I was first licensed in 1964 at age 16, in Lakewood, Ohio. My first station, located in a corner in my upstairs bedroom, consisted of a Heathkit DX-60, a used Drake 2B rx, a used 3L 10 m yagi and a long wire for 80-20. My best DX was a KZ5 (Canal Zone) on 10 m AM using about 40 W! I was off the air from 1969-1979 and had let my General license lapse. I moved to San Jose, CA in 1973. In 1979, I got the "bug" again. In order to enjoy the same priveledges I used to have as a General Class, this time I had to go all the way for Extra Class, thanks to "incentive licensing" which had come to pass in the interim. So, with the Elmering help of Walt, AJ6T, in Oct 1979 I tested for and passed the Novice, Technician, General, Advanced and Extra Class exams in one sitting, after first passing the 20 WPM code test. This was up in San Francisco at the FCC field office on 555 Battery St. Since 1991 I have gotten into DXing and a bit of contesting. I am a member of the Northern Cal DX Club and the Northern Cal Contest Club. I enjoy operating 1.8 MHz-1.2 GHz, mostly CW, also SSB, RTTY and PSK-31. I've worked 50 countires using the satellites, attained DXCC Honor Roll on Mixed, Phone and CW, 160 m DXCC, 5BDXCC, 5BWAS, 160 m WAS, have worked DXCC on 9 bands now and I am a Life Member of the ARRL. I like to build antennas, amplifiers and custom PCs. My other interests are pets (I have a dog, two cats and a small snake), and living in the Santa Cruz mountains with the slower pace of life it offers. I also enjoy watching The Sci-Fi channel, and sipping a good beer! Direct QSL requests require an SASE, thanks.