Jim was first licensed in 1959 as KN8QAL. After college, he got to work at the legendary Collins Radio Company in Cedar Rapids. No, he didn't work on the ham gear, but he did get to meet Art Collins.

Over the years, Jim has been active from locations in W. Va., Pennsylvania, and Texas from El Paso to Corpus Christi. He currently lives in Leander, Texas and works 80 through 10 on an attic mounted "stealth" antenna. He mostly works PSK with some sideband. He is active on 2M and 70 cm and an active user of Winlink 2000 on VHF for packet email and emergency communications. He has been the ARES Emergency Coordinator for Williamson County since 2006.