Thank you all for welcoming me to CWOps! It has been a goal of mine to join since I first learned about the organization. I’m 28 years old and live in Raleigh, NC with my wife and 3 kids. I have always been interested in radio. One of my brother and my first purchases as kids that we saved up for were some Motorola Talkabout FRS radios and rechargeable AA batteries to power them.
I have been licensed for just over two years – passed technician and general less than two weeks before the COVID pandemic. It was great timing to be able to enjoy ham radio during the lockdown. I upgraded to extra soon after when remote testing sessions opened up. Later I got an ic-7100 and installed a 20m loop in my attic due to HOA restrictions. There were two drivers that got me into CW. On SSB, I would have decent luck responding to calling stations, but no one ever could hear me when I called CQ (even with the voice keyer on loop!) The other thing that made me interested in CW was wanting to go portable QRP. Growing up, my family did a lot of outdoor vacations, camping, and hiking. I had a vision for when the kids get older wanting to take them on the same type of outings. POTA and SOTA sounded really fun, and I knew I would have a lot more flexibility with CW.
I started learning CW in February 2021 with LCWO.net to learn the letters with Farnsworth spacing. Then I joined the Long Island CW Club and dropped in on some of their classes. I really want to thank John, N8AA and Phil, NE0S for giving their time and expertise in the CWA program. Those classes have been the largest contributor to my CW proficiency.
I’m looking forward to getting to know as many of you as possible on the air!
This biography is what appeared in Solid Copy when the member joined CWops.