Biography

Became an amateur radio operator in 1951, while in high school. Lived in Arizona most of my life and recently moved to Bedford, VA because my son says, "I'm elderly and wish to keep an 'eye' on you".

Employed in the semiconductor industry and worked in numerous off-shore facilities ( Asia and Europe). Was a plant manager, in China, before retiring.

My education is BSEE and MBA. Employed in semicondutor R & D, application, new product development, product engineering and manufacturing. Worked with thin film metals (100 angstroms range) developing resistors, capacitors, inductors, R-2R ladders, etc. These components were building blocks for integrated circuits.

Designed a YAG laser system which was capable of 'trimming' semiconductor metal-resistors to tolerances of 0.012-percent or better. Developed a method to 'trim' op-amps in wafer form. Developed light emitting diodes (LED) in the early 60's and coupled with the thin-film activity, produced a solid-state (flat-panel) radar display - this was the predecessor of today's flat panel TV / displays.

One of my most interesting projects (1963) was developing an integrated circuit 120MHz-160MHz aircraft transceiver for the Air Force....yes, it worked great on 2-meters, but could not let anyone (outside the company) know about the equipment being used. PO was 250mW.

Equipment

Because of my employment, ham radio was not actively pursued, for several decades. The equipment currently used are the Elecraft K3 and KPA500, SteppIR DB-36 Yagi which is mounted on a 25-meter tower. The other antennas are an inverted-L for 160m / 80m and an 160m dipole. 95% + of my contacts are CW with 30m being my favorite band followed by 160m, 80m and 40m.

Hand-arthritis, results in my code becoming 'sloppy' so my CW QSO's are kept short. Also, medication affects my voice (hoarseness) so phone contacts are held to a minimum. Hearing is poor (result of shooting) hence CW is my best mode of communication.

Have confirmed contacts with all entities on the current DXCC List and received the DXCC Top of Honor Roll Plaque. It took decades to reach the "Top of Honor Roll". Have also received the 5-Band DXCC Award with endorsements for 160-, 30-, 17- and 12-meters. WAZ on several bands but haven't concentrated the time necessary for the 5-Band WAZ awasrd, specifically 10-meters.