying he was going to check it out.

Li Younan said, ”I’m going to get a certificate.”

The two exchanged glances, and when Little Duck Cap recalled their online chats, where Li Younan indeed seemed clueless about this world, they naturally assumed he was a newcomer, feeling a bit superior. They asked again, ”So you don’t have any equipment either?”

Li Younan nodded, vaguely saying, ”I’ll buy some equipment this time.”

Little Duck Cap responded with an ”oh,” further confirming Lil Younan’s newbie status in his mind.

Before long, the car arrived at the event camp.

This were located in the outskirts, where there were no large buildings blocking the view, making it convenient for setting up competitions or on-site communication.

Compared to this, the whole campsite was more rugged, with unpaved roads and gravel paths, and a lot of tents were set up for equipment exhibition, competition registration, and testing.

Li Younan also saw several off-road vehicles on site, all with one common characteristic—a large antenna mounted on them.

There’s a saying: after learning the basics of amateur radio, what’s the next step? Some people answered: the next step is to buy a Tank 300 and a sufficiently powerful radio.