I have been a licensed Amateur Radio operator since January 1966 and hold an Extra Class license. I am a life member of ARRL, AMSAT and CSVHF. I have served as AMSAT President and as a member of the AMSAT Board of Directors. I am an active memberof NCDXA (a DX club)and PVRC (a contest club). Myinterests involve the design and implementation of new technology, DXCC hunting and contesting.

I lived in Upstate New York from 1948 to 1987, moving often (Schenectady, Potsdam, Oneonta, Cooperstown, Oneonta, Middletown, Ithaca, and Rochester). I now live in Severna Park MD. I attended Cornell University in Ithaca NY between 1966 and 1976, receiving two degrees in electrical engineering. During this time I was active in the Cornell Amateur Radio Club, helped re-start the Tompkins County Radio Club, served as an ARRL Assistant Emergency Coordinator and received two ARRL Public Service Awards.

My job grew out of an early interest in ham radioandelectrical engineering. I was first licensed while still in high school, As president of CNS Systems, Inc., I design systems that employ radio techniques I initially learned about through ham radio. My career has been intimately influenced by my interest in ham radio, and I am motivated by a desire to see that this positive influence is available to the next generation of scientists and engineers.

After 45 years as a licensed Ham I finally have a tower with good antennas. The tower carries a SteppIR DB18 for 40 through 6 meters and Gulf Alpha beams for the 144, 222 and 432 MHz bands. It also supports an 80 meter half sloper,an 80 meterdipole and a 160 meter antenna designed by W3ZZ. To see a photo gallery showing the complete construction of the tower see www.cnssys.com/~w2gps.

A few months after the tower went in service, Ike W3IKE and I won first place in the 2011 June VHF Contest, Maryland-DC section, Limited Mutioperator. Then Brian K3PU and I won first place in the July CQWW VHF Contest, Maryland section, Mutioperator. Much of the equipment was borrowed from K8JW. The station has matured since then but is a work in progress. I expect to be operating some of the futureVHF contests from the W3SO super station in FN00, as I have done in the past, but when I am at home I want to have a modestly competitive station. .

"Rick"