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Amateur Radio
I became interested in the hobby of Amateur
Radio when I was in school, testing for my Novice
class license in 1964. I discovered girls, and let the
radio sport expire until a radio station engineer
played the Central Ohio Severe Weather Net for
me- I was hooked. I got my General Class license
as N8BHL in 1979. I was only interested in two
meters (a local frequency with repeaters and
mobile stations) until a hurricane came through
the southern states. I listened to the National
Hurricane Net on 20 meters, and got hooked on
the “low bands” working distances and meeting
hams all over the world. In 1982, I passed the
Morse code at 20 words per minute, and scored
the Extra Class License- the highest ranking
available.
After some years, a move and other changes, I
lost interest in the low bands, and my antennas
sat in a a pile for 20 years. When several hams at
my workplace got together to form a ham radio
club, my interest rekindled, and I started putting
together a station.
I put my old Yaesu FT-102 radio back on the desk,
after world-renown FT-102 expert Mal Eiselman
went through and made it sing again. I’ve added
other equipment including the latest digital
transmission modes, and I moved the radio room
upstairs. I have two towers and several antennas.
I have a couple radios in my truck, one of which
I’ve used to talk to Siberia.
I am Vice President of the Delaware Amateur
Radio Association (DELARA), where I publish the
online newsletter and the club website
(http://www.k8es.org). Our newsletter has won
best in the Midwest Division twice.
I have renewed my interest in emergency
communications, and I now serve as the
“Emergency Coordinator” for The Ohio ARES
(Amateur Radio Emergency Service.) As such I
coordinate activities in nearly every county of the
state. We serve the EMA, the Red Cross, other
responding agencies, and public service events
and organizations. I have purchased and
remodeled two RV trailers named “Canned Ham”
and “Canned Ham 2”, turning them into a mobile
communications vehicles.
I am also a Net Control Operator and a member
of the Board of Directors for the “Hurricane
Watch Net” which has served as the first warning
of hurricanes since the early 1960’s to the Atlantic
Basin. We gather direct observations and spotter
reports and feed them to the National Hurricane
Center in Miami and the Canadian Center. I
worked many hours as hurricane Irene, and later
Superstorm Sandy made their way up the nation’s
east coast.