Biography

Yes my 1st name is James but I go by my 2nd name - Michael (Mike).

I have been an active HAM since 1971 when I learned how to operate the amateur radio station VE8RCS in Alert NWT with the primary task of doing phone patches for the people stationed there, after which, or if no patches were scheduled, we were permitted to "get on the air". My prime reason for starting though was so that I'd be able do get in more phone patches to my wife and family - Method in my madness. But I got the "bug"

While in the military I was always on stations, ships and bases that had amateur radio stations and licenses so I didn't need my own to operate and used their call signs but since retiring I needed one of my own and finally took the plunge and got my basic license (Morse qualified) in 2002 and my advanced in 2008.

Retired in 2002 after serving in all three branches of the Canadian Armed Forces (Army as an infanteer, Air Force as a communicator and Navy as a MARS officer) for a total of 36 years and yes I wore all three of the different uniforms and the CF greens....

I now get to spend my time doing what I want to do - enjoying time with the YL and the grandchildren, 4 of them (1 boy, eldest and 3 girls); playing with the radio(s), woodworking (Intarsia - see photos below), golf and motorcycle riding in the nice weather and finally finding enough time to learn how to play my guitar well enough that people don't ask me to stop HI HI....

My YL and I live on a small plot of land surrounded by farms and forests about 75km East of Ottawa where we can watch the trees grow and the critters frolic. No worry about towers and neighbour interference out here.
P.S.. I don't call my wife the XYL as she told me if that if I insist on calling her that she'll make the "X" permanent HI HI.....

The "Locator Line" runs only meters from my tower and shack which I use as my primary therefore I report FN25ln; however, if I work outside in my back yard in a tent, as I do in summer, and my transmitter is now in "lm" but the antenna is in "ln" which do I use??? Kind of sounds like a U.S. county hunt.. HI HI....

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Radio: Kenwood TS-590S
Rig Blaster + for digiatal comms
MFJ 1775 Rotatable Dipole 18m AGL
Computer - HP Motherboard, the rest is from other salvaged computers