The evolution of this CWops member: 9/2019 – Joined a local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). 11/2019 – decided to get my ham license (and a Yaesu FT70D) as another tool for disaster preparedness. 6/2020 – volunteered as much as I could as a net control operator for several local nets, after realizing that calling in to said nets was not cutting it in terms developing confidence on the air (AKA jumping into the deep end of the pool without my floaties). One evening I mentioned an article I had read about SOTA and one of the net participants invited me to join him on an activation. 8/2020 – my first SOTA activation. 3/2021 – Got my KX2, made a 53’ EFRW, and started making contacts on SSB and THEN discovered I could reach even further out with CW. Heard about CW Academy from a fellow SOTA enthusiast. 9/2021 – CWA Basic. 1/2022 – CWA Intermediate. 5/2022 – CWA Advanced. 6/2022 – CWops #3188.
In addition to practicing CW, making antennas, and troubleshooting stupid RF noise problems, I enjoy hiking, cycling, digging in the garden (and growing things too, but I really like digging), practicing on my fiddle, and petting my cats on demand. I’ve been married for 11 years to Tony, who has been a very enthusiastic supporter of all my radio activities and doesn’t complain when I play the same tune over and over and over.
Thanks very much to my advisors, Buz (AC6AC), Keith (G0HKC), and Kit (G0JPS) for their support and wisdom (and again to Kit for nominating me for membership). A special thanks to co-advisor Dennis (KN6IPE) for the countless hours via phone, text, and email he spent guiding me through getting an antenna set up and my radio settings working so that I could get on the air from home. Hiking for an hour to participate in CWT would just not have been practical.
To all my fellow CW Academy students who manage to keep up with the curriculum and participate in CWT while holding down full-time jobs and/or raising your families: my hat is off to you. I do not know how you manage it.
This biography is what appeared in Solid Copy when the member joined CWops.