Michael — Electronics Engineer by training; erstwhile telecoms engineer; software company owner; channel sales director; CTO; and now finally, full-time photographer/teacher, with ham radio an important activity.

Read about me on www.michaelwillems.ca, and get my photography teaching e-books, courses and more on learning.photography. Read the photography learning blog on www.speedlighter.ca.

Based in Brantford, Ontario; 100 km SW of Toronto. In the past, I have worked in over 40 countries worldwide—and lived longer periods in some of them, like Libya, Italy, Hong Kong, Netherlands, UK, and now Canada. (though if "longer periods" means 3 months I would have to add Spain, Mexico, Japan, Iraq, Nigeria, etc.)

Note: I upload all QSOs to both LotW and to eQSL (www.eqsl.cc) - you can go there to see your QSL-cards etc. (e.g. www.eQSL.cc/Member.cfm?VA3MVW)

I am occasionally on 2 metres (including SSB) and 70cm, but you will mainly find me on HF, from my bedroom rather than from the basement... I find the bedroom more comfortable.

(Note: nets are fun. I am the latest lifetime member of the Brothers Net [on 7192 nightly]: lifetime member number 899!)

Current station:

Using a Yaesu FT-897 and Icom IC-718, and a butternut 6-band vertical antenna that I spent two days building and commissioning in April 2016:

Four guy wires (two of which are shown here) hold it, mainly against the prevailing wind:

Ground radial system: 12 radials, 10ft long each, insulated, on or slightly under the ground.

I added two screws to keep the sleeve at the top of the uper coil from sliding down under pressure from the guy wires: 

 

Clearly I like antennas. Check my left arm, 21/4/2016:

And the previous antenna (of the same type, an HF6V) was built in August 2014:

Antenna details:

Clearly, I looove my antenna:

(Talking about the photos here: want to learn photography? Read my e-books & learn in the quickest possible time.)

See the pic on top? Now this is a tad depressing: here's me about 15 years ago, when I just got my ham license: