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April 7, 2004 marks the day I finally was able to call myself a
"ham." My original call sign issued to me then was KI4EYM. As of
January 10, 2006, I now use my new vanity call sign, N4FOP. As you can gather
from this call sign, I have a law enforcement connection. I am retired from the
Bham Police Department and have 2 meter and 70 CM capability.
I went from that career to another one with the Bruno's Corporation where I
worked my way up to the Distribution Center/Corporate Office Loss Prevention
Manager. A heart attack on the job brought that career to its conclusion. After
losing my first wife of 32 years to cancer, I now live in the Springville, AL
area, St. Clair County.
I have the good fortune as a ham to live on Simmons Mountain, elevation at my
home of 1124 feet. As a certified storm spotter, I am naturally interested in
weather conditions and have added a weather station as part of my ham
equipment. By going to Wunderground.com and entering my zip code, 35146, my
weather station data can be viewed 24/7, Simmons Mt., KALODENV1.
My latest involvement in amateur radio is in the area of D-Star. Digital radio
is a whole new ball game and is catching on fast. I have been amazed at the
quality of voice transmissions using this technology.
Update: 12/9/07. Gateway on D-Star has been added to the Birmingham repeater
K4DSO, 145.410, http://dstarusers.org. Now crystal clear communications are
possible with digital radio worldwide. My first QSO out of the US was with
VK8HF in Darwin, Australia. Look forward to hearing from you.
73,
Phillip N4FOP
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