Biography

Doug, VE3ZDN, is a Canadian amateur radio operator with a lifelong interest in electronics, engineering, and wireless communication physics. I built my first crystal radio in 1975 and soon after started learning electronics with a Radio Shack Science Fair 20-in-1 Electronic Modular Experiment kit. In the 1980s, I attended Sheridan College's Davis Campus in Brampton, Ontario, and earned my Electronics Engineering Technician diploma. I started my working career at GFC/Hammond Electronics in Guelph in 1985. At that time, the Hammond Museum of Radio was located on the second floor of the same building at 95 Curtis Road in Guelph.

I earned my Basic Certificate with Honours on 2025-12-12, a date chosen with a smile—it marks the anniversary of Guglielmo Marconi’s first transatlantic radio transmission in 1901. Drawn to radio as both a technical discipline and a living piece of engineering history, I value good operating practice, thoughtful experimentation, and the enduring culture of courtesy on the bands.

I'm most interested in antennas and propagation, APRS, CW, QRP, and WSPR right now.

Favourite radio-related song: "Airwaves" by Thomas Dolby.

First on-air QSO completed on 2 m in December 2025.

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Wouxun KG-UV8D(Plus) - 2 m/70 cm with a Retevis throat mic

Yaesu FTdx10
17 m dipole
20 m dipole
Signal Electric straight key
Alinco 30 A 13.8 V Power Supply