Biography
I have been a ARO (Amateur Radio Operator) since receiving my Technician license in July of 2016 and I am operating out of NW Oklahoma, where local contacts are sparce. I have operated under the following callsigns; KG5OIM, W9YSH, AF9YS, AF8FW, and currently as AA5ZT. All callsigns prior to AA5ZT were used only for EchoLink or VHF/UHF (2M/70cm) usage only
Each one of these callsigns had a special meaning for me except for KG5OIM callsign as it was the first one issued to me in 2016, W9YSH and AF9YS callsign demarked each of the upgraded statuses of my earned licenses for Techician to General to Amateur Extra. However, AF8FW is a rememberance for me. I had served with the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan AB, ROK during the late 70s. Now, for me, it represents all the servicemen who are deployed to Korea. (Thusly my callsign - Air Force 8th Fighter Wing). Unfortunately, I ran into Bureau issues on foreign contacts since the "8" put me outside the Oklahoma bureau. So, I made the jump to AA5ZT.
Currently, you will most often find me running FT8 as bandwidth conditions on HF are less favorable for anthing else except for PSK and CW. Also, as I'm not much of a conversationalist, you will find that I tend to keep voice methods of communication short and sweet by sticking to the basics. Sorry, but that is the way I am. It is because of this, that when I work SSB, FM, or CW, I like contest formats more than anything else..
My QSO/QSL policy is straightfoward: if we have a QSO, I will post your QSL to what I'll call the, "primary logs". This includes Logbook of the World (LoTW), eQSL.cc, HRDlog, and to here at QRZ.com, within less than a week (within seconds, if it is any thing that uses WSJT). Other logging organizations such as ClubLog, HamQTH, and HamCall are logged less often. Clublog is usually updated at least once a month, whereas the other two - maybe once every three to six months.
As for what I consider a complete QSO; if we are operating in a digital mode such as Weak Signal (FT4/8, etc...) mode, RTTY, PSK or even SSTV, if I receive an RRR or RR73 - I consider it to be complete. If I do not get such a response and you make a request for a QSL; then, I will review my logs for a contact activity between us and if found, a QSL will be issued. Ocasionally, I may get a little nitpicky and may reject a qso; but, that is ussually because I've sent a "R-??" many times and didn't get a "RR73" back! Other forms such as CW and Phone; a minimum of call sign and RST are required, unless - if in contest, then the minimum is set by contest required parameters.
If I find that we have had communications, I will submit the QSL to the primary logs within two to three weeks. Otherwise, no QSL on my part will be issued. If you request a paper QSL, remember to send a SASE as well. If you don't, I'll keep your card but don't expect one back. All foreign paper QSL requests will be processed back to your countries governing bureau or if done through ClubLogs OQRS, directly. Finally, if I do work you in a contest, our contest QSO will be logged to LoTW and QRZ.com at the least as well that contests governing agency.
If you desire an EchoLink QSO, just email me at the link listed above and I will work with you to schedule a time for it. All QSO's on EchoLink will be QSL'ed on eQSL.cc with the submode EchoLink ,so if you are working for the 25 contact eEcholink award you will get your proper credit from me.
Worked DXCCs:
Equipment
HF Equipment: Icom IC-718 with mAT-180H Autotuner
Icom IC-7300 with MFJ-933b Autotuner
Xiegu G90
VHF/UHF Equip: Tytera TH-9800
Kenwood TM281a
Baofeng UV-5R
Baofeng RD-5R (DMR)
TyTera MD-UV-380G (DMR)
TyTera MD-390G (DMR)
Yaesu FT-70D (YSF)
3 - PI-STAR Systems -(2 - Single HAT systems (1 for YSF/1 for D-Star/DMR ops)/1 - Dual HAT (D-Star/DMR))
Antennas: Falcon Outback 2000 (HF)
Hustler 6-BTV Vertical (HF)
Diamond HF40CL (HF)
Diamond CR8900A (VHF/UHF)