I have been a ham since 1991. My father, ND0J, had been encouraging me
to get my ticket for many years, and I finally got around to doing so --
and have enjoyed it since. I enjoy chasing DX, and am working on DXCC,
though, not very quickly. 145 confirmed as of Spring 2003. More recently,
I've given a try to VHF contesting. In July of 2005 my father and I are
planning on a grid-expedition to EM47, during a family
fishing trip to Meramec Springs, in Missouri
My home station consists of an Icom 706IIg, wire antennas and a Palstar
AT1500c antenna tuner. I use a Heil Pro-Set micro with the HC4 cartridge.
For VHF portable I have an Icom T-81A. My VHF antennas PAR SM-50 Moxon for
6m, and a Cubex Yellow Jacket
46 quad for 2m/70cm. In the car I usually use the IC-T81a connected to
a Motorola N1274A amplifier, with a Diamond dualband whip antenna. For
APRS monitoring, I use a Kantronics KPC3+, connected to a UBC-200xlt
scanner fed by a homebrewed 450ohm ladder line J-Pole.
In November of 2001, I visited Tortola and operated for a couple days as
VP2V/N8YSZ. Getting the reciprocal license was easy and didn't cost a
whole lot. I ran only 100w into a home made dipole antenna and had a bunch
of fun with a couple of small pile-ups. This was a first for me -- my
apologies to any who were trying to get through and I missed. Being on the
receiving end of a pile-up is harder than it would seem. I ended up having
to cut my operating time short, due to causing interference to the
telephone and electrical systems where I was staying. If you worked me and
are interested in a QSL, please send your card and an SASE to my home
address.
While I was on the island, I had the privilage of meeting Bob Denniston,
VP2VI. In May of 2002, Mr. Denniston passed away. The ham radio
community, and indeed the world lost a wonderful man. I feel very lucky to
have been able to meet him and spend the all too short bit of time
listening to his stories. Life is short and fragile. The world would be a
much better place if there were more people like Bob Denniston.
During the first part of 2005, I have been chasing some RFI noise which
has almost completely made it impossible for me to listen to the radio. I
have been documenting my efforts at http://brauhaus.org/n8ysz/rfi . If you are a ham
and are in my area and would like to help with this, please contact me.
Hope to meet you on the air some day.
