Biography

Inspired by my dad (KE8FD / Gary) and my uncle (K3IMC / Donald), I earned my Novice and Tech tickets in 1988 at age 15 and received my original call sign: N8JYU.

Shortly thereafter I passed the General test and became KF8BT. I passed the Advanced test in late 1989, but could never copy CW well enough at 20wpm in order to try for an Extra class license.

Fast forward to October of 2012 and I finally got around to taking, and passing!, the Extra class test. No CW requirement at this point.

In 2018 I was granted the vanity call AA8MA.

I primarily use an Icom 7610 paired with a Palstar AT2K manual tuner. My HF antenna is an Alpha Delta DX-CC 80m-10m fan dipole at 20 feet.

For VHF+ I use the 7610 on 6 meters, and an Icom 9700 for 2m & 70cm, with PAR omniangle antennas in the attic for all 3 VHF/UHF bands.

After graduating from Ohio State in 1996 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, I tried a few jobs before settling in with my current day job in 2001 (software development & IT guru).

I coached indoor and outdoor high school track between 1992 and 2011 (girls sprint coach at Grove City HS until 2009 and then the same position at Watterson HS in 2010 and 2011). This also included AAU and Junior Olympics coaching in the summers.

Additionally, I've enjoyed mountain biking since 2008. I mostly ride P2 at Alum Creek State Park, Chestnut Ridge, and our favorite trail - Mohican State Park and its 24+ miles of pure awesomeness. Several years ago I spent a week in Moab, UT riding with my brother and would love to ride the famous SlickRock Trail again someday. My current bike is a Specialized Crave Comp 29er.

Hope to catch you on the air...

73!