Welcome to w5ami.net. My callsign is now WA5AM, however I've kept the original domain of w5ami.net for the time being.
I am an Advanced class Amateur Radio Operator, and have been licensed for about 25 years. My interests in "ham radio" are both in vintage and modern equipment, weak signal VHF and above, and audio techniques. I operate mostly SSB, CW and occasionally AM.
A partial list of my ham equipment is listed here.
I always use an oscilloscope to monitor my RF envelope on all modes. Operating without a scope is like driving at night without headlights!
Ragchewing with my friends on 3937 and 3897 are a favorite pastime. You can catch me on 3937 off and on during the daytime, and early mornings on 3897. Since I still work for a living, I don't have much time during daylight hours to operate, but on the weekends, I am quite active on these frequencies. The Arkansas Razorback Net meets on 3987.5 every evening at 6:30 PM, and has a pre-net ragchew starting at 5:00 PM. I try to check into this net as much as possible.
My beautiful xyl Tamie (pronounced just like Tammy) is also a ham. Her call is KC5BSD, and she's been licensed for 15 years. We have five children, all grown and moved out, so we have plenty of solitude here on 30 acres of mostly wooded property in rural Faulkner County Arkansas. Plans are in the works to build a log cabin on the east section soon, off the main dirt road and very secluded.
My occupation is a computer programmer/analyst, and write and support government applications/software. In the distant past I worked for 3M company as a heavy equipment operator at a local rock quarry running everything from track drills to giant Bucyrus Erie electric shovels. I gave up that line of work due to dust and breathing problems years ago. I am also an audio engineering consultant for an audio company based in the U.S.
Photography is another sideline and hobby of mine. I currently use a Pentax 14.6 megapixel K20D pro digital SLR. We also have a very nice little Kodak digital as a backup. See my online photo gallery for some photos and some simple snapshots. The Gallery is new, and I plan to add a lot more images as I find time.
In closing; ham radio is likely one of the best hobbies a person could be involved with. I have made more friends in 25 years of ham radio than most people make in an entire lifetime. Learning a lot about electronics, radio theory, antenna theory, and other facets of this hobby are a great side effects too!
73 de WA5AM - Brian
Page hits since 06 Oct 2008