Introduction
This page serves primarily as an accounting of my activities as an Amateur Radio -- aka "Ham Radio" -- operator. Please peruse this page and it's links in order to learn more about one of my favorite hobbies.
For those that may be more interested in my many other hobbies (I have more than any one person should have... really), check out my generic Hobbies Page.
History
Originally licensed as WN6MRQ in 1975, I've been an Advanced class ham radio operator for over 30 years. I primarily focus on participating in public service events and supporting emergency services organizations these days.
In the past, I've served in a variety of positions, including editor of the Golden Empire Amateur Radio Society (GEARS) newsletter (Chico, CA), ARRL Emergency Coordinator (Fremont, CA), and evening net control on the Western Public Service System (3.952 Mhz).
I'm a life member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), and currently serve as the Bulletin Manager for the Santa Clara Valley Section. That essentially means I'm the section webmaster.
Recently...
Currently, as public service activity goes, I'm most active in the CDF VIP program (see below).
I still like to do a bit of contesting from time to time, especially if it can be combined with some camping. Finding a site that requires 4WD to get in makes the outing that much more interesting. :-)
With the combination of contesting and camping in mind, Field Day has been an annual outing for me since before I received my Novice license, and is still my biggest annual radio "event". The field day group that I'm associated with has been together since 1977. A few of us decided that, since Field Day was supposed to be a demonstration of operation without commercial power, why not operate in the forest? And so we turned Field Day into an annual camping trip.
A small number of us have been doing the "Field Day Camping Trip" since the beginning. Countless others have joined us for anywhere from one to 20+ years. We tend to average about 20 attendees per year.
Areas of Interest
The list below contains a brief summary of some of my favorite activities and events, as well as links to sites that cover most of the topics in detail. Other pages on this site (see the "Links" list near the top right side of the page) cover areas that I've put a bit of thought into, for whatever reason...