I was honored to be nominated and sponsored so quickly to become a CWops member. Thank you to all that made this possible.
I was born in Jamestown New York in 1955 but started my working career and amateur radio hobby in the Dayton, Ohio area.
I was licensed in 1977 as WD8AMV and have enjoyed CW from the start. (And yes, being so close to the Dayton Hamvention, I did attend annually.)
I worked in Manufacturing and Management with Hobart Corporation (Troy, Ohio) for over 19 years and relocated with that Company in 1987 to South Carolina.
It is in South Carolina where I upgrade to extra class and selected the Vanity call W4JM. It had a nice CW flow to it.
In 1998 I started working for Honda (Timmonsville, SC) in Manufacturing and Management and continued until I retired in 2017.
I have always enjoyed CW, and for quite a few years I focused on Top Band (160 m). Working all continents with both call signs, I managed to work over 120 countries with 100 watts and with three phased inverted L’s spaced about 1/4 wave apart in a triangular configuration (using the tall trees on my property at that time). This gave me six directions and I had a lot of fun putting it together and working other hams. I also brag that I placed 1st place CW single operator, low power, South Carolina in the 1994 World Wide 160 Meter DX Contest. What I don’t tell is that I think I was the only entry, Hi Hi.
My station now consists of an FTDX10 transceiver and two wire antennas. A half wave delta loop for 160 m and an end fed wire for multi band use. I still enjoy the lower bands and top band along with POTA and have just recently tried FT8 (CW is still my preference).
I have been married for over 32 years with one daughter and they both support (or put up with) my other hobbies / interest which are:
- Precision Pistol Shooting (AKA Bullseye Competition)
- 10 Meter Air Pistol
- Reloading and casting bullets (Mainly handgun cartridges)
- Classical Guitar (Just started 2022)
- Oil and Acrylic painting and sketching
I also enjoy working in the yard and taking short trips to the beach (Myrtle Beach is only 75 Miles from my QTH) to walk in the sand or on the boardwalks.
Life is good!
This biography is what appeared in Solid Copy when the member joined CWops.