I was first licensed in 1973 as WN4CTA. I upgraded to general and WA4CTA in 1975. In 1996 I received NN4T from the FCC in the vanity program. My primary interest in amateur radio is DXing. The guys who first interested me in the hobby, WB4PRX, WB4ORP, AA4NU and WB4LHO were all DXers and I was infected, seemingly for life. SSB and CW are my primary modes and I also enjoy forays into the world of RTTY. My DXCC total is slowly building on that mode. I spent 6 years living in Memphis and attending dental school and a residency in periodontics. During my time there I had a station in my apartment and a small yagi on top of my 9 story apartment building. I also met some fine DXers, including K4CXY (SK), W4RIM (now K6RIM and back in CA) and K4XO. It was Jim, K4XO, who taught me to be a much more patient DXer and I am grateful to this day for his mentorship. In 1983 it was back to Murfreesboro, my home, to begin my professional career. It was then I met N4KG. Tom has been my most important ham radio mentor. He taught me the finer points of DXing, especially the nuances of low-band DXing. It was he who talked me into multiband DXing which led to my pursuit of 9 band WAZ (only need zone 22 on 160. Please call if you hear it!) and later the DX Challenge.For twenty years my station grew, peaking at 6 towers, an 80 meter 4 square and a host of other things on 10 acres. Separation and divorce resulted in a 3.5 year hiatus from ham radio. I moved to an apartment above my office, where I still live. I finally got the itch again in September of 2007. Thanks to some adjacent swampy land and understanding owners I now have a 3 element SteppIR yagi at 45 feet, a Big IR vertical for 6-40, verticals for 80 and 160, and a couple of beverages and the DX Engineering 4 square array for receiving on 80 and 160. It's not my old station but I have managed to add 100 new ones to my DX Challenge total since returning to the air.

Ham radio continues to be an important part of my life. I remarried in 2010. Joanne isn't a ham but seems quite understanding. She attended the Huntsville, AL hamfest and the DX banquet and enjoyed meeting my friends and fellow DXers. Finding a home with a few acres is our next priority. Nothing so grand as my last station is in the works but I would like a tower just a bit taller than 45 feet!

I hope to see each of you on the bands and in the pile-ups. 73, Steve, NN4T