Biography

I started in Ham Radio in 2000. My interest in radio stemmed from my interest in Emergency Management. I received my Technician license that year. I never thought I would advance beyond that point since HF rigs were in excess of $1000 and I didn't think I would ever invest that much cash on a hobby (since I was raising a family and had other priorities). My involvement in the amateur radio community had only ever been superficial and only as far as it was necessary to support my interest in preparedness / Emergency Management. I had several opportunities to assist local, state and federal agencies with response to emergencies across Southern Utah and in Kansas/Missouri where I now live. Radio communications is a critical tool and I am grateful I got started in Ham radio when I did.

However, I have never really been interested in contesting or radio nets (except for the testing of capabilities). Twenty years later, family now raised and the world locked down due to COVID-19, I started looking in to the possibility of upgrading to my General license. I found that the cost of entry was not as steep as it once was and radios like the Xiegu G90 made it feasible for me to get in. After several months of study (and lots of encouragement from friends who were also Hams) I tested and received my General License.

I did start with the Xiegu G90 and was very pleased with what I was able to do with 20W. My real interest was reasearching and building my own home brew antenna systems. Dipoles, Fan Dipoles and long wire antennas were soon in the attic of my house and connected along the roofline. I had modest success but was ultimately unsatisfied with the performance of these "invisible" antennas. I finally prevailed upon my wife to allow me to install a couple modest poles and utilize a taller tree on the border of my lot and next door neighbors. After much trial and error, I have successfully built several 49:1 EFHW and 9:1 EFLW antennas. I have two currently deployed in my back yard. An 80m-10m EFHW sloping up from my apple tree to the neighbor's tree (35ft high) then angled slightly downward to one of the 20ft poles at the other end of my yard. Total length ~132 feet. A second EFHW inverted V along my back fence with the apex at 20 feet. Both have been good performers with the larger of the two providing good performance with DX from 40m up.

I upgraded to a Yaesu FT-710 this year and am very pleased with that radio. Digital modes are where I spend most of my time but I am working on making myself participate in SSB voice QSOs. Still a work in progress as I find I am a bit mike shy.

I still can't get excited about contesting but am starting to develop an interest in POTA (maybe). Nets are helpful as they make me participate and I get familiar with the protocols. I am working on that.

Thank you for stopping by and reading through my Bio.

73s

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Base Station
Yaesu FT-710
EFHW 80M-10M Home Brew Inverted L
EFHW 40M-10M Home Brew Inverted V

Portable
Xiegu G90
18.5' Telescopic mounted on a tripod with elevated - linked radials (2) for resonant comms 20m-10m.