Home QTH and current contest QTH is in Lincoln County, Missouri.

I was licensed in 1968 as WN2EAH, inspired by my father, W2KLW. After a few months on the 15M novice band I upgraded and was issued WA2EAH. I shared my father’s inverted vee and 2-element quad until 1976 when I married my wife Sue, now KA2CUP. I traded in my awkward CW call for K2VV in 1977.

My first antenna farm was near Amsterdam, New York including a 2 el delta loop on 40M and 4 over 4 on 20M. A job change in 1995 brought me to the St. Louis, Missouri area where the next five years of my activity were limited to indoor dipoles, mobile DXing and an occasional contest (thanks to K4VX).

By 2000, our children, Carolyn (KB2QPL) and Craig were both settled in college and the XYL and I moved to a 5-acre lot with no antenna restrictions about 50 miles west of St. Louis. Over the following two years we put up 120 feet of Rohn 45 with a Force 12 Magnum 520/340Z, a Cushcraft A3WS and miscellaneous dipoles. 5-element Hy-Gain yagis for 15 and 10M are still on the ground, waiting for sunspots and the time to put them up in the air. The main rig is an FT-1000 with an old Alpha 76PA amplifier that served at the W2PV contest station during the 1970’s.

I have always been interested in DX and contesting, particularly in the pursuit of new prefixes for WPX. I still collect real QSLs and reply 100% direct or via the bureau. I operate 99% CW, but do occasionally pick up a microphone.

John K2VV