I was born and grew up in Boone, Iowa. I graduated from Iowa State Univ and The Univ of Iowa, and I was a U.S. Navy officer from 1967-70--USS Tulare and Amphibious Group 1 in Vietnam. I worked at ACT, Inc. ("ACT" college admissions test) in Iowa City for 26 years--first as an educational researcher then as a manager. I took early retirement in September 2003 at age 60, and am loving retirement. My wife, Judy, and I have three adult children.

I think I got my interest in radio from my dad, who taught junior high science. I recall the excitment of listening on an old wooden radio to hams running AM. I got my novice license, KN0RJV, in 1958 at age 15. At that time the "N" meant novice, and the "N" was dropped when the general class license was issued. My interest in radio in high school led to a First Class commercial license and part-time work as an engineer at an AM radio station. I got my K0KK call in 1974 from one of the first releases of select-your-own calls.

Several years ago I rediscovered the fun of CW, and CW rag-chewing is now my favorite ham activity. I practice CW every day, and I'm close to reaching my initial goal of reliable copy at 35 WPM. I have an Icom 751A, K2, Clipperton L amp, and horizontal loop antenna. I like tinkering with equipment and simple building and troubleshooting projects.

Oh yes--you're wondering about the antennas in the picture. They're a small part of the antenna farm for the commercial HF station at Collins Radio (now Rockwell Collins) in Cedar Rapids, about 25 miles from my QTH. This station is among the most sophisticated and capable in the world. In spite of satellite communications, it's still used for aircraft and ship traffic--voice but no CW.