Biography

I was first licensed in 1968 as WN2HGS, just 4 days short of my 13th birthday. My father, K2ZRO (SK) Kaz Deskur, set me up with my own rig (a DX-40 Transmitter and a Hammarlund HQ-110 Receiver). Within two years I was able to upgrade to General and got the callsign WA2HGS.
While in college at RIT, I advanced to Advanced Class at the Rochester HamFest in the mid 1970s and finally upgraded to Extra at the Boxboro HamFest in 1979 soon after I moved to work in the Boston area. That is where I received my call KA1M. I am a life member of ARRL, AMSAT and QCWA. Later this year I will celebrate my 50th anniversary as an Amateur Radio Operator.
While in Boston, I became fairly active in the AMSAT organization as Area Coordinator, giving talks at local ham clubs and hamfests. I was asked to do printed circuit layouts for three OSCAR satellites: UO-9, AO-10 and AO13. For a time I was also the editor of the AMSAT Journal.
I eventually left the Boston area and returned to upstate NY with my wife and two young daughters. In 2010, I was the lead on an ARISS contact with Col. Doug Wheelock from the Kopernik Observatory & Science Center. It was the most exciting contact in my life. In 2011, I became the Executive Director of the Kopernik Observatory. Since then I have organized three other ARISS contacts. We have another contact scheduled for this summer as part of Kopernik's summer camp offerings.
I have also been involved with HAB (High Altitude Balloon) launches at Kopernk and we use APRS beacons (Big Red Bee) for tracking and recovery. It does give me an opportunity to introduce Ham Radio to a number of students as part of the orientation process.
Kopernik is also the home of the Binghamton Amateur Radio Association (W2OW). They hold monthly meetings at Kopernik and have their HF gear operational in the Ham Shack that is shared with Kopernik (K2ZRO) satellite station. We have run Field Day at Kopernik as well as a number of JOTA events at Kopernik. I also run at least one Radio Merit Badge workshop a year at Kopernik.
My youngest daughter, Catherine, got her general ticket (KD2IDD) in 2015 and my wife, Leann Lesperance got her Technician ticket in 2016 and upgraded all the way to Extra in 2017 (KD2LWN).
We do have a modest home station set up with a Kenwood TS830 and a Cushcraft R7 vertical. Due to current band conditions, we dont' get on HF much.
Perhaps this spring, we'll get a chance to get some of my satellite antenna gear up on the Rohn 25 tower which is currently holding up the Cushcraft R7.

Equipment

Kenwood TS830
Cushcraft R7
Yaesu FT736R
Yaesu FT60R