The National Security Agency is the Nation's cryptologic organization. It coordinates, directs, and performs highly specialized activities to protect U.S. information systems and produce foreign intelligence information. A high technology organization, NSA is on the frontiers of communications and data processing. It is also one of the most important centers of foreign language analysis and research within the Government.

While unaffiliated with the NSA, my husband and I have long been fascinated with cryptography. In 1998 he was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to visit the NSA’s National Cryptologic Museum near Fort Meade, Maryland. The displays of code making/breaking equipment were very interesting. At one point he was actually able to use a World War II German Enigma code machine to encode a message!

With our interest in cryptology and the NSA it seemed only natural that when the FCC offered the vanity call sign program we try to get something with NSA in the call, and so on July 27, 1999 I became WØNSA and my husband became KØNSA.

We both obtained our first ham licenses – Technician Class – in July of 1995. Since then we have advanced to Tech Plus, General and now Extra class as our interest and involvement in ham radio have grown. For HF we share an Icom 756Pro connected to a Barker & Williamson folded dipole and an Icom 706MkII-G.

73’s de WØNSA - Linda