I was almost 13 years old when my grandfather, who ran a psuedo CB shop out of his basement in the 1960’s, introduced me to ham radio during the spring of 1991. That summer I spent many hours listening to 10 & 11 meter DX coming in from the west coast and the south pacific on the very last remaining rig from his old inventory. It was a “new-in-box” Swan Siltronix Comanche 1011 "Delta" transceiver with a separate LED frequency display and a "non-powered" Astatic D-104 microphone that I found tucked away in the corner of his basement along with a spool of RG-8/U, hundreds of PL-259 and SO-239 connectors, and a ton of soldering equipment. We took it all out to the shed in his back yard and connected it to an old Wilson V-quad antenna at ~36 feet. Inside the box for the 1011D I found a copy of a 1977 ARRL Handbook and I began selectively reading the sections that I found interesting.

I met a fellow radio enthusiast and middle school student who lived across town, now KD4KBN, and we began systematically studying the novice and the then “new-no-code Technician" exam prep guides from Radio Shack. We both passed the novice and technician exams by Jan of 1992 with support from N4ENX, ND4N, KC4YIZ, and the BRARC in Greenville, SC. This was the beginning of my ham radio hobby.

I was licensed as KD4KGV from Feb1992 to Jun of 2006 when I acquired the vanity call W2JPS. Literally hours after W4JPS became available, I applied and updated my call with the correct call district for VA.  In Feb of 2012 I finally upgraded to General class largely in part due to reciprocal motivation from my office mate KK4GBC.

In the beginning of 1992, my interest was split between the 2m FM and 10m SSB bands. I purchased a Kenwood TH-27a HT and a Ranger RCI-2970 mobile rig. My parents graciously allowed me to turn their back yard of about an acre into an “antenna farm” of sorts. I continue to enjoy expanding my knowledge of the electrical, material, and physical principles that apply to the skill of antenna building.

My involvement in ham radio to date includes making and using antennas of all varieties, repairing and improving transceivers, along with working field day and other emergency preparedness communications events.

The XYL and I have two small children, so amateur radio is not a top priority for me, but I always enjoy the hobby as life allows.

I am currently operating a mobile station with an ICOM IC-V8000 feeding a 2 x 5/8 wave + 1/4 wave phased Diamond NRL-22 collinear antenna. On occasion I turn on my Ranger RCI-2970 that feeds a modified Wilson 1000 tuned to 28.4 MHz.

In the summer I occasionally operate maritime mobile with a Yaesu FT-50RD in conjunction with a 1/2 wave end-fed telescopic antenna. At some point I would like to upgrade this kludge to my old Yaesu FT-2500 mobile rig with a semi-permanent 1/4 wave homebrew of some sort that I have not worked out the mount for since, historically speaking, holes and my previous boats have not always played well together.

I frequently operate on the following 2m FM frequencies during my hour commute to and from work each day:

• 145.430 MHz, W4SQT Repeater (RATS)
• 146.880 MHz, W4RAT Repeater (RATS)
• 147.015 MHz, K4TS Repeater (RVARC)
• 146.745 MHz, W4KGC Repeater (KG County)
• 146.520 MHz, Simplex
• 147.500 MHz, Simplex

In May of 2011, I purchased a custom shed for my property in Caroline County, VA with a 12’ operator’s desk / bench along the northern gable end. Next step: 110A split-phase electric service & a ~65 foot tower (donations accepted!) that is needed to breach the 50-60' treeline.

My family and I enjoy boating during the summer months; I take great pride in maintaining our vintage MasterCraft ski boat: http://www.youtube.com/user/LKCVA

73, W4JPS

Merry Christmas!	W4JPS & XYL
W4JPS maritime mobile leaving LKC marina	W4JPS maritime mobile at the LKC marina
W4JPS maritime mobile beached at LKC	Our now SK Millie - the best pig in the world!
Grocery Store Warriors	Shooting trap left handed with a 410
Fully automatic fishing - enough said.