Welcome to My Amateur Radio Page
Member of Jackson/Harrison County RACES /
ARES
& Magnolia DX Association
* QSL -
QSL - QSL *
I use LoTW
and eQSL to QSL most of the time, but I also enjoy receiving and exchanging paper QSL
cards. If you want one of my custom cards I will gladly exchange one with you.
Just send me your card and an SASE and I’ll promptly return you one of mine.
Direct works best for me, but I also use the OMISS QSL Bureau. Please send
bureau cards to Dan Miller, KC0FRL 1040 Rittenhouse St. Des Moines, IA
50315. I would like to see more people
use LoTW, especially non US entities. It’s very easy and efficient for the
officially sanctioned exchange of QSL and I support it 100%.
Quick
Bio about me
Prior to becoming licensed in 1988, I became
interested in (two way) radio in general when my Dad had installed a 23-channel
CB radio in the station wagon. He would never let me talk on it, but I was
fascinated by it nonetheless. As I became older I would finally get to talk on
it and started making friends on the air in and around the neighborhood. I
guess I was 9 or 10 years old back then. And then one day I found my dad’s old Wells Gardner BC-348Q
military receiver in the garage and brought it from the depths of coldness and
lacking of electricity, back to life! From my bedroom’s closet I began using it
to listen to anything I could. I only had a piece of jumper wire attached to
the antenna post but it was enough for me to pull (unusual) signals from all
over. I didn’t really understand what I was doing back then, and always had a
yearning to be able to hear secret military transmissions or something of that
nature on it. I didn’t know it was just a stepping-stone to me becoming a ham.
A few years passed by and I was licensed to drive a car, and ended up getting into
CB Radio in a big way. I had a base station, and a mobile in all of the cars in
the household, and my mom, dad, and I would use them to be able to communicate
with one another around town. It worked for the most part. I also met up with
Richard (KC5RID) who at the time was not a ham either, but he was the president
of a group known as REACT. And thus
began my interest into public service communications. I joined and participated
in everything they did. I advanced in the hobby of CB radio, and of monitoring
Channel 9 for emergencies. The group disbanded after a few years but Richard
and me remained friends and would go hunting and talk on the radio from time to
time. Then in 1987 I found a new organization. CIVIL
AIR PATROL. I joined the Ocean Springs-Keesler Composite Squadron (22048)
located at Keesler AFB. Now called the “Colonel Bertie Edge Squadron,” named
after the person who was my commanding officer when I was a member. She passed
away a few years ago and they renamed the unit in her name, rightfully so. She
deserved it! She taught me everything about CAP Communications. I started out
as a Cadet, and went through the ranks until I was old enough to become a
Senior Member under her, and became the unit’s Communications Officer
(Mockingbird 484). I had spent a lot of time on the VHF and HF nets back in the
late 1980’s. It was in 1988 that I finally decided that I MUST ACHIEVE my amateur
radio license. I had this brand new Icom micro 2AT HT and it was wasted on one
CAP frequency. So I joined the Keesler Amateur
Radio Activity (K5TYP) and enrolled in their Novice class. For a month I
struggled with CW practice and using the “Now you’re talking” study guide. I
took and passed my Novice exam one month later and became KB5FSV. Back then it
took 6 weeks for my license to come in the mail. A month or two later I went
and tested for my Technician and passed.
Here’s the thing though. By this point I had my Mom
and Dad interested in getting their license too. In the time I was studying for
my Technician class, my Mom was enrolled in a Novice class at K5TYP. So when I
went to take my Tech, my Mom was taking her Novice and Technician, and my dad
took his Novice, Tech, and General. We all passed. So now my mom was a
Technician (N5PHA), I was a Technician (KB5FSV), and my dad a General (N5MSJ)
He later went to Advanced and became a VE. So I replaced all of the CB
equipment with brand new two-meter rigs in all of the cars. Ahhh progression! I
didn’t mention this but my Dad use to be a ham in the 50’s and 60’s and with
his electronic background it didn’t take much studying for him to get to
Advanced class. He’s (ex-KN5AZJ ex-WA5OMX.)
My first HF rig was provided by a man who elmered me
in ham, ironically he was one of the CB friends I had made just talking on the
CB band. Jack, KG5GP had provided me with a nice Swan 500cx 5 band HF radio
which was quite a heater. I used it on 10 meter phone all through the 90’s and
tore a hole in the atmosphere working 10 meter all over the world and US. I
would spend all day during the winter in my room talking to stations all over
the place. The only thing negative about that radio was it drifted really badly
on 10 meters. Sold it, and got a Kenwood TS-700 all mode VHF for it. I got rid
of that one, and eventually we got a Kenwood TS-440s and a complete Collins
S-Line. The kenwood got struck by lightning and we replaced it with a brand new
TS-450sat, which is the present primary station rig. The Collins still works
but used mostly to listen. In the year 2000 I participated in MDXA’s Field day
for the first time at the invitation of a co-worker who is a member, Ray
(WQ5L), and ran their Novice station with the TS-450. Making over 400 qso’s in
a 24-hour period as a solo op made me feel good. I was invited back, but would
unfortunately drop off the face of the ham-world. I got involved in other
personal interests and all but fell out of interest. I still had a 2-meter in
the car but it was used as a police scanner hi-hi. I had moved away from home
and living in apartments didn’t suit well for HF. Then in 2005 Katrina came
calling.
In a two-month period in the aftermath of Katrina I
had lost my job, my personal life (girlfriend), and my home. I ended up
retreating back to my old home, and fell in love with ham radio again. I guess
the five-year hiatus did me some good. I got in touch with Ray (WQ5L) and asked
if I could participate in MDXA’s 2006 Field Day and the response was positive.
So I re-joined them again for 2006. I ran their GOTA station. Naturally I was
invited to keep coming back. In between 2006 and 2007’s Field Day I took and
passed my General class with a 100% grade. I also became a member of MDXA. At
2007 Field Day I provided the 6-meter station, and the AMSAT station. Since
becoming a member I’ve managed to work 88 entities (so far) during my limited
time on the air (due to work) and limited resources (note 40-meter wire dipole
only 20 feet above ground) with only 100 watts. I’m currently working on
getting my DXCC, and then from there I’ll start focusing on operating in some
Dxpeditions.
I can usually be found on the MDXA Club Repeater, which is at 147.375+ with no PL tone. It also has an Echolink feed on it, and you can connect to the repeater via Echolink on N5UCF-L. All are welcomed and we encourage usage of the link. We have a couple of regulars from Indiana who stop in to rag chew. We also have an Ares net on Monday nights (1900L) and on Tuesday nights at 2000L we have a DX’ers Net, on Thursdays at 2000L we have an YL Net! So the repeater is very active and has an excellent coverage of up to 100 miles radius. The QTH is on the WXXV TV tower in McHenry, MS about 800 Ft. ASL. There is also a D*Star repeater on that tower 145.1700 KI4TMJ, but I don’t have D*Star equipment yet.