In high school I was Short Wave Editor of Radio Science Magazine (now defunct, hope it wasn't me!), and in the process became familiar with much of the Ham Radio world, but never tested for a license. Then came college, marriage and family, so Ham Radio got lost in favor of Boating and Gardening. But, the boats were driving me under water, the gardens lost their bloom and Ham Radio came back to the surface. So after the family was grown the Ham Radio bug bit me hard, I became licensed as a Technician, then a General as W1DFT (my SK uncle's old call) and later as an Extra with W1EY after a short stay as AA1J, which did't have enough of a "radio sound", at least for me.

I"ve been through a lot of equipment on my Ham "watch", I guess trying to make up for all that lost time and attempting to gain some level of comprehension that others have accumulated over a much longer period. I've had various Icom, Kenwood and Yaesu radios, Kenwood, Alpha and Icom amplifiers, Cushcraft, Mosley and Sommer antennas. I've recently "cleaned house" clearing out most of my older equipment and have settled in with an Icom 756PROII and a IC-2KL amplifier which work together in a superb way, with a trusty, fully filtered and accessorized IC-751A as a reliable and dependable backup. They'll probably bury the 751A with me - the 756PROII bring a more money at the SK tag sale. I use a 910H for VHF/UHF and enjoy the capability and flexibility it has.

I'm lucky enough to live in a rural area with no antenna restrictions on about 2 acres and have a very responsive Sommer XP 807 for 40 through 10m at 55 feet, a VHF/UHF log 50MHz to 500MHz (horizontal), a vertical for 2m, 6m and 440MHz, and an inverted V for 160, 80 and 75m. They all get the job done quite well.

Since my work in the financial world was mostly a type of contest , my retired life on the radio does not include contesting, although maybe some day I might wish I had some of that paper to hang on the wall, I would rather know I made many new friends out there. Yes, I really enjoy rag chewing, working casual DX and trying to catch up with others on their lives and radio experience.

I'm on most bands, depending on the conditions, and I look forward to having a nice chat with you soon.

73, Dave Johnson, W1EY