Ham Radio

I have been interested in radio since my teen age years. To improve reception for a family radio, I built an outdoor antenna from bailing wire and enjoyed listening to distant AM stations. It was not until after being commissioned in the U.S. Army Signal Corps (Dec 1975) , that my interest in radio communications became relevant to becoming a ham radio operator. One of my senior NCOs was a ham, and he would listen to the ham bands on the HF radios. I tried to learn Morse code by looking at a cheat sheet and memorizing it (which is definitely not a good or efficient way to learn a new language). It was easier to learn conversational German than the code, because I had to speak German which increased my familiarity and knowledge of the language.

After returning to the Signal School for the Officers Advanced Course, I started visiting Radio Shack frequently and met up with some other hams. In no time, I received my Novice call [KA4IUP] on May 11, 1979, and upgraded to Technician within a year after being assigned to Fort Moore (Benning), GA. Two of my tactical communications branch instructors were ham radio operators, and they encouraged me to study and sit for my technician upgrade at the FCC office in Atlanta, GA.

My following assignment found me located in Canyon, TX as an Assistant Professor of Military Science (Army ROTC). There I met some great friends and became a member of the Panhandle Amateur Radio Club (W5WX) in Amarillo, TX.  Activities included supporting local ARES activities, coordinating lost child communications at the county fairs, and of course field days. After three years, it was reassignment time once again.

While stationed in Germany (1983 – 85), I operated as DA2MN on a German reciprocal license. I also helped with the Ansbach Military Community MARS station, which was located at Barton Barracks. It was soon after returning to the U.S. that I upgraded through General to Advanced class, and finally to the Amateur Extra Class. Since we raise Great Pyrenees dogs, I was able to get all three 1×3 vanity call signs ending in PYR. My wife is N4PYR (Amateur Extra) and my daughter is W4PYR (Technician).

I am currently a member of the Tar River Amateur Radio Club in Rocky Mount, NC. It is a small club that needs some ideas and assistance in growing. Covid-19 has impacted both the small clubs as well as the hobby. Since I am retired, I am able to find time to operate my radios using the horizontal loop antenna cut for 160 meters. Primarily, I operate FT4/FT8 and enjoy seeing how well my system appears to function.

Amateur Radio Activities/Projects

Current Equipment

  • Icom IC-7100 with LDG IT-100 and AH-4 Automatic Tuners
  • Carolina Windom 80, OCFD, 160M Horizontal Loop & Cushcraft R-7 Antennas
  • FT-857D portable station that includes LDG YT-100 Automatic Tuner, SignaLink USB soundcard modem and other accessories
  • Yaesu FT-8900. Kenwood TM-271A . and Motorola CM300 mobile radios
  • Tytera MD-380 and MD-UV390
  • Various other Kenwood , Alinco and Baofeng handheld radios

My Location:

  • Address: Henrico, NC, USA
  • CQ Zone – 05
  • Grid Square – FM16bm74wk
  • Elevation – 60M ASL
  • Latitude / Longitude (DD) – 36.5188804 /-77.8508048
  • ITU Region – 2
  • ITU Zone – 08

My Numbers:

  • 10-10 International – 52235
  • 30 MDG – 4285
  • Digital Mode Club – 06791
  • DMR IDs: 3137618 and 3159103
  • EPC – 36558
  • FT4DMC – 03776
  • FT8DMC – 06964
  • Hamshack Hotline Phone – 4265
  • NDG – 7403
  • QCWA – 36400
  • YB6-DXC/DM – 03443