The KF4IHX Home Page
Welcome to my Home Page, please enjoy it, Ernie Marquez KF4IHX. (Ex- KP4EIH)

A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT MYSELF

I was born in the city of Ponce, in the southern coast of the Island of Puerto Rico. I attended high school at Antilles Military Academy in Trujillo Alto, PR. and the Inter American University in San German, P.R.. After completing a 4-year enlistment in the U.S. Coast Guard I attended the Puerto Rico Institute of Technology where I obtained a degree in electronics. I am currently employed by Allied Assembly and Test Inc. in West Palm Beach, Fl. as General Manager. I live in Port St. Lucie Fl. with Curie, my sweetheart for 30 years and our daughter Zoe.

Since my early childhood I have been fascinated by the "magic" of radio. I remember that as young boy I used to listen to distant shortwave radio broadcasts on our Zenith tabletop radio. Searching through my grandfather's library one day I came across a copy of the "Audel's Radiomans Guide" and from this book I learned about antennas and their construction. From the sketches and formulas in that book I made my first dipole antenna for the shortwave bands. It was with my Zenith and the dipole that I first came across hams on the 40 meter A.M. band. I can vividly remember that the first voice I heard was that of a woman whom I later identified as Maria Luisa-KP4WT, a very active traffic handler and one of the few women ham radio operators in Puerto Rico at that time. From that day on, I knew I wanted to be a ham. My interest persisted but due to military school, college, the military service, marriage, etc. it would be a number of years until could get on the air with my very own ticket. It would not be until 1974 when coached by my two Elmers, Carlos-KP4AAM and Willie-KP4DJ (SK) that I would finally obtain my novice ticket and from then on it was it was "magic".

My interests in ham radio today are CW, (hearing less of it from novices these days) AM,QRPp, VHF-UHF weak signal and FM communications, Amateur Television (fast scan), Packet, Satellites, Shortwave listening and lately I have taken up the building and restoration of older tube gear. If you want to see a larger picture of my shack please click the thumbnail picture below.

My Shack