Take it back in 2010 - Video  

I am an amateur radio operator, my call sign is W5AMI, and I hold an Advanced Class license issued by the Federal Communications Commission.  To qualify, I had to take several tests, both written exams, and Morse code sending and receiving.  I enjoy talking with old friends and new friends over the air waves when I have time.  I have been a licensed amateur radio operator for about 25 years, and belong to the American Radio Relay League.  I am also an "Official Observer" with the Amateur Auxillary of the FCC to do my small part as a ham helping hams.   My primary equipment consists of an Icom IC-7000 transceiver, Heil PR-40 mic, and Henry 3K Classic-X amplifier.  The antennas are a 80 meter doublet fed with 450 ohm ladder line, and a Cushcraft triband beam.  I monitor my RF envelope with a Tektronix 465 B oscilloscope, and RF parameters with a Telepost Inc. LP-100A at all times.  You can usually find me on 3.937 Mhz where I have many good ham friends that are some of the greatest people I've known.

Amateur Radio is a privilege that I have great respect for, and I try to give back as much as I receive from the enjoyment it offers me.  This website is a small effort to do what I can to serve the amateur radio community, and those that might be interested in the hobby.

I welcome anyone to send me articles, photos, etc., pertaining to the hobby to add to the site, so long as they are in no way controversial in nature.  I would encourage those who wish to discuss or post articles of that type to use one of the many forums already on the world wide web open to such topics.

"Studio A"

Another hobby I enjoy is photography, and I hope you enjoy the photo gallery where I have placed a few images in several categories.  I am primarily interested in photographing landscapes, nature, rustic ruins, such as old barns, log structures, and the like.  Even in the new digital world, I still very much enjoy creating images in black and white where the subject is appropriate.  Much of my work in black and white is contained in the Gallery.

My background in photography began sometime about 1975 where I was a high school photographer.  I later worked in a specialty camera store where I was the primary darkroom technician.  In my spare time, I took every opportunity to head out to the countryside of rural Arkansas to get as much on film as I could.

In "Studio B - Gates BC-1T AM Broadcast Transmitter"

During the early years, my equipment consisted of mostly 35mm cameras with a few odd lenses.  Pentax and Nikon were my primary choice for 35mm.  Later, I obtained a 4x5 studio view camera and hauled it to the woods and mountains to get my subjects on the large sheet film.  I still have a place in my heart for the astonishing crispness and sharpness that the large format film cameras can obtain.  I've actually thought about getting another one this day in time!  I still have what I need to develop the film, and a nice negative scanner to digitize the images.

Gates BC-1T Finals and Modulators

My equipment today consists of a new 14.6 megapixel Pentax K20D professional digital SLR and several lenses.