PHOTO: Taken while flying from Baraboo/Wisconsin Dells
enroute to Platteville, WI with XYL Monica, KC9FNH.
*** QSL POLICY, PLEASE READ: Direct or bureau only please. The courtesy of an SASE or return postage is required for all direct cards. No IRC's please. I don't need or collect USA cards, so USA cards without SASE/postage might or might not be returned via bureau.(Keep in mind the ARRL Bureau is not designed for stateside cards.) USA cards with an SASE will be answered immediately. DX cards received without postage WILL be returned via bureau 100%. Even then, be aware that it may take up to a year before I send outgoing cards.
If you want a card direct, please cover your own return postage - you'll get a quality card in return. If I want/need a card, as a courtesy I pay for my return postage and expect others to do the same. Sorry to be so direct about this subject, but I've found that if it is not in writing it is loosely followed.
LOTW, EQSL, etc: W9XY logs after 5 July '99, and full JY8XY logs available on LOTW. Note: HI7 operation of 2005 is NOT on LOTW as I only did paper logs. *I do NOT use E-QSL whatsoever. (Sorry).
QSL manager ONLY for: C6AXY, KE9A/DU3, & JY4SK/JY5SK (and my portable HA, SM, & HI7 calls).
Licensed: October, 1976 as WB9YXY. Changed callsign to W9XY in December 1996.
Other calls: JY8XY (1986, '95, '96, & '97), W9XY/HI7 (2005), SM/W9XY, & HA/W9XY (2007), C6AXY (2012)
County: Marquette (rare one!). I'm the most active HF op / DX'er in the county.
Interesting Fact: The county seat of Montello is home to Wisconsin's largest tree! It's a cottonwood, measuring 23.2 feet (7M) around and 138 feet (42M) high!
QTH: Located between Portage and Montello, very near the boyhood home of John Muir, famous naturalist & Father of our US National Parks. http://www.tn.buffalo.wi.gov/default.asp?id=14&mnu=14
Main HF Gear: Kenwood TS-950SDX & Ten-Tec Titan II KW amplifier. (Life is too short for QRP!).
Alternate HF, RTTY/PSK31, and DXpedition Rig: Yaesu FT-857D and any of the above antennas. This rig is also taken on holiday DXpeditions such as the C6 and HI7 trips. I use it with the Paddlette BP key (tiny!) with it, just for fun.
Antenna Farm: Rohn 45 tower supports an M2 KT36XA (6 el triband yagi) at 83'/25M, and a Cushcraft 2 el 40M beam at 95'/29M. A Hy-Gain Tailtwister turns it all. On the low bands, I use inverted vees for 80 & 160M mounted near the top of the tower. For WARC bands I use whatever works best - my 40M yagi works great on 17M, my 80M inv vee loads on 30M, and my KT36XA has somehow worked around 200 on 12M. Fortunately, living in the country provides a situation where there is very little or no receive noise whatsoever on the bands. (*Antennas in photo below.)
VHF: Icom IC-2200 & Diamond X510M (duo-band, 17'/5M) vertical at 100'/30M. Also available, IC-2100 & Cushcraft 11 el yagi (vertically polarized) at 89'/27M. Note: Locally (for years) we have used and monitor 147.525 as a "DX" and/or "get-together" frequency. If you wish to reach me, please give me a call there. Be sure to use PL 114.8 when transmitting.
Keys: Three Benchers (one black, one chrome, and a Hex Key), two Vibroplex Brass Racers (one with internal keyer), two W5JH keys (a "Black Widow" & "ScQRPion" mini paddle), and a Paddlette BP reside in/around the shack. (Eight keys??! . I love 'em all, especially the Hex Key!! You can never have enough keys!)
Spare HF rigs & Amp: Yaesu FT1000MP MKV Field, Kenwood TS830S, and a Yaesu FT301D. (You can never have enough HF rigs either!) Backup amp is a DenTron MLA2500.
Have Visited: A6, JY, G, EI, GM, XE, C6, 6Y, HI, SM, HA, OE, VE7, and much of the USA. None for work or business; all for visiting friends, sightseeing/relaxing, being DX, exploring new cultures, and having fun enjoying new experiences!
Awards: 5BDXCC, 160M DXCC (231 conf), 80M DXCC (280 conf), 40M DXCC (342 conf), 5BWAZ (38 zones), and 160M WAZ (35 zones), DXCC: Top of the Honor Roll since 2002, (Tnx to Ed, P5/4L4FN!)
More: I enjoy CW and am a natural at high-speed Morse code. In the past, I've been clocked in excess of 50 WPM and have also been lucky enough to win the CW Pileup Contest at the annual W9DXCC Convention (in Chicago) several times.
Aviation: Besides DXing & traveling, I enjoy aviation. When not "on" the air, I like to be "in" the air. In the spring of 2005, I passed my flight exam and received my Private Pilot license (VFR). Occasionally I take my 2M HT and operate air-mobile while flying a Cessna 172 (rental aircraft) out of the Baraboo/Wisconsin Dells airport (DLL).
My work: I am employed by a local Sheriff's Department as an Emergency Services Dispatcher. My phone number at work is 9-1-1 !
My Motto: "Adventure is the essence of life". (Thanks Dick Rutan, KB6LQS, pilot of the Voyager aircraft; first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world.)
My Theory on Life: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do, rather than by the things you did." (Thanks Mark Twain)
Please visit http://www.w9xy.webs.com for more details about family, the station, and my DX'ing activities.
Tnx & 73, Bob W9XY
W9XY Antenna System:
Cushcraft 2 element 40M beam at 95' (29M)
over
M2 KT36XA 6 element 20/15/10M beam at 83' (25M)
