Greetings,
Ham Radio has been in my life since I was born. Both my father, WB4EHG and his father, WB4CCB (SK) were licensed well before I showed up. Even my stepmother is licensed (KC4BAR). How could I not become a Ham myself?
Dad gave me this photo which was taken in my grandfathers radio room. Circa 1975.
I received my (coded) Technician license in August of 1988 at the age of 14. I worked a bunch of 10m DX while the band was open using a HR-2510 and homebrew dipole in the attic of my childhood home. In 2012 I got the bug again and have gotten my station up and running with both VHF/UHF and a shiny new HF rig, a Icom IC-718. You can read more about my setup over on the Ham Shack page.
On August 9th, 2014 I passed the Element 3 exam and am now a General class operator. Having already installed a 40-20-10-6 OCF dipole I was able to start working my new HF bands immediately. While I have made a few contacts I am fighting with some severe RFI on 40m and to a lesser extent on 20m. But that is part of what Ham radio is all about!
In December 2014 I purchased a major station upgrade, a Yaesu FTDX-3000 transceiver from HRO. Dad helped me put up a MGS fiberglass mast at Christmas. Getting the OCF antenna away from the house helped quite a lot with my RFI situation.
Over the last couple of years I’ve been on and off the air for periods of time. Life has a tendency to get in the way. But I stick with it; I’m even thinking about going for my Extra class license in 2018!
Contact Info
On the Air:
Being a (relatively) new General I now have a whole new world of frequencies to work! I do not operate CW, even though I had to learn it to get my original license. I prefer to operate SSB and PSK31 and am generally working towards my WAS or DXCC. I enjoy contesting as well and look forward to working my first contest as a General!
I tend to stay on 2m for local radio contacts. Not sure why I never got into 70cm. I usually have one radio monitoring 146.52 and another fluctuating between the 145.47 NF4GA and the other local repeaters. You might also see me on APRS while mobile using the N4TQU-9 callsign. I frequently operate an APRS iGate from my home.
On the Internet
QSL with N4TQU
I prefer to use the ARRL Logbook of the World for working towards my WAS and DXCC awards, but I also use eQSL.cc where I have the AG status.
Club Affiliations
I am a member of both the ARRL and NFARL. I believe that HRO should have a frequent buyers club as well.
