I was first licensed as a Novice on March 1, 1961 as KN9DZE at age 14. Six months later I made the trip to Chicago, upgraded to General, and dropped the 'N' from my call. In the late 60's, after being prodded by the ARRL, the FCC in it's infinate wisdom bestowed (dis)incentive licensing on the hobby. I made another trip to Chicago in 1968 to regain some of the spectrum I had lost by passing the Advanced Class exam. I upgraded to Extra at a VE session in LaPorte, Indiana in November, 1987. When the vanity callsign program opened in 1996, I applied for and received the call W9DZ.

I enjoy operating QRP on the HF bands. I also operate weak signal modes (SSB & CW) on 50, 144 and 432 MHz. I was active in all the VHF contests for several years but mostly give out points these days. In 1999 we built a home in an unincorporated area where I have 2 acres and no antenna restrictions.

My dad was K9URA. He passed away in April, 2012 at age 92. My brother Rich is W4RLJ and lives in Clanton, AL.

I enjoy homebrewing and building kits. I also like to play with boatanchor (classic tube-type) VHF AMgear from the 60's. I monitor 50.4 MHz and and make a contact now and then. I am a regular check-in to the Kalamazoo Classic Radio Roundtable Sunday evening at 7:30PM Central on 50.4 MHz.

I worked in the banking industry for 43 years and retired early in the Fall of 2007. Most of my time was spent in operations, the last 10 years in Information Technology.