My name is Dennis Harpold. I received my Novice license in 1977 and shortly thereafter upgraded to General when I could copy 13 WPM in Morse. From 1977 to 1985 my only mode of operation for my 650+ QSOs was CW. My HAM career was put on hold in 1985 when I graduated college with a degree in Electrical Engineering and started working for the United States Federal Government. My job allowed me to travel all over the world and do things a small-town West Virginia boy never thought possible. I was fortunate to be able to retire at the age of 57 to pursue other adventures. 

Recently I have renewed my interest in HAM radio. I obtained my Extra Class license and then I was fortunate to be granted the vanity callsign of WV8DX. The prefix of the call is my state (WV), the digit 8 for my callsign area and of course the suffix is what most of us are interested in….DX. Boy, has HAM radio changed since my early days. I’m now fascinated with the digital modes and use mostly FT8 and PSK31 but after I brush off some rust I’ll be back onto CW. I have joined SKCC and FISTS to keep me motivated towards getting back into that mode.

My HAM shack is a finished section in a pole building located about 1000 feet from our house. My XYL and I own 165 acres, so I have lots of space for antennas but for now I only have a 20-meter dipole that I made and have strung among some walnut trees. My rig is an ICOM 7300 and I use HAM Radio Deluxe and WSJT-X with Alert. This configuration seems to be getting the job done for now but I need to get more antennas built.

With regards to QSL’ing. I design and print my own cards and I try to make them interesting. I still have all my old analog cards and there’s something to be said for holding an actual card that arrived via the postal system. That being said, I understand the current trend is digital. I’ll try to use whatever method to help you get credit for the “almost heaven” state of West Virginia. I use eQSL, QRZ, LOTW, HRDLOG and probably others I can’t remember.

That enough for now so until we meet on the air…..73’s