Thanks to my sponsors K4FN, KE4KY, W4PF and N4GO!
As a young boy, I watched my father, K4EFD, making CW contacts on his Collins S-line, and it seemed like the coolest thing ever. I really wanted to learn that secret code! By age 10, I had my Novice license, WN4UYU. Within a few months, I upgraded to General, and my call sign became WA4UYU.
In the 1980s, as I began engineering school, I started to become really interested in chasing DX. I needed those extra privileges, so I quickly upgraded to Advanced and then Extra. I was quite active for many years as KJ4VH, and finally N4GN once the vanity call sign program opened up in 1996.
I have always loved to travel. I made my first “DXpedition” in 1988 as KJ4VH/VP2M from Montserrat. Since then, I have operated from another 45 countries, including some fairly rare DX locations (BS7H twice, BQ9P, H40AA, C21BH, OJ0/N4GN, T88GG, 3A/OH4GN, etc.).
I was not very active from 2014 until earlier this year. But I’m very happy to be back!
My wife Joana (N4AKO) and I are fairly nomadic now. Our official residence in Puerto Rico, where I have been operating as NP4TT with low power and stealth antennas due to HOA restrictions. We are also in the Philippines several months each year, where I recently received the vanity call 4G1G. Plus, we hold permanent residence status in Mexico and Armenia, and citizenship in Antigua (where I hope to have a new V21 call soon). In 2024, we are starting the process of hopefully acquiring a new EU citizenship and establishing a base there.
Outside of ham radio, I am a huge fan of and advocate for Bitcoin. I do some private equity and real estate investing for a bit of financial diversification, but my heart is in Bitcoin, and I’m excited to see how it’s already starting to change the world.
I can also often be found at a poker table. I really enjoy the beautiful challenge of the game on so many levels, and the extra profit helps fund my ham radio habit.
Back on the ham front, my focus now is entirely on building a competitive new contest/DX station at 4G1G. We recently purchased a small farm there, and station construction has already begun. The goal is to be on the air in a reasonable way by next contest season, and I intend to have every aspect of the station fully remote controlled, so I can operate it wherever I happen to be. So look for much more activity from 4G1G, coming soon!
This biography is what appeared in Solid Copy when the member joined CWops.