Biography

My career as an amateur radio operator began in my native town of Pensacola, Florida. In 1958 I was licensed as a novice operator with the call sign KN4VFF. Back in those days most novices had the N letter in their call. It was an exciting rite of passage to reach the General class and drop the N from one's call. A year later I passed the 13-wpm code test and general examination at the local FCC Field Office in Mobile, Alabama and was licensed as K4VFF.

College years took up most of my time with studies and research papers. I was inactive until 1967 when I taught science and was moderator of the radio club at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland. Many of those talented young men went on in the fields of technology and electronics. Moving from Florida to Maryland resulted in my applying for a change in call sign to W3GLQ which I have maintained to this day.

I am retired and live on Kent Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Soon after retiring, I returned to amateur radio and was astounded to see an active, dynamic community of hams who are devoted to having fun, advancing the field and engaging in public service. Inspired by the many exciting things amateur radio operators are doing I decided to study for the Amateur Extra License. That was quite a challenge because I am not an engineer, technician or electronics professional. I am grateful to the Laurel (Maryland) Amateur Radio Club for offering the licensing exams. On July 23, 2014 I passed the Amateur Extra exam thanks to Gordon West's Study Course and the outstanding online program Ham Test Online. I also want to thank N3GT, W3NI and AF3D who supervised my exam and signed my Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination.


I plan on doing a lot of listening, some Echolink contacts, listening to amateur satellites and ragchewing on local repeaters. I recently got an AnyTone AT-D878UVII Plus and a Sky Bridge Max Dual-Band Digital Hotspot from BridgeCom Systems for a birthday present. I have been enjoying meeting new friends on DMR Digital Voice both in the United States and across the globe. I enjoy exchanging eQSLs and digiQSLs with the hams I contact. My friends are amazed when I tell them about the great things that are happening in the Amateur Radio Community. I am an active member of Queen Anne's County Amateur Radio Club and am always happy to be a great PR resource for amateur radio and fellow hams.

Equipment

AnyTone 878 uvii Plus, SkyBridge hotspot, Icom IC-718 transceiver, Icom IC-2300H FM transceiver, Icom IC-V80 VHF HT, Yaesu FT-80 FM HT, Yaesu FT-70D, 2 meter vertical, Dell Inspiron laptop PC, Apple iPad Pro with Apple Magic Keyboard, Uniden BC125AT scanner.