Operating Info

Grid EM12PT

Icom IC-91AD  (D-STAR)

Icom ID-880H  (D-STAR)

Memberships

Life Member

American Radio Relay League

Life Member

Quarter Century Wireless Assn.

#30705

Links

Personal Web Page

Software I Wrote

I first heard about amateur radio from my Uncle Paul Gose (W5CJE, now a silent key) when I was very young. When I was 13 or 14 years old, my father bought me a shortwave radio kit and we assembled it together. That got me hooked. I spent a year listening to foreign shortwave stations, heard some amateur operators and decided to take the plunge. My “elmer”  was an accomplished ham but only a year older than me -- Kevin, WA5MKK. We have lost touch over the years, but "thanks, Kevin!"

I was licensed in 1966 as WN5QFD, and upgraded in 1967 to General Class with call sign WA5QFD. I upgraded to Amateur Extra Class in 1983 and acquired my current call sign -- NI5V.

Unfortunately I have had very significant lapses in my operating. I have been inactive about half the time I have been licensed. Shortly before retirement in 2016, we down-sized and moved into a "garden home" with no room for antennas, and a restriction on visible antennas. That move put an end to my HF operations.

Like many other amateur radio ops, I became fascinated by the personal computer revolution in the late 1970's, and my curiosity and need for intellectual fulfillment was channeled towards computers. I've certainly not mastered computers, but I'm good enough and knowledgeable enough with computers and the Internet to have become bored. They are now very useful tools but don't satisfy that technical curiosity like they once did. I'm hoping others will find that there is a lot to learn in ham radio and come back to this hobby the way I did.

Operating

I've always been a cw (morse code) guy, and even my years of inactivity did not dampen my love for cw. I don't dream in morse, and I'm not a high speed man - I was always perfectly happy plugging away at 18 - 25 words per minute. If you haven't read the very old QST article " Your Novice Accent " that defines good cw operating procedure, I highly recommend reading it! A little dated, but very, very good stuff if your cw procedures are a little rusty.

As a cw devotee, I learned early on to love Vibroplex and TenTec. Sure, others make good keys, but you can't beat my Vibroplex Iambic Deluxe and nobody but nobody can beat the QSK available on TenTec rigs. (I don't currently own a TenTec rig due to changes in operating habits - but I still consider them among the best pre-assembled rigs on the market!)

I currently operate mostly on VHF and UHF.

I used to spend a significant amount of my time operating CW QRP - I liked the challenge of operating at five watts or less, and I usually operated using less than 1 watt.

Over the years I have built much of my equipment - rigs and accessories. I built from kits or schematics. (I admit that I'm not talented enough to design my own equipment from scratch).