K9GEM

CQ CQ de ... Kilo Niner Golf Echo Mike

Brief History

I was first licensed with the callsign of KB9PCW on December 11th, 1996. I am very proud to be an Amateur Radio Operator. I had been aware of the hobby for over 10 years now and kick myself for not having gotten into it sooner. N0SYI and N0HDW both introduced me to Ham Radio. Unfortunately, the Technician No-Code Class had not been implemented yet, so the Code requirement kept me from getting my license then. I especially owe it to KB9OAL for re-introducing me to the hobby, and getting me to take the tests!!

On July 15, 1998 I went to a testing session in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and passed my 5wpm Code Test. So I am now officially a Technician Plus. After trying numerous code tapes, the Gordon West 0-7 Code Tapes from W5YI worked the best for me. Now on to the 13wpm!

On February 26th, 1999, my vanity application was processed by the FCC and I was assigned the new callsign of K9GEM. There is no nostalgic reasoning behind my choosing that callsign. I chose the callsign based on the desire for a shorter callsign and one that was easier to announce during a contest. This callsign is also a little more "CW-friendly" than my previous call.

On January 6th, 2001, I decided to go to a local VE Testing Session and ring in the new year by obtaining my General License. So I went to the 2001 WARAC Midwinter Swapfest, and took the Element 3 written General Test. AND I PASSED!! So now I can work the world on a daily basis.

Contributions to the hobby

Since getting my license, I have gotten involved with a few of the local organizations,including the Badger Contesters, the Green Bay Mike & Key Club, the Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club (FCARC), the Fox Valley VHF Association, and the Outagamie ARES/RACES Group. I was also on the Board of Directors for the local VHF Repeater Association, President of the Badger Contesters, as well as the Vice-President of the Green Bay Mike & Key Club.

Neat experiences thus far

Through the FCARC, I met a lot of new friends and got to participate in some really neat events. For example, I was a member of the W9IEI 1997 and 1998 Wisconsin QSO Party Mobile Team. Each year, the club has a special events station at the EAA's Oshkosh Fly-In. In the summer of '97, I got to taste the fun of RTTY on 20 meters! Talk about an incentive to get my code knocked out!!

Through the Green Bay Mike & Key Club, I got to participate in a special event station (W9I) celebrating the 150th birthday of the state of Wisconsin. I also operated the 1999 Wisconsin QSO Party with some of my fellow Mike and Key Club members. In June of 1999, we operated the Novice/Tech station for Field Day under my callsign.

My favorite QSO thus far is working the CO2FRC crew in Cuba on 6 meters from my living with just 10 watts!! I did that during the 1998 ARRL June VHF QSO Party.

My favorite part of the hobby

One thing that I have found is that there are so many areas of Amateur Radio to play in. So many in fact, that it is hard to be active in all areas. Typically, one finds a few areas that are of interest to him and he focuses on those areas. Today, my focus is on VHF/UHF contesting (namely rovering), and Fox Hunting. My first contest experience was the 1997 Wisconsin QSO Party as a Mobile station. I was immediately hooked! Since then, I have become a regular participant in the following contests:

ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes
ARRL June VHF QSO party
ARRL Field Day
ARRL August UHF QSO Party
ARRL September VHF QSO Party
ARRL December 10m Contest