My Background

I started out as most hams did back then, as a novice on 40M CW. Using a Johnson Viking xmtr with a VF-1 VFO & a National NC-300 rcvr I worked my first QSO. I was so nervous I was shaking and at the end of an hour all I had was the man's callsign and that he was in CA. I was sweating so badly by the time I was done I had to take a shower!

My Beginnings as a "VHFer"

Looking for something new, I decided to try operating the 1991 June VHF QSO Party. Borrowing a friends IC-211, grabbing a straight key and 5/8 mag mount I hooked it all up on the seat of a mid 80's K-Car and drove to the Lake Tahoe overlook above Incline Village NV. From there with just 10 watts I worked on CW 300 miles to "CM96" which turned out to be over 200 miles away!

Eureka, I found it! I was like a new novice all over again, so excited at what I had just done that I drove to Auburn CA, traversing 3 grids and at the "Foresthill" exit I parked in Raleys back parking lot, which overlooks the San Juaquin Valley, and worked all the way to Fresno (DM06) and heard Los Angeles (DM04).

That was all it took, I was hooked! from that point on I have endeavoured to improve both my station and skills, never looking back.