I was originally licensed in 1968 with the UK call sign G3YAQ. On arrival in Canada in 1980 I immediately qualified at the advanced level and was issued call sign VE2FUP. A few months later I was pleased to be issued VE2KM.
I have 3 other call signs VA2XDX, VA2KCC and VE0XDX. The latter is only valid when offshore and was recently used on a sailing voyage from Maryland to the Bahamas on a 60-foot schooner.
I have a Yacht Master Ocean certificate and teach all levels of sailing and navigation from beginner to offshore.
I operate mostly on the HF bands and I am in the process of putting a 6m station together. My 2 favourite bands are 40 and 10.
I have several rigs, all of them ancient. My primary HF rig is an FT102 with all the additional accessories; the full line up. I also have an FT757, a FT890, a FT690, a FT290, a FL2100Z, and a FT847. The latter recently acquired to get my feet wet operating satellites. I will be building antennas this winter. I have also acquired an FT401 which will be refurbished this winter. Yes, I am a fan of Yaesu rigs.
When I was first licensed, I used government surplus radios very much modified by me. That was all I could afford at the time. The skills acquired during that period are now being put to good use refurbishing old ham radio equipment. My first true ham equipment was a venerable FT101E which I wish I still owned. I guess I am brand loyal.
My antenna is a Mosley 4 element beam covering 40 to 10 but is presently down for an overhaul so I am operating into a wire loop of indeterminate length and odd shape through a SG230 antenna coupler. It is doing a reasonable job as I was able to work into Europe on 80m using 100W despite the lousy band conditions we are currently experiencing.
CW has always been a passion with me. I was pleasantly surprised to find that even after a 30-year hiatus I could still copy CW albeit only at about 15 wpm. I have been slowly regaining my previous operating speed helped in great part by the CW Academy advisors John AJ1DM, Ted WA3AER, and Joe KK5NA. I skipped level 1, graduated from level 2 in May (2019) and level 3 in Oct (2019). I participate in the CWTs whenever I can. Boy do those guys go fast! I prefer to use a straight key but reluctantly used a paddle and a keyer for the CW Academy sessions. On some occasions I would use the straight key in the session and my sending was always more accurate than with the paddles. Apparently, this makes me a bit of an odd ball.
One of my other passions is teaching sailing and later this year I will install a rig on my sailboat and operate /p in the Great Lakes. I also plan to play with the some of the digital modes in the near future.
I dabble in contests but I am not a dyed in the wool contester. It takes me longer to log the contest QSO than the QSO itself takes.
The only time I use a microphone is to log into the Professional Loafers Net which meets daily on 80m, otherwise my operating is strictly CW. When first licensed I chose to operate only CW even though I had full band and mode privileges. I had a lot of fun then; so now I am reliving my early days as a radio ham. I have gone back to my roots as a CW operator and also refurbishing / maintaining old radios. In addition to the FT 401 mentioned above I also have a Swan TX/RX and several Heathkit radios to work on this winter. Hopefully I will be able to return them to their owners in a fully operable condition.
I am a professionally trained instructor and facilitator. My next goal is to become a fully-fledged CWA Advisor. At present I am assisting John AJ1DM with an intermediate class and Bill W0EJ with a beginner class. I am extremely grateful for all the help and encouragement that I have received. I am looking forward to being an active CWops member and assisting others achieve their CW and ham radio goals.
This biography is what appeared in Solid Copy when the member joined CWops.