Biography

Greetings from Illinois!

I often work the HF bands from the ham desk at the Chicago National Weather Service in Romeoville, IL (WX9LOT) where I am a Skywarn volunteer. I also participate in the local Fox River Radio League club (FRRL.org), am the EC (Emergency Coordinator) for Kane Co ARES (IL - kanecountyares.org) and a volunteer with the Naperville Emergency Management Agency (RACES - EmComm & Weather).

My grandfather Dar got me hooked on anything electronic back when I was a kid. He'd gotten me an electronics kit and we built all sorts of stuff including a morse code key and a crystal radio. He also introduced me to shortwave and I quickly developed a love of AM radio, staying up until all hours of the night to hear broadcasts from way outside central Indiana.

Once my own kids were grown and able to fend for themselves, I picked up some the interests I'd had when I was younger including weather spotting and ham radio. I've been so grateful to all the kind hams (elmers) who've helped me get to the point where I've got my General so far. I love working the HF bands for fun, a little contesting and DX when possible. Eventually I'd like to build my own home HF station, but for now I'm only operating 6m, 2m, 220 and 440 from home.

My passions are to also share the joy of ham radio by encouraging new female hams and hams with disabilities. I'm also an avid gardener, enjoy astronomy part-time, and still continue to dabble with computers after a 25+ long career in IT.

73!

Debby

Equipment

Right now all my equipment is VHF/UHF at home (Yaesu, AnyTone, Kenwood). That's why I work HF primarily from WX9LOT or NE9MA.