Yes, I'm an Amateur Radio Operator, or a Ham, as some of you may call it. My wife is too. I've been a Ham Radio Operator since 1994 and have always had the same callsign.

I used to have a tower up at my previous residence, but since I moved and I'm not planning on living here too long, it's currently in storage. When I move to the next house, I plan on putting it back up and there will certainly be some sort of use for it on this site.

Currently at home, I've taken down all the antennas. We are hoping to move this year and most home buyers don't appreciate all the wires.

In the truck, I have a Kenwood D700A, which I think is a really cool radio. I also own a Yaesu VX-7R which I think is hands down the coolest radio I have ever owned.

My wife got her callsign at the Dayton Hamvention in 2003. I made her a promise that if she passed I would buy her a radio. She picked out a Kenwood V7A which is cute and all, but that screen is really hard to read in direct sunlight. We sold it and bought a Yeasu FT-8800.  With the cold weather, I have yet to install it. She occasionally reminds me that she has no radio in the car.

I gave her my Kenwood TH-78A, which is another cool HT, or at least it was in it's day. It's not the best on batteries, so it's been on my desk collecting dust at the moment. I've been thinking about getting her a new one.

My oldest son has expressed an interest in amateur radio, but so far it's just a fascination with gadgets. Every once in a while, he pulls out the books or asks me questions about it.

In the past, I have been the webmaster and treasurer for a couple of amateur radio organizations, but have since then decided that when it became work and not fun, it was time to move on. Mike Bottema taught me a long time ago that it's a hobby. Hobbies are supposed to be fun. If you're not having fun, then either or doing it wrong, or you're taking it too seriously.

Speaking of having fun, currently I am a Team Leader for the Skywarn team that goes to the National Weather Service during the severe weather months. My wife is my team member. We take reports from amateur radio operators for the 23 county area. We then let the meteorologists know about the reports and they make decisions based on those reports. We have been there sometimes late into the next morning on weekdays. On more than one occasion, I have left the NWS, gone home, showered, changed, and gone to work. We have 3 teams and we rotate weeks all summer long.

I have also volunteered at some of the local events in the area, such as walks and the River Bank Run. I used to run the March of Dimes walk, but I gave it up after 4 years.

If you're interested in callsigns and what not, try the search feature on the left. It will search for a callsign, whether it's Amateur or GMRS or not and give you the results. It will also give you a link to a Google Map if the address can be found, and provided it's not a PO box. I also have mailing lists set up so that you can get information on the FCC database activity for the 23 counties that make up the GRR/NWS area. Click on the Mailing Lists link to the left if you're interested in that. It also gives you a complete list in a comma seperated value file on the first of the month. It's free and I don't use the addresses for anything, so feel free to sign up.