Biography

If you have an interest in learning CW or increasing your proficiency I highly recommend CW Academy administered by CW OPs http://cwops.org/

QSL info:

09-20-2008 through 12-31-2012 QTH was 2183 Mountain Rd Slatington, PA 18080

01-01-2013 onwards QTH is correct as listed, 30902 Niles School Rd Springfield, SD 57062

I grew up in Dakota City NE and was always intrigued with the antennas in the backyard of the local TV repairman Mel Shadbolt W0KYQ. In Boy Scouts I fashioned a “buzzer” out of parts in Dad’s garage and got my Radio Merit Badge. Dad was definitely not into electronics but with a few parts from the hardware store “in town” my buzzer worked well enough to get me sent outside with my noise making.

After graduating high school and running out of money at junior college, I joined the U.S. Navy in 1968 as a Machinist Mate; did a tour in Viet Nam aboard the USS Radford DD-446 before going to Machinist Mate "A" School in Great Lakes IL then straight to Cryogenics O2/N2 "C" School in Portsmouth VA, USS Fulton AS-11 New London CT, USS Simon Lake AS-33 Rota Spain, recruiting duty Sioux City IA, NAS Chase Field Beeville, TX and USS Forrestal CV-59.

Upon my return from Viet Nam I married my loving wife Donna and eventually we were blessed with two terrific daughters, Jennifer and Heather who have in turn blessed us with five wonderful grandchildren. In Feb 1977 while stationed in Beeville, TX I was licensed WD5INA and Donna was licensed a couple of months later as WD5JRL. A real high point of operating in our lives was running phone patches while at sea on the USS Forrestal CV-59 during a lot of Mediterranean cruises. Whenever I was deployed Donna would work her full time day job, mind her duties at home and then after the kids were in bed, find time to get on the air to run “patches” for us and many other ships. It was a thrill checking into the Maritime Mobile Net (14.313 in those days) and hearing my honey answer. I would like to thank the amateurs who spent many many hours on the air with us “patching” the crew back to their loved ones; they are Donna – WD5JRL, Roy – W2ABM(sk), Bob – WA3UBA(sk), Ralph – WA3QKM(sk), Chick – N4CUH and Charlie - N4GCD.

With just six years short of retirement in the Navy MMC Nixon accepted a position with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc in Allentown, PA (Oct 1981) and enjoyed an extremely fruitful and fulfilling career. Best move I ever made. I worked in the “Electronics” organization supplying Specialty Gases and specialty gas handling equipment to semiconductor companies throughout the world. Donna and I lived in Asia for eight years while I was in our Electronics Operations group getting the business off the ground there which was an ebb in our radio hobby.

Donna and I have retired and moved to SD in order to be close to family in our home state of NE. My W0EJ call was formerly held by the late ARRL Midwest Division Director Robert W. "Wade" Walstrom (sk), of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

I dabble in digital modes on occasion but my main interests are chasing DX, contesting and paper chasing in my preferred mode of CW. I am a member of these clubs:

CW Operators Club (CWops) #1269
Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) #10440S
FISTS #14786
North American QRP CW Club (NAQCC) #2271
Flying Pigs QRP Club #2057
Sasquatch Stomp #846
Novice Rig Roundup #71

In addition to radio, I keep busy with wood scrolling, "turning" custom pens on the lathe, making lamps from D-104 mics and J-37/38 keys, leather tooling, boating, fishing, camping, archery, shooting, reloading, hunting or riding my Harley. Now I know what my retired friends meant when they said they don’t know how they ever had enough time to go to work.

Please follow the DX Code of Conduct http://dx-code.org/

Hope to see you down the log, all the best and 73 from sunny South Dakota.........

Bill
ARRL VE and Life Member

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Currently the station is: Kenwood TS-890S, Elecraft KX-3, SW+40, Icom IC-756 PRO III, Kenwood TS-590SG, Icom IC-706MKIIG, Ameritron AL-82 for those pileups, Palstar AT-Auto up to a HY Power Company OCF160 8 band OCF dipole 268' long up 30', an Alpha-Delta DX-LB PLUS Parallel Dipole and a DX-Engineering 43' vertical ground mounted with 2,000' of radials. Both of the CW keys are from N3ZN, a ZN-9A, a ZN-HK straight key and of late a 1950 Vibroplex bug (made the same year I was born). I hope to get the Mosley Pro-67C back up in the air at 55’ after a long hiatus.

Additionally I will occasionally tune up the vintage radios; Drake-2C/2NT twins, Drake-R4C/T4XC twins, Kenwood R-599D/T-599D twins, TS-520S, TS830S, TS-130SE, HW-101, HW-16/HG-10B VFO and HW-8/ for a bit of nostalgia. When I get a "round tuit" I have three HW-101s and another HW-16/HG-10B VFO that are in various stages of resurrection.