I am honored to become a member of CWops and I would like to thank Jim N7US for nominating me for membership and the members who sponsored me. I have had the pleasure of working so many fantastic ops over the last few months on the CWTs
I first got my amateur radio ticket in New Jersey back in October 1989, during my sophomore year of high school. My first call sign was KB2ICB; I then opted for a change to N2KAF when I got my Tech ticket. As the years went by, I got busy with a career change and moving and let my ticket lapse. I got back into the hobby in 2012. I studied for and took Tech, General, and Extra. I passed all of them. When I first got my ticket in 1989 10 meters was wide open, I was working stations all over the place with only 25 watts SSB and a J3 CW Key on a RadioShack HTX-100. My antenna was a homemade dipole. It was the coolest thing in the world for me.
Currently I enjoy HF and Hiking which dovetails well with SOTA Summits on the Air. I mainly focus on activating peaks especially remote ones that have not been activated by a ham radio operator. Most of the peaks involve off-trail hiking with lots of research and route planning to reach the Summit to put it on the air. My SOTA station consists of a Yaesu FT-817 or my Youkits HB-1B, palm radio Pico paddle and a Linked dipole antenna cut for 20/30/40. On summits the only phone I do is FM on 2m or 23 cm, all my HF work is CW. I enjoy CW so much and encourage people to learn and become proficient.
The home Station consists of a Kenwood TS-890s which replaced my trusty Kenwood TS-480 last November. My key in the shack is a ZN-9RZ. I am active with the Central Arizona DX Association, Superstition ARC, Cactus Intertie and LICW Club. I also did a 5-part educational series on SOTA for the ARRL Learning Network. I work in Aviation as a Commercial Pilot flying Corporate currently in the King Air. I also hold and A&P license with Inspection Authorization. My XYL Eve is a ham also. Her call is W7EVE and she recently upgraded to General. She is casually studying for Extra and may pick up CW.
I am excited to hone my operating skills with this amazing group of operators and the Academy Advisors.
This biography is what appeared in Solid Copy when the member joined CWops.