Greetings from West Seattle, Washington (at about 200' above Puget Sound and looking west to the Olympic National Park).

I was QRV in Uganda as 5X1O, from 2/21/17 through 3/7/2017

and QRV in Rwanda as 9X0SS, from 3/9/2017 through 3/12/2017
Read about my work here.

I was not on the air everyday, but aimed for early mornings / late evenings (EA times) on 40, 20, 15, or 10m.

I used an FT-857d (with MDSR) at 100w, to either an Yaesu ATAS-25 or dipole.

Modes = CW and SSB (usually "up 1"), WSPR, and possibly JT65.

QSL MANAGER = Pedro, EA5GL. Use QRZ for contact info.


______________________________________________________

About my professional work -- Bamboo for Good (B4G):

Bamboo For Good (B4G) represents innovative partnerships among public and private institutions across East Africa -- working together to mobilize bamboo resources for good. B4G programs focus on and collaboratively address critical social needs in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, and Tanzania.

In Uganda, B4G is currently partnering with the Mgahinga Bamboo Conservation Programme (MBCP) and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) on education and conservation program initiatives within the Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Area (BMCA) and Mghinga Gorilla National Park (MGNP). Located within the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration (GVTC) spanning Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the conservation area is home to half of the approx. 650 Mountain Gorillas in the world! The other half of the populatrion live in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park of Uganda. No Mountain Gorillas live in captivity.

**This critical work is protecting habitat for the world's remaining Mountain Gorillas.  All tax deductable donations to B4G (via Pacific Bamboo Resources, 501c3 not-for-profit organization) are greatly appreciated.

B4G is implementing funded fieldwork on bamboo cultivation, local community training, and economic development initiatives to support habitat conservation and gorilla welfare in and around the MGNP. Visit our website for more information. 

Contact me via LinkedIn if you wish! 

OMISS #10294

I earned my Novice and General Class amateur radio licenses in 1990 (during Solar Cycle 22) thanks to great training classes led by W3WN (then-WN3VAW) at the Community College of Allegheny County (in Pittsburgh, PA). I then earned my Advanced Class license in 1991, and eventually earned my Amateur Extra Class license in March, 2010. I am also licensed in Japan as JO4FND, in Uganda as 5X1O, and in Rwanda as 9X0SS.

My station is capable of (and typically operating on) 100% solar power via my 520-watt Kyocera PV system which I designed and installed in 2006.

• IC-7600, IC-746, FT-857D (with MDSR), & solid-state TenTec Omni-D
• Softrock Ensemble RXTX & G0UPL Ultimate-II Multimode QRSS RXTX (KITS)
• Harvey Wells TBS-50 w/ VFO and APS-50 power supply
• Kenwood TL-922a & Nye Viking MB-IV
• Hustler 5TBV & 135' inverted L
• FTM-400XDR, FT2D & ID-880h for VHF / UHF / FUSION / DSTAR
• 3 Raspberry Pi machines for DVAP DSTAR and various internet monitoring. 

---

And, I proudly use the first (#1 of the series) of the Vibrocube keys from Vibroplex. Thanks to Scott, W4PA, for a great key! 
Below -- we were part of the 2015-16 CQ Magazine International Calendar. :)

---

---

Riley (aka "Papa Whisker") and I monitor many HF, VHF, and UHF "furquencies."  We can typically be found on the 20, 40, 80 and 160 meter bands, within CW portions and on / around 14.250, and on the "Street Corner" on 7.177 or 3.777 & 1.843 MHz.

On 2-meter and 70-cm's, I frequent the following repreaters ("E" = Echolink capabilties):

• W7AW at 441.800 MHz (Tone: 141.3hz, E).
• WW7PSR at 146.960 (Tone: 103.5hz, E).
• WW7SEA at 444.555 (Tone 141.3).
• plus various Dstar and System Fusion reflectors / rooms.

And, we are active with WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporting), offering a solar-powered 3db (2 milliwatt) transmission -- and listening with our 5BTV. Great fun -- check it out -- WSPR.

BTW, for DSTAR, since December 2012, I've been using nifty Raspberry Pi Model B computers 24/7 -- one to support my 70cm DVAP and other to support the new DV3000 daughterboard (via NW Digital Radio) - and now a third (RPI3b) for dedicated entertainment media (via OMBC). Weighing in at a few ounces and using only a few watts of (solar) power, they demonstrate that a few milliamperes of continuous operation can go many miles (or kilometers)! :)

---

I am also a member of the West Seattle Amateur Radio Club (WSARC) and a member the Western Washington DX Club, and a volunteer for the Seattle Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS), an affiliate of the King County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the Division of Emergency Management for the City of Seattle.

I contribute to Technician Class license courses via WSARC and the Seattle Amateur Radio Training, and serve as a ARRL Volunteer Examiner (VE).

Oh, and I volunteer for the Communications Team of the American Red Cross serving King & Kitsap Counties, WA.
Other club memberships over the years: Jamaican Amateur Radio Association (JARA), (1991-1993); China Radio Sport Association (CRSA, 2006-2008); University of Pittsburgh's Panther Amateur Radio Club (PARC, 1989-1991); University of Tennessee Amateur Radio Club (UTARC, 1994-1997).

Click on graphics for links:

SKCC #7209	NAQCC #4935