Many thanks to Bud AA3B, Charles K3WW, Claude VE2FK and Les VE3NNT for nominating and sponsoring me. I am very happy to be a part of CWops. My name is Bernd Kestler (DL1NKB), I am 49 years old and I am living with my wife Michaela and my daughter Sarah in a small town in Germany (Bavaria) called Forchheim. The region is well known for its small breweries and roast sausages. I am an active member of the DARC / chapter B26. We have a lot of activities during the year (e.g. soldering for kids, field day, building B26-PA etc.)
My first call was DG1NKB, which I received in 1998. To get the full license, the CW exam was mandatory. To learn the necessary skills, I attended a course at the railway radio operators in Nuremberg. They taught me very well, especially the joy of CW. The classroom was in the club station. After having passed the exam, some experienced operators helped me with my first steps on air.
In the sunspot maximum I received my full license and the conditions were extraordinary. I worked DX from my car and I learned to adore the shortwave bands. At this time I started participating in the German mobile championship. It is a lot of fun working other mobile stations, answering questions and finding checkpoints.
Most of my equipment is also suitable for mobile or portable activities. Beside using a Flammex Pull Telescopemast with YP-Antenna for portable activities, I am currently working with 100 w with a G5RV (as inverted V) from my QTH. My passion is CW. 90% of my QSOs in the last years were in CW on 20 m. I try to improve my skills with an audiobook in CW, which has different speeds. Throughout the last months the weekly CWT sessions became a fixed schedule and I look forward to having many QSOs with you in the future, especially when the number of sunspots increases.
73, stay healthy and all the best.
This biography is what appeared in Solid Copy when the member joined CWops.