I am a retired Central Oregon Farmer / Rancher roaming around Alaska now

I became interested in Amateur Radio after reading about it in Boy’s Life magazine while in grade school. I made myself a Morse code key, wound some wire on a nail to make a magnet for the clicker and powered it with my electric train transformer. It’s been fun ever since. My whole world changed when my dad found me a Silvertone shortwave receiver that had a built in vibrator power supply for a 6-volt car battery. Dad let me charge it up once a week in his truck.

Everyone has an Elmer. Mine was a buddy in high school. Don had his ham license and had built a little home brew one tube transmitter and a regenerative receiver. I have never forgotten the blue glow from his power supply. He always helped me with my crazy questions as a kid and still does today. Thank you K7FJ.

I put together a Heathkit AT-1 for my first transmitter and my receiver then, was a Hallicrafters SX-100 I bought from a Montgomery Wards catalog.

My station today is old classic ICOM with a Windom Antenna and my CW tube rigs are homebrew 6L6 transmitters I have built.

Listen for me chirping on 7.045 now and then or catch me on the 14.292 Alaska Pacific Net.

I am most active on Terrestrial JT65A. ----I QSL the old fashion way. A card with a stamp on it. ----