Welcome to Amateur Radio!
NOTE: After 3 1/2 years of procrastination, I am finally updating this website to reflect my Virginia QTH. I've basically reworked the website from my California QTH. There is still a LOT of updating to be done, but at least I have begun the process.
Please feel free to poke around! Read the humor pieces; take the wire antenna calculator for a test drive. You will find a lot of information here. Enjoy!
Amateur Radio, also known as Ham radio, has been an exciting part of my world for many years — in fact, for most of my life! I love to talk about it and I love to introduce others to this great hobby. I am an avid DXer, love CW, hang out on the low-bands — especially 160 M — and am constantly fiddling around with my antennas!
Within these pages I will share ham radio from my perspective. So, I'm delighted you're taking the tour. I hope you enjoy your walk through my reality.
Amateur Radio Station WS6X
Main Tower
Hover mouse for distant view
Please join the
effort to take back our bands and promote civility among
all amateurs. While this effort began within DX circles, it
should apply equally to any person who participates in this
great hobby.
What is Ham Radio?
"Most of the time, it's the most fun you can
have with a radio. It's a way to talk with people
around the world, or even orbiting the world; to send
e-mail without any sort of Internet connection and to keep
in touch with friends across town or across the country.
But it is called the "Amateur Radio Service" because it also has a serious face. It's a very important emergency communications system tool. When cell phones, regular phones, the Internet and other systems are down or overloaded, Amateur Radio still gets the message through. Radio amateurs, often called "hams," enjoy radio technology as a hobby — that's the fun part. But it's also a vital service that has saved lives again and again when regular communication systems failed." (Quote from the ARRL website.)
Learn More about Amateur Radio...