I guess I got interested in ham radio back around 1966 when I was in the Army. I was stationed on Okinawa and was assigned to the the Stratcom signal outfit on the island. We worked in a major com relay center on the island. There was one of our guys who was a ham and set up a radio in the barracks. I would go up to his room and he would tell me to listen for 3 calls. I would find a strong signal and he would make the contact with the guy. If the stateside station had phone patch ability we would request they place a call to my home. My dad would usually answer the phone and we would talk. My dad thought that was great.

Around 1976 I took the test for my novice license but never did anything with it at that time. I let the license expire and around 1992 I was talking to a guy on a job site in NJ and he told me about the Tech Class Licenses. I checked into it and about that time I went over to Philly to tour the tall ships that were in town. I found that one of the clubs from the Franklin Science Center had a radio set up on one of the ships. I talked to them and found out that they were giving some classes. I signed up and got my novice ticket and tech license again.

It wasn't long after that that I took the test for my General and passed that. My first call sign was WB3ICD, and in 92 I got N3NDW.

I work on the road for an Environmental company and get long term assignments around the country and this has given me the opportunity to meet some great hams and visit some nice clubs.

I run mobile most of the time and have a Yaesu FT-857 in the pick-up connected to a High Sierra Sidekick antenna, and a FT-8800 for the 2 meter side.

At home I run a Yaesu FT-950 going into a wire antenna and a Yaesu Ft-1802 2 meter rig. I bought the FT-950 when I got my first SS check and really love it.

We have been working on the antennas at the house and always trying to improve it.

As of October 2010 I have changed the antenna to a "Delta Loop". It is 265' long and fed with a 4:1 balun. The results have been fantastic. I never heard any DX stations on 75/80 meters and now I have worked into South Africa and the Czech Republic with 100 watts. The antenna is 100' long on each leg and 50' across the back. (I just updated the antenna  on 4-7-2013 with the 265' of wire)

Ham Radio is a great hobby and I find it to be perfect for someone like me who travels all the time.

73's Chuck