Biography

Retired IT contract employee: Chrysler/Daimler/Fiat 27 years; Bechtel Corporation 14 years.

Around 1964, my late brother David and I scraped together $65 to buy a Hallicrafters SX-28A and had a blast DXing the world. But we couldn't get our act together to learn code.

Fast forward to my mid 40's, I started studying for a no-code license at the urging of my late brother-in-law Chuck Scott N8DNX, after hearing 2meter traffic on a scanner I got to use at car races.
- 1995 Tech License KB8ZOY
- 1996 Upgrade to Tech Plus
- 1998 Upgrade to General (13wpm CW)
- 2007 Upgrade to Extra
- 2008 Vanity Call AA8RK ("Ann Arbor ate Ralph Katz")

Continuously rusty on CW, I mainly worked phone, but lately have gotten into FT8, Winlink HF Vara, Winlink FM Vara, and software-driven AX.25 applications.

Member of American Radio Relay League, ARROW Communications (Ann Arbor, MI club), Chelsea Amateur Radio Club, South Lyon Area Amateur Radio Association, Livingston Amateur Radio Klub, General Motors Amateur Radio Club, Quarter Century Wireless Association, Stu Rockafellow Amateur Radio Society (disbanded).

I have been the Public Information Coordinator for the ARRL Michigan Section since 2019.

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Shack:
- Icom IC-7300 - barefoot
- Cushcraft R7 - ground mounted
- Warren Gregoire TR-2000 headset

- Kenwood TM-V71A
- SignaLink USB

- Grecom PSR-600 digital trunking scanner

- LARK SHARI - AllStar node 51501
- LARK MMDVM - Pi-Star DMR node 3126615 (monitor 3126 MI statewide)
- IRLP simplex node 8578 - 223.700 FM / 100.0 PL

Mobile:
- Kenwood TM-V71A

HT's:
- Yaesu VX6 - 144/220/440
- TYT MD-380 - DMR 440
- BridgeCom BCH-220 - FM 220
- Radio Shack HTX-202 - FM 144 - my first ham radio - it still works