Hi my name is Andy and enjoy all aspects of Ham Radio. My first exposure to amateur radio was at the 1985 Boy Scout national jamboree held at Fort A.P Hill Virginia. At the Jamboree I attended a Ham Radio event in order to earn my Amateur Radio merit badge, I still have the sticker and merit badge from way back then. I live in the Bay area of Northern California which is a wonderful place to live if you enjoy the outdoors , there are many places for quick weekend trips or longer outdoor excursions.

My Ham Radio ambitions are Backpack / Snowshoe mobile where I carry my Yaesu FT-857D and various types of portable Antennas . I really enjoy backpacking remote areas and bringing a mobile Ham rig and experimenting with techniques to improve safety while in the bush , It is also exciting as it gives you something to do in the evenings while your camping in the bush , nothing like 2AM in your tent and it is pouring down rain and the wind is blowing and your all snug in your tent talking on the radio. I also enjoy ragchewing , packet , radio history , RF Propagation.

AMATEUR RADIO OPERATING PICS and VIDEO:

10/22/2011 - SOTA - Summit on the Air North America Day - 1st activation of Freel Peak W6/SN-034

10/1/2011 - SOTA - Summit's on the Air ham radio activation of Mount Tallac , Lake Tahoe California

Operating portable on 9/10/2011 at Half Moon Bay State Beach

April 1st to 3rd 2011 Snowcamping FT857 and MP-1 Fun Bridgeport ca , Buckeye Hotspring

April 9 to 11th 2010 Henry Coe State Park @ Frog Lake Backpack Mobile Trip Pictures

ARRL Field Day 2010 with SCCARA - Santa Clara County Amateur Radio Association

ARRL Field Day 2011 with SCCARA - Santa Clara County Amateur Radio Association

Misc Ham Radio pics

LOCAL COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES:

1) San Jose RACES

2) SCCARA - Santa Clara County Amateur Radio Club

EQUIPMENT LIST:

1) Yaesu FT-897D --> Current home base station

2) Yaesu FT-857D --> Backpacking , outdoor portable rig

3) Icom IC-7000 --> HF in the daily driver jeep

4) Kenwood TM-D710 --> VHF / UHF / APRS Services in daily driver jeep

5) Yaesu VX-8R --> HT

6) Icom IC-92 --> HT

7) Kenwood TS-2000X

73 , Andy