Nelly and I have been married for 48 years and her support has been very important to me in these fabulous 32 years of enjoying Amateur Radio.
From an early age I enjoyed listening to distant stations on a Philips blue dot radio. In 1985 I met a radio amateur in the city of Campeche and the world of amateur radio fascinated me.
Back in the city of Merida, Yucatan, I briefly but enthusiastically ventured into the Civil Band.
In January 1990 I received my Amateur Radio Certificate and soon after I joined the Merida Radio Club.
My first radio transmitter was a Kenwood 690s with a range of 160 to 6 meters. No one in the Radio Club had used the 6 meter band arguing that it was not useful. Like any curious novice, I made a dipole antenna and installed it on a broomstick in the vent of the water tank.
My surprise was enormous when a few days after listening for a while, due to work, on May 24, 1991 I made contact on SSB with LU2DEK, Manuel David Tomaz in Buenos Aires Argentina.
The rest is history, XE3EB, Emilio, experienced DXer, quickly joined my enthusiasm for the 6 m band and at that time we went around the world.
As for CW, it’s another story that started when I created family problems by making communications on SSB late at night and even in hours at dawn.
Then I remembered telegraphy.
With my excellent speed of 5 wpm, headphones, straight key, paper and pencil I started in the wonderful world of CW.
But first I want to tell you that I learned telegraphy because it was a requirement and I learned it in the worst possible way: reproducing the sounds with my telegraph key using the alphabet, numbers and signs printed on paper as dots and dashes… Hi Hi.
Even at that impressive speed of 5 wpm I started to call CQ and they answered me at speeds I could not decipher… So I was sending QRS PSE constantly… Some stations managed to slow down (many others did not) and to my surprise they wanted to talk because they were in Merida, Cancun, Chichen, Uxmal etc. and I wrote down letter by letter in my notebook… Hi Hi
Eventually, I disconnected my microphone and started calling almost daily on CW. Thus I achieved the WAS diploma, Centennial Points Challenge Award, FOC 75 and others like the 10 m Contest in which I participate annually in CW, of course. Regarding the WAS and Centennial Points Award I didn’t realize I was achieving them because my priority was to practice.
I currently have 193 verified entities in LoTW, of which 174 are in CW.
According to HRDlog I have 235 entities.
Wanting to improve my CW skills I enrolled in CW Academy at the Intermediate level. So I met the charismatic Buz, AC6AC, an excellent Advisor and friend, Savi, W1SAV, a friend who has supported me throughout these two levels, since he speaks Spanish and my English is not very good (but I love challenges).
Being in CW Academy has substantially improved my CW skills, which I will continue to cultivate in Advanced II with Buz.
I found a friendly community that I want to keep for life. My classmates are of excellent human quality as in our practices we joke, laugh and feel a part of something.
Finally, since 2016 the Association of Radio Experimenters of the state of Yucatán of which I am President, teaches courses to aspiring radio amateurs locally and nationally, currently virtually. The certificate we issue is valid for the Federal Institute of Telecommunications in Mexico and the course is at my expense.
This biography is what appeared in Solid Copy when the member joined CWops.