Name:
Tim
Carter
Address:
422 River Rd
01810
United States
QSL via:
Bureau, Direct mail, LOTW
QSL manager:
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The Main Bits...
My station consists of a TS-2000 into a homebrew fan inverted V dipole hanging from a tree (about 3m AGL at the feed point) for 40 & 20M and a 6 1/2 element yagi for 2M recovered from a scrap heap. ;-)
I operate almost entirely on FT8/FT4 with a bit of SSB thrown in for flavor.
I upload logs daily-ish to LoTW, QRZ and eQSL.
My "Backstory"...
I have fond, vivid memories of building a crystal radio with my dad when I was a young lad living on a farm in rural Michigan. Dad had been an airborne radio operator in the air force during the Korean ‘Conflict’ where he learned the basics of radio technology. We built this kit from a handful of parts, strung a wire out the window to one of the few trees in our yard and the magic happened! I would sit on my bed for hours, earphone jammed into my ear, listening to stations in Detroit, Chicago, Nashville and if the weather was just right, New York City. I was forever hooked.
In my teens I bought a Radio Shack DX-160 shortwave receiver with my grass cutting money. With it I was able to pull in stations from all over the world! I was listening to Radio Netherlands, the BBC, Radio Cuba, HCBJ in Ecuador, Radio Australia as well as amateur radio operators.
When I was about 15, I took the tests to become a ham. I passed the written exam bit but failed the Morse code test. This was about the time that the CB radio craze kicked in and my attention was turned towards it instead as it did not require a license. When in high school (aged 16-18) I discovered that the father of a close friend of mine was a ham - K8CJQ (sk)! I spent many an hour in his shack and even a few Field Days hanging antennas and keeping the log. A neighbor, also a ham whos name and call I don't recall (sorry!) lent me a real boat anchor of a military surplus receiver. ( After a bit of research I discovered a local club has taken the K8CJQ call in his honor and developed a website to describe their efforts -- http://k8cjq.org )
Eventually, that faded as Life filled my time. A few decades have gone whizzing past and I’ve found my interest in radio returning. The requirements to become a ham have changed as well, the Morse code requirement has been dropped. I did a bit of brushing up on my radio & FCC regs. knowledge, took a few practice tests, and the headed up to a local hamfest to take the test. A few days later my call was issued! A "bucket list" item completed!