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Biography Ray Andrews, K9DUR, was born in Indianapolis, IN, on April
14, 1945. His family moved to Collingswood, NJ in June of 1946
where they lived until he completed elementary school.
During this time Ray's
interest in radio was sparked when his father gave him an AM radio
with a short-wave band covering 7 to 12 MHz. Ray soon became
an avid short-wave listener and spent many enjoyable hours listening
to HCJB, the BBC, the Voice of America, and Radio Moscow.
In 1957 Ray's family moved to
Delaware Township, NJ (now known as Cherry Hill).
In the summer of 1959, while
visiting his brother Bob, K9CAT, in Gaston, IN, Ray was
introduced to 6-meter AM and the wonders of Sporadic-E
skip.
The next school year, Ray got
to know Ernest B. (Bart) Mayo, K2KTS, who was the head of the
Industrial Arts Department at Delaware Township HS, where Ray was a
freshman. Mr. Mayo taught a Novice class during his
metal-working shop, and, since Ray had a study hall that period, he
talked the school into assigning him to Mr. Mayo for study
hall. In April of 1960, Ray passed his Novice exam and was
issued the call WV2MBR.
Ray & his father started
scouring the flea markets and found an old 3-5 MHz ARC-5 for
$5.00. His father had obtained an RCA AR-88 general coverage
receiver (500 kHz to 30 MHz), so it was time to home-brew an
80-meter folded dipole antenna and a power supply for the
ARC-5. The power supply used a 5U4 rectifier tube.
In addition to the Delaware
Township HS Radio Club (W2MBC), Ray also was a member of the South
Jersey Radio Association (K2AA).
In January, 1961, when Ray
was a sophomore in high school, his father was transferred back to
Indianapolis. Ray stayed behind for 2 weeks with his sister to
complete the school semester. The day before flying to Indiana
to join his family, Ray took his Technician exam. Then began
the long wait to see if he had passed.
Finally, towards the end of
February, there was a license in the mail. The callsign was
KN9DUR -- the class was Novice -- Ray was heartbroken -- he had
failed the Technician test. Wait! The next day another license
came in the mail: K9DUR, Technician! He had passed after
all.
The next item on the agenda
was a trip downtown to Graham Electronics to look for a 6-meter AM
radio. He found a used Heathkit Sixer that was within his
budget, and proceeded to get on the air with his new
privileges.
Over the next 2-1/2 years,
Ray made several modifications to his Sixer: adding an 8 MHz
oscillator stage, an external VFO, and increasing the plate power
input to 8 Watts. Before graduating from high school in 1963,
Ray worked 19 states on 6-meter AM, including Illinois & Ohio,
using his Sixer, the AR-88 receiver with an International Crystal
converter, and a 5-element Hy-Gain beam at 30 feet.
While in high school, Ray was
a member of the Indianapolis Radio Club (W9JP) and assisted with the
amateur radio classes held by the IRC at the Indiana School for the
Blind.
From 1962 through 1967, Ray
also held a 2nd station license, call sign W9EZJ, located at his
family's vacation home on Cordry Lake in southern
Indiana.
The years from 1963 through
1969 were filled with earning a bachelor's degree in Electrical
Engineering from Purdue University in 1968 and with starting a
family. Amateur radio took a second seat, but Ray was never
completely off the air, operating from the Rose Polytechnic
Institute club station (W9NAA) and from the Purdue University club
station (W9YB). Most of his personal operation was on 6-meter
FM mobile using an old GE twin-coffin commercial transceiver
converted to 52.525 MHz.
In April, 1969, Ray was
transferred to New York City. Moving his family to northern
New Jersey, Ray applied for WA2MBR which was the non-Novice version
of his original callsign. In the fall of 1970, Ray was
transferred back to Indianapolis and was re-issued K9DUR, which he
has held ever since.
While in Indianapolis, Ray
became primarily interested in public-service and emergency
communications. At various times he served as Marion County EC
and RACES Radio Officer. Ray was privileged to be a member of
a 3-person delegation who made the first contact with the
Meteorologist-In-Charge of the Indianapolis office of the National
Weather Service. This meeting resulted in the permission to
have an Amateur Radio presence in the NWS office during severe
weather situations, a presence which continues to this
day.
In January 1974, Ray traveled
to Chicago (in an ice storm) to take the Advanced Class exam at the
FCC Field Office. Passing the code by the skin of his teeth,
Ray came home to wait for the Advanced ticket to come in the mail so
he could start using his new privileges. He purchased a used
Heathkit SB-101 and home-brewed an 80m/40m trap dipole. Even
with the new equipment and privileges, VHF and emergency
communications remained his primary interests in the
hobby.
After a couple of job changes
and moves to Vincennes, IN (1976-1989), Niles, MI (1989-1992), and
briefly to Elkhart, IN (1992), Ray landed in West Terre Haute, IN,
where he married Natalie Carty, N9QKH, on New Year's Eve,
1992.
Ray's older brother, Bob, had
become a silent key a few years before, so when the vanity call
system was opened to relatives of deceased amateurs, Natalie applied
for and was issued Bob's old call, K9CAT. Ray didn't want that
callsign to get out of the family.
Ray and Natalie became
heavily involved with the local SkyWarn and ARES groups and also
with the Wabash Valley Amateur Radio Association (W9UUU). Ray
served as president of the WVARA for 2 years and as the club trustee
for 3 years. Natalie served as club secretary for 3
years.
In February 2000, Ray decided
to take the Amateur Extra written exam before the new regulations
went into effect on April 15, 2000. Although he never had been
a proficient CW operator, Ray tried the 20 wpm exam, and, by some
strange miracle, passed.
A co-worker, Ray Luth,
WA9WJJ, had been telling stories of working DX on 10-meter mobile
using a Radio Shack HTX-10. When WA9WJJ got a new 10-meter
radio, Ray bought the HTX-10 from WA9WJJ and proceeded to get on
10-meter mobile. In 40 years of being an amateur radio
operator, this was Ray's first experience with 10 meters or with HF
mobile of any kind. This was as much fun as 6-meter AM was
when he was in high school! In January 2001, Ray upgraded his
mobile station to a Yaesu FT-100, which gave him access to the other
HF bands, but 10-meters was still his favorite band.
Since first starting 10-meter
SSB mobile operations on June 14, 2000, Ray has made over 480
contacts, including 113 DXCC entities. His 1st ever
application for DXCC consisted entirely of 10-meter SSB mobile
contacts. He now has 113 DXCC entities confirmed on 10-meter
mobile.
On March 22, 2003, Ray
& Natalie were jointly awarded the Brentlinger Award by the
Wabash Valley Amateur Radio Association. This award is given
annually to the amateur or amateurs from the Wabash Valley who
contribute the most to the advancement of amateur radio and for
public service.
On July 24, 2003, Natalie,
K9CAT, became a silent key after a 4-year battle with colon
cancer. On November
15, 2003, Ray & Natalie were jointly presented the 2003 Indiana
Outstanding Amateur-of-the-Year Award by the Indiana Radio Club
Council.
On January 20, 2004, Ray was
appointed an Assistant Central Division Director by the ARRL Central
Division Director, Dick Eisley, W9GIG.
In October 2005, Ray met Pam
Williams, a retired registered nurse. Pam had worked in the
Pulmonary Intensive Care Unit at the VA Hospital in Danville, IL,
until her retirement in 1998.
On May 6, 2006, Pam passed
her Technician Class exam & was issued the call sign
KC9JMA. Ray immediately pronounced her to be "Just My
Angel".
On July 2, 2006, Ray &
Pam were married in Las Vegas, NV.
On September 16, 2006, Ray
& Pam, along with Steve (NT9T) & Debbie (KC9AOR), left for a
week of fun in the sun & on the radio in Belize.
On May 31, 2007, Ray retired
& was now able to spend more time on the air (dream
on....).
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