W2EA is the club call of the South Jersey Mountain Toppers Amateur Radio Club. This club was formed to honor the late Walter W. Schmidt, W2EA, who became a silent key in 1994. Walt was an active ham, licensed for over 60 years. But beyond that, he was also an avid hiker, backpacker, and camper - even to an age where other would have chosed less rigorous activities. One of Walt's favorite places was High Knob, a 2,000-foot mountain about 30 miles north of Marshall's Creek, Pennsylvania (Grid FN21). As a younger man he had hiked in the area on many occasions. Years later, he added ham radio; first with just a 2-meter hand-held and portable antenna. Later came car-access to the top, complete with 10-watt CW/SSB/FM rig and an "Armstrong-rotated" 8-element beam on a fiberglass vaulting-pole mast. Still later, Walt recruited others to accompany him to High Knob to participate in the June and September ARRL VHF QSO parties. Group involvement spanned two decades and expanded to multi-transmitter activity on five VHF/UHF bands. When Walt became a silent key, those who had participated in these activities with him agreed that they should not cease with his passing. Hence, the SJMTARC was born. The club applied for and was granted the call, and W2EA was again active on the airways. In addition to the aforementioned VHF activities, W2EA has also been aired in various HF contests, both from New Jersey and South Carolina.

The September 2011 VHF QSO Party Operators:

Ken K2WB, Jon W2MC, Rick K1DS, Ted W2TAG, Bob N2SCJ, Craig NC2H, Joe KC2TN, Ray N3RG, & Ken KC2SNV