Biography

Catch me on 20m, 30m & 40m (sometimes 80m) CW!

A Note about QSLing: Please QSL using LoTW. If you want to send aDXCC Card Checker card you may send it DIRECT or via the Bureau. But I prefer LoTW, so that I can get my points towards DXCC. If you want a card for your shack, just ask. I QSL 100% in return and I don't ask for any IRC's or money. I am just happy to send you one free of charge... although an SAE (Self Addressed Envelope) is always appreciated.

You can view my collection of eQSL Cards by clicking here.
MY QUEST FOR AWARDS: In February 2014 I set up my station again at my house in Stamford, CT. Nothing much, an Icom IC-756 Pro II running WN1TNK issued in 1974, when I was 14 years old !100 watts into an End Fed Zepp up at 9m (30 feet). I had a lot on my plate in my private life, so to get my mind off of things I set a personal goal to see how many awards I could earn in one year. I had been on the air for 40 years and never kept track of QSO's or award standings. But, I figured this was a good opportunity, with the advent of LoTW, N3FJP ACLogs, QRZ and other online resources, to give it a try. Originally my goal was to try and get DXCC (confirmed) in 12 months. Well, some family issues came up in that summer and I was off the air for 3 months. But since then I have put a lot of effort into this, making at least 5 contacts a day, most of which are on CW. Was it worth it...? Yes, I think it was, but now I'm hooked ! Since I wrote this, I sold my IC-756 Pro II and bought a new Icom IC-7300 and I recently installed a new End Fed Half Wave for 80m-10m!

Bragging Rights: After 40 years on the air, I finally started keeping track of my QSO's in Feb. 2014.

Since then I've received the following awards, most of them in the first year:

DXCC-Mixed #60,414 (161 confirmed)
DXCC-CW #22,594 (144 confirmed)
DXCC-20m Endorsement (120 confirmed)
DXCC-Phone (90 confirmed ) I'm Working on it !
DXCC-Digital (9 confirmed ) I'm Working this too !
Centenial Point Challange Award (4670 Pts)
QRZ DX100 (Mixed)
QRZ DX100 (CW)
eQSL AWARDS
eDX (91 Confirmed)
ePFX360
Worked All States (WAS)
CW
Mixed
QRZ USA50
Mixed
CW
Worked All Continents (WAC)
CW
Phone
Mixed
QRZ Continents of the World
20 Meters MixedDXCC Mixed
40 Meters Mixed
30 Meters Mixed
20 Meters CW
30 Meters CW
Mixed Phone
40 Meters Phone
CQ World Prefix Award (WPX)
CW Worldwide (507)
CW 14 MHz (341)
CW North America (196)
Mixed (674)
Mixed 14 MHz (434)
Mixed Europe (323)
Mixed North America (258)
QRZ Grid Square Award
40 Meters Mixed
20 Meters Mixed
40 Meters CW
20 Meters CW
Mixed Phone
Straight Key Century Club (SKCC)
Centurion
Tribune
United States Counties Awards
250 Counties Mixed
100 Counties Mixed
100 Counties Phone
100 Counties CW

My Vertical Vizkey Paddle by Curt Nixon KU8LA little about me: I received my Novice license (WN1TNK) on May 28, 1974, at age 14. A year later I became WA1TNK when I passed my General and Advanced tickets at the old FCC field office in NYC, down on Christopher Streeet. Since then, I'veMy Babies. held many calls, finally ending up with K1TA. And yes, there have been quite a few callsigns over the years. I enjoy CW on HF and building antennas. On weekends I like to participate in contests, and while I rarely submit my logs but I love making a few quick contacts for the log. I also collect straight keys, bugs, sideswipers and paddles. Click here to take a look at my Code Key Collection. I am also into DMR Radio. Click here to view my DMR Resource page. I am also into APRS in the truck.
You can see where I am on the APRS.fi map @ K1TA-6 & K1TA-9.


GNARC RADIO CLUB: On Saturday mornings (0900-1200) and Wednesday evenings (1800-2100) we open our club station to anyone that would like to visit, operate or just rag chew in person. The Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club, Emergency Communications Center, 100 Fairfield Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06854. Click here for map and directions.

I'm the GNARC President (2017 & 2018) and I'm very excited for the year ahead !

Firefighting: I have been a firefighter since 1976. I started out and remain an active volunteer with the Belltown Fire Dept. I was a career firefighter/Fire Marshal for 5 years back in the 1980's. I was the Assistant Chief for years and currently I am the department's Chief Safety Officer. In addition, I am a firefighter/driver of Engine-7, in Westchester, where I work now. We run a small brigade covering about 2 square miles of county buildings. I love firefighting, it has always been a big part of my life. My son Matt is 25 now and he's also a Fire Captain and full time Police (911) Dispatcher in Greenwich, Connecticut (keeping it in the family). I am a very, very proud dad. Now to convince him to get his Ham Ticket !!!


My Station: On HF I'm running an Icom IC-7300 into a LDG AT-200ProII to an End Fed Zepp. I'm on UHF DMR. I have a CS-800D in my Jeep Cherokee. I can be found on Southern New England (SNE) on the New England DMR MARC Network.

Volunteer Examiner: I'm an ARRL-VE, a W5YI-VE and for commerical licenses (COLEM) a National Radio Examiners NRE-VE.


Other interests: In addition to Ham Radio, I like restoring vintage radios, digital photography, shooting handguns and watching sports on TV. I've been a Firefighter/EMT since 1976 as a career firefighter and as a volunteer. I'm also a Freemason (Union Lodge 5 AF&AM) my lodge is located in Stamford, CT and a Shriner in Milford, Connecticut.


My Professional Life: I am the Radio Systems Manager for the Westchester County NY, Department of Emergency Services where I manage a Motorola Trunk System, several simulcast repeaters and several InterOperability systems systems. In addition to my Ham license, I hold several professional licenses including:

FCC Amateur Extra Class: K1TA
FCC GROL with Radar: #PG00018276
FCC 2nd Telegraph with Radar: #T200000108
FCC GMDSS Operator/Maintainer with Radar: #DB00000423
FCC GMRS Licensee: WQET598
FCC Marine Coastal Station Licensee: WQEY245
Certified Electronic Technician (CET & Connecticut State V2)
APCO Public Safety Radio Technician (PSRT)
Certified Broadcast Technician (CBT) Society of Broadcast Engineers
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)


Here are some of my websites

You can also get to this page by going to: K1TA.com
My DMR resource page: K1TA.com/DMR
Stamford, Greenwich, New Cannan, Darien Fire & DMR Scanner: StamfordFireRadio.com

Download my Free APP Name: Tom's Scanner
Download Beta APP from this site for FREE Download APP from Google Play Store for FREE

My Shack - March 2018 - Simple but effective.

Here is my Station, as of March 2018. I'm using the Icom IC-7300 & Yaesu PS-757 power supply.
I use a Chromebox PC to log on QRZ.com.
My antennas are pictured below. I am using a MyAntennas.com End Fed Half Wave, the wire
is 130' long at 35' high. I also have a 6m/2m/70cm Vertical which is connected to the scanner.


* CLUB AFFILIATIONS *
Life Member / Diamond Club Member of the ARRL
President of the Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club, W1NLK & N1EV @ GNARC.org
Member and former Trustee of the Stamford Amateur Radio Association, W1EE @ CTSARA.org
Trustee of the QLF CW Operators Club, K1QLF @ K1QLF.com


A Tribute to my Mentor
John Henry Stokes - W1MQA
April 12, 1914 - February 7, 1995

I grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut back in the 1960's and early 70's. From 1965-1972 I was an elementry school student at Hamilton Avenue School. Back then, I would watch Hogan's Hero's and wanted to be Sgt. "Kinch" Kinchlow, the P.O.W. camp radio operator. When I was 9 or 10, my father won an all-band receiver which I used to listen to shortwave broadcasts. One day I stumbled on some old time AM'ers on 75 meters. That's where I first heard Chuck WA1EKV (now K1KW) and received my first SWL QSL card. By age 11 I was hooked and obsessed with ham radio operators and wanted to be one too. My dad had a friend named George Buzel (K1LZZ) who was also a ham. I remember seeing George's Connecticut license plate with the "Lightning bolt" on it and I wanted one when I grew up. At about this time, around 1970 or so, a man named John Henry Stokes, a ham, who ran a Motorola two-way radio repair shop, moved his business to St. Roch's Avenue. I passed the place every day to and from school. One day as I was coming home I walked in as he was moving his shop into the store front. I started talking to him and ended up hanging out in his shop every chance I could get. Mr. Stokes realized that I wanted to be a ham and that I knew nothing about electronics. I would ask questions and watch him do repairs for hours some days. Without fail, any time I had a question or didn't know how to do something, Mr. Stokes would stop what he was doing and sit down and explain it to me on my level. He taught me everything he could, including how to use a slide rule to calculate logarithms at age 12! He would also tell me how it was important to be a well rounded person, and how he had many interests and hobbies. He was a private pilot, which I also thought was facinating. When I finally passed my novice test in 1974, I told Mr. Stokes and I could tell he was proud of me. Later, at age 22 and right out of school, I landed my first real job with the Stamford Fire Department as an Electronic Technician taking care of two-way radios and fire alarm boxes on the streets. As soon as I found out that I got the job I drive to Greenwich to tell Mr. Stokes... and again, I could tell he was like a proud popa.

Mr. Stokes retired and closed up his shop and we lost touch back in the 1990's. One day I wanted to get in touch with him so I did a little research and found that he had passed away just shy of his 81st birthday. The year I wrote this, 2014, Mr. Stokes would have been 100 years old. I really loved Mr. Stokes. He was a great person. I wish I could have seen him before he passed away back in 1995 but I was too late.

John Henry Stokes, W1MQA, was a wonderful man, everyone should have such a mentor ( Elmer ).