Hello and thanks for looking up my call! I am 25 years old and am a Texan by the Grace of God. I have far too many hobbies, most of which revolve around electronics or being outdoors. I enjoy golf, shooting, hunting, fishing, driving, hiking, camping and being outdoors. I am also a computer geek and love working with electronics. Luckily ham radio is one of my hobbies that tie a few of the others together. I also enjoy meeting new people and really love talking to new friends on the air waves or through the DSTAR network.

   I am a graduate student at Sam Houston State University where I am studying digital forensics. It is facinating field and I really enjoy everything I am doing with this program. I also work for the school as a TA working with faculty on the undergraduate courses. This job obviously doesn't pay much more than rent so my shack is a little lacking but I have come across some awesome deals through the last year and half that has gotten my shack off to a great start.

   My QTH consists of a Kenwood TS-570dg hooked up to a homemade longwire antenna. I am studying and hopefully I will have my general pretty soon and I can actually talk on the HF waves, currently I just spend my time spinning the knob and learning about the HF frequencies, how they act during different weather situations, times of day, atmospheric conditions, etc. I know the longwire antenna isn't very good so once I get some real antennas it will probably recieve alot better, either way I have really enjoyed spinning a real knob on the HF waves instead of a web interface. I have just purchased a DVAP dongle and Icom IC31a HT radio to be able to use DSTAR pretty much anywhere. I plan to spend some evenings on the reflectors, especially REF001c as I have heard the most about that and there is a good group of people that hang out there. I also have an Icom 521 (VHF)  and 621 (UHF) rigs that I used when I was a fire fighter, but now are used for the local repeaters and some simplex frequencies. I also have a yeasu ft-60r (my first radio) around the shack and I try to always have atleast one rig on scan with 146.52 in there, though I have not yet made a contact on there. 

   My mobile is where I spend alot of time on the air. My commute is covered by a repeater that is part of the Saltgrass system that covers southeast Texas. I also have a DSTAR repeater that I can hit for about half of my commute. The radio in the truck is an Icom 880h DSTAR dualband rig. It was my first major ham radio purchase and I have never regretted buying it. I really enjoy both FM and DSTAR, and I also keep 146.52 on the scan list when mobile. I also have dabbled with DRATS when I am staying with my brother, who lives within range of a DSTAR repeater. I can't wait to play with digital modes on HF when I get my general.

   I also have a few scanners that I monitor local emergency services, the local airport frequencies, and pretty much anything else I can try to pick up. I really enjoy all aspects of the radio hobby. I hope we meet on the air, if your on DSTAR look me up. If you want to contact me off the air my email is accurate here.

Thanks again for looking,

Eric