I received my Novice license, WN2TVU in 1973, about a year after my discharge from the U.S. Navy and upgraded to General in June 1975.
While serving in the U.S. Navy I learned CW at the Naval Communications Training Center (NCTC) at Corry Field in Pensacola, Fla. After six months of intensive training we were able to copy 18 "groups" (comprising of 5 letters and/or numbers each) per minute on a manual typewriter, also known as a "mill." For the next 3 1/2 years I copied all manner of CW as an intercept operator (then known as a "Communication Technician" (CT)) first onboard the U.S.S. Oxford off the coast of Vietnam, followed by tours in Rota, Spain and finally Homestead, Fla.
After receiving my Novice ticket, I was active for about 20 years & then went QRT for almost as long.
On Oct 1st, 2012 I finally got back on the air with a new enthusiasm for ham radio and on Jan 1st 2013 I completed CW W.A.S., CW DXCC and CW WPX.
On Jan 1st 2013 I also received my new call sign, K2TTM, after holding WA2TVU for nearly 40 years.
Chasing DX & contesting are my two favorite activities, but I spend a fair amount of time rag chewing & trying to get my CW speed back up where it was 20 years ago.
I work strictly CW when on HF bands and couldn't tell you where the mic for my rig is. On good days I can usually manage to copy around 40 wpm and currently I can send about 33 wpm without too many mistakes. I'm working on getting my sending speed up to at least 35 wpm so if you enjoy QRQ CW please give me a call if you hear my CQ. The recent purchase of a Begali Simplex Mono single lever paddle has helped my sending quite a bit.
My current rig is a Kenwood TS-590S. My antenna is an "Off Center Fed" Dipole/Windom running roughly north/south with the feed point up about 35' in the trees . Overall the antenna is 132' in length. One leg is 44 ft. long, the other leg is 88 ft. In order to obtain a 50 ohm match there is a 4:1 balun at the feed point.It is designed to be used on 80 through 6 meters, including the W.A.R.C. bands, but with my rigs internal tuner it will even work on 160 meters. If you have the room, I highly recommend this antenna design.
In addition to ham radio my hobbies include photography & genealogy. The picture on my QSL card is a shot of the Great South Bay here on Long Island I took last year. I have traced my family tree back to the late 1400's in Germany (where they have the most amazing records). On my English side I have gone back to the late 1500's. On my Dutch side, the mid 1500's, but only the late 1700's on my Irish side. My Dutch ancestors were the first to come to America in the mid 1600's. At last count I have at least 7 direct ancestors who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
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NA-025 (Long Island - NY State Group)