Biography

Welcome to my QRZCQ page!

I have been a licensed amateur radio operator now for over 45 years. I got my Novice ticket in 1978 when I was 16. Back then I operated a Kenwood TS-520S. I built my own antennas, mostly dipoles, though I did make a two element 15m/10m cubical quad. I got my General then Advanced tickets the following year in 1979.

After I graduated college with a BSEE degree in 1984, I had to sell the station as I needed the cash, and I moved to Florida to start my career. Thanks to a ham friend of mine, John Mouw (WA4JM), he lit the ham bug in me once again in 1988. I bought a used TS-520S and operated a station in Largo, FL. It was quite nostalgic operating the same model rig I first started out with.

Then in 1992 my wife and I moved to Palm Harbor, FL and were busy raising our two boys. That QTH wasn’t ideally suited for a station, so sadly I was QRT, and the old Kenwood was packed away for over thirty years.

After that long hiatus, I got back on the air in March of 2023. I wasn’t sure if the old Kenwood would actually fire up, but it sure did. To test it, I broke out a 10m dipole that I must have made back in the seventies. It worked perfectly. I put up a 6BTV vertical antenna and I was back on the air.

While the old Kenwood performed well, I wanted a more modern radio, so I got a Yaesu FTdx10.

I’m really enjoying the hobby now since I retired last October; sixty-one and done. I was the regional operations and sales manager for a German based test, inspection, and certification company. Prior to that, I owned my own company, Walshire Labs LLC, that specialized in EMC, wireless, and product safety testing.

I operate on the HF bands, SSB and FT8. My other hobbies include metal detecting, boating, fishing, scuba diving, beachcombing and watercolor painting.
73’s

Updated 8/13/2024

Equipment

Rig: Yaesu FTdx10
Ant: Hustler 6BTV ground mounted
Mic: Yaesu M-70D
Amp: Ameritron AL-811H
SWR/Wattmeter: Daiwa CN-901
Coax Switch: Daiwa