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I am married to a wonderful woman (she puts up with my DX'ing and contesting). I am tired father of four children (teenage years wear a dad out) and a proud grandpa of seven grand kids. I have been an amateur radio operator since September of 1982. It all started with my fascination with "those big antenna's" I saw around town. I wanted to be able to talk with people around the world. One thing lead to another and before I knew it, I was a novice ( old call was KA9OIZ). I still don't have a "big antenna" in the back yard, but my Titan DX and Voyager serve me just fine. My radio station consists of a Yaesu Ft-1000 MP Mark V (200 watts), Icom IC-7200 (100 watts), an Ameritron AL-811H (600 watts), a Gap Titan DX antenna, a Gap Voyager antenna, a low 40 meter dipole, my mobile station is a Yaesu FT-857D (100 watts), and a Yaesu Atas-120 Screwdriver antenna. I usually operate around 14.028 or 7.028 My interests range from collecting 10-10 #'s to contesting. Though my scores are not very high, I really enjoy improving my operating skills. It is always a successful contest if I had fun and worked just one more person than the last time. If I pick up a couple new countries along the way, all the better.
My interest in amateur radio spurred my interest in electronics. I currently teach electronics at Gateway Technical College, in Sturtevant Wisconsin. My official title is Lead Electronics Instructor, but I am just a guy lucky enough to get paid to "do what I enjoy the most". If you would like to learn more about my life as a teacher, you can visit my faculty web site. With the help of my students, we started an amateur radio club "N9GTC" at my college. For more information on the club, you can visit our club web site. I am also an active member of www.eqsl.cc and Log Book of the World . I still send out QSL cards, but these are also fun ways to exchange cards.
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Last Updated: 01/02/2008 |
My main mode of operation is cw. I operate cw not because I am extremely fast at it, but because I like the simplicity of it and the challenge of increasing my accuracy. I also like the fact that a small station like mine can put out a "big" signal on cw. To give you an example: I very seldom run my amp on cw, since I prefer to operate QSK. I only turn on my amp if it is needed, and so far - I haven't needed it when operating cw. "If I can hear you, I can work you." If you have not worked cw in awhile, look for me at the bottom end of 20 or 40 meters and we will chat. Who knows, maybe that ol' cw bug will bite you too. When the band conditions are better, I can be found rag chewing on 15 and chasing 10-10 numbers on 10 meters.