Biography

I started my professional career just out of college as an avionics technician. I worked on various airborne platforms for television, motion picture production and law enforcement before switching to two-way communications in the motorsports industry

The middle years of my career involved managing a satellite office in Southern California for an East coast based company that provided sales, marketing, and technical support of two-way communications, including "at track" technical support of NASCAR, CART, IRL, IMSA and Grand American sanctioned race events in the western United States, Japan and Australia. The highlight of my job was the opportunity to drive the “Caution Car” for NASCAR events in the Western United States over a period of about 10 years.

The later years found me working for CBS Television Stations KCBS and KCAL in Los Angeles as a RF Maintenance Engineer. I retired from CBS in January 2013.

I was born in Ohio and moved to California when I was six years old. After spending 58 years in Southern California we moved to Colorado after I retired from CBS. We purchased a five acre parcel in the Black Forest area north of Colorado Springs and built our dream retirement house.

I have been licensed since March of 1982. After 31 years with the same call sign (N6GKR) I applied for and was granted a vanity call (NC0JW) reflecting the move to “zero land.”

My current HF antenna lineup consists of an Alpha Delta DX-CC Parallel Dipole up 32 feet in the pine trees, a ground mounted SteppIR Big IR MK IV vertical, and a home brew 160 meter sloper. HF rigs in the shack are a Kenwood TS-590, an Elecraft KX3/KXPA100-AT-F and a Kenwood TS-430S serves as a backup. My amplifiers are an Ameritron AL-572 and a Yaesu FL-2100B in reserve. A Motorola CMD1550 LS plus with a Cushcraft ARX-450B antenna and a Yaesu FT-8800R using a Diamond X50A antenna allows for VHF/UHF operation. General monitoring is accomplished using two Uniden BCD996XT scanners, a Undien BC 780XLT, and a Uniden BCD996P2 coupled to a discone antenna with a Strasberg MCA204 Multicoupler.

While mobile I keep a listen on a Yaesu FT-100D with Yaesu ATAS-120 or a Maldol EX-510B antenna. A Yaesu FT-8800R and a Motorola CDM1550 LS+ share space in the mobile. Various handhelds including a Motorola HT1550 XLS, a Motorola HT1250, a Yaesu FT-60, and a Uniden BCD396T scanner usually ride along.

Best 73 from Colorado
NC0JW (Ex N6GKR)

Worked DXCCs: