Biography

Hamshack Hotline 610-000-0009

Hi! I'm Neil Rapp. Thanks for stopping by my page.

I am currently a visiting professor of chemistry at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. I hope to reactivate the amateur radio club at Xavier.

Neil Rapp was born in Vincennes, Indiana on September 22, 1970. He is the son of Delbert Ray Rapp, WB9UKG (SK) and Margaret Louise (Osmon) Rapp, WD9HEE (SK). At the age of 5 years, Neil became the youngest person in the world to pass the Federal Communications Commission Amateur Radio examination and obtain a ham radio license. He drew international attention from the media, including every ham radio magazine in the United States and Japan, local TV and radio, the National Enquirer, and the CBS morning news. He has been featured in several ham radio books, including "How to be a Ham." At age 6, he was the youngest to pass the FCC technician class license. At age 7, Neil was the youngest to pass the FCC general class license. And at age 9, he was the youngest to pass the FCC advanced class license. At age 18, he received the Amateur Extra class license. (These records have since been broken.) In February, 2016, he began as a voice talent and anchor for Amateur Radio Newsline (arnewsline.org) and started his own call in talk radio show "Ham Talk LIVE!" (hamtalklive.com) In 2017, Neil became a contributing editor of the National Contest Jounal (NCJ) for "Next Gen Contesting". He also became a member of the ARISS USA Education Committee.

In 2019, Neil co-founded Youth On The Air (YOTA) in the Americas along with Sterling Mann, NØSSC, Sam Rose, KC2LRC, and Jocelyn Brault KD8VRX/VA2VRX. Neil has been the camp director since its inception. The goal of YOTA is to create a community of young amateur radio operators that serve as peer learners. Summer camp is one of the biggest programs within YOTA, where camps are led by young hams as much as possible.

Neil sponsored the Bloomington High School South Amateur Radio Club (K9SOU) in Bloomington, Indiana from 2001 through 2021, where he taught AP, Honors, and Organic Chemistry. He sponsored the William Henry Harrison High School Amateur Radio Club (WA9HHS) in Evansville, Indiana from 1995 to 2001, where he also taught AP Chemistry, Advanced Chemistry, Chemistry, and coached basketball. Neil was presented with the 2004 ARRL Professional Educator of the Year Award on October 4, 2005 as a result of his work in ham radio education. Neil was named Amateur of the Year by the Indiana Radio Club Council in November, 2014. He won the IRCC Technical Excellence award in July, 2003. He was awarded a Monroe County Educator of the Year Leading Light award in February, 2014 for his work with ham radio in schools. Neil is the camp director for Youth on the Air (YOTA) camp in the Americas. He was named the 2021 HamCation Carole Perry Educator of the Year award recipient.

He is currently the president and trustee of Electronic Applications Radio Service (EARS) W9EAR, and also a member of AMSAT, Christian Amateur Radio Fellowship (CARF), the Old Post Amateur Radio Society (OPARS) W9EOC in Vincennes, Indiana, Northern Kentucky Amateur Radio Club (K4CO), and the West Chester Amateur Radio Association (WC8VOA) in West Chester, Ohio at the home of the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. Neil is also a charter member of the Southern Indiana Amateur Radio Association (SIARA). He is a life member of ARRL, and is the youngest to ever be a member of QCWA (age 29) since joining in January, 2001.

Neil is also a past secretary-treasurer and past member of the Bloomington Amateur Radio Club (BARC) K9DIY, past-president of the University of Southern Indiana Amateur Radio Club (USIARC), W9MOK, former member of the Fairfield Amateur Radio Association (FARA) W8PRH, and Monroe County Repeater Association, Neil was the chairman of the Evansville (IN) hamfest for 17 years, and also served as an Assistant Central Division Director of the ARRL.

He also is a certified examiner for Laurel VEC and ARRL-VEC. He was previously a contact examiner with W5YI and it's commercial branch, National Radio Examiners.

Other callsigns: 6Y/WB9VPG (Jamaica - July, 2022)

Some highlights of his teaching career include sending a protein crystallization experiment to the International Space Station, talking to the ISS on 2 meters, and receiving several grants including a Best Buy te@ch grant and an ARRL Education & Technology Program grant for a school ham radio station. Neil also attended the ARRL Teacher's Institute at ARRL HQ in Newington, CT in 2004 and 2019. He also mentored many students, in particular Padraig Lysandrou KC9UUS, who was the 2013 Newsline Young Ham of the Year, ARRL Goldfarb Scholarship recipient, Dayton Hamvention Youth Forum speaker, Hiram Percy Maxim award winner, QST author and cover plaque winner, and Cyprus DXpedition leader among other recognitions for his exploration of ham radio.

Neil is a graduate of Vincennes Lincoln High School (1988), Vincennes University (A.A. - Pre-medicine, 1990), and University of Southern Indiana (B.S. - Chemistry, Secondary Education - Chemistry, 1993; M.S. - Secondary Education, 2000). He has also attended Butler, Purdue, and Miami (OH), Montana State, and Oregon State for summer classes. He has studied in the Instuctional Systems Design doctoral (Ed.D) program at the University of Kentucky.

Neil currently resides in Union, KY, a southern suburb of Cincinnati, OH.

WAS | RCC | DXCC | VUCC | CARF #197 | YLISSB #11400 | 100 Watts and a Wire #1803 | AMSAT #40846

Novice (WN9VPG)—July 17, 1976—Age 5
Technician—Sept. 15, 1977—Age 6
General—June 7, 1978—Age 7
Advanced—Sept. 16, 1980—Age 9
Extra—Dec. 31, 1990—Age 20


https://archive.org/stream/73-magazine-1976-12/12_December_1976#page/n7/mode/2up
https://archive.org/details/HamRadioHorizons-May1977 page 51

Equipment

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