I am retired after 30 plus years from Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., which merged with R.J. Reynolds in 2004.

As a young boy living on a farm in South East Georgia, I was introduced to radio communications by a school mate, by way of Citizen Band radio. Later after marriage and two children (both daughters), my interest returned to radio, and I got my first ham license in 1991. I applied for VHF repeater frequency and have had a full time repeater on the air since 1993. The repeater (146.805) is part of a state wide Sky Warn linking system with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia.

My HF station currently consists of a Kenwood TS-2000, LDG AT-1000 Autotuner, Ameritron AL-80B amp, feeding a homebrew Carolina Windom antenna. I use a Signalink USB interface for digital modes, which I have just started to explore. I also have the Kenwood TH-D7 handheld that I can use with Sky Command of the TS-2000.

My other expensive hobby is Photography (you can make a small fortune in photography, if you start with a large fortune first). I shoot Nikon equipment in Digital and film and still have a medium format Pentax 645N I use occasionally. I have shot some weddings and enjoy outdoor/nature photography.

73’s Ken