Welcome, my name is Nick Toparcean and my QTH is Colmesneil, Texas.

My interests are  building and repairing equipment, restoring and collecting old boatanchor's, operating QRP & software definded radios and learning code. I am a recently retired Information Technology Executive. I hold an Extra Class Ticket and serve as an ARRL Public Information Officer, ARES Emergency Coordinator and RACES Chief Liaison Officer for Tyler County, Texas.  I also serve as chairman of the Tyler County Local Emergency Planning Commission.

In addition to ham radio and computing, I am a musician, custom knife maker and enjoy wood and metal working. I served two tours on active duty in the U.S. Army  and am an avid hunter and outdoorsman.

Station Radio's and Equipment:
Station Power:
Station Automation:
Portable Rigs:
Antennas:
Colmesneil is a quaint little town located in East Texas about 35 miles south of Lufkin on US 69 in Tyler County. The town, sometimes referred to as Colmesneil Junction, was named for one of the first conductor's on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad, W. T. Colmesneil.
Colmesneil became a railroad center for Tyler County. It had the only turntable in the county at the end of the Waco, Beaumont, Trinity and Sabine lines.
Colmesneil shipped cotton and other products from Jasper, Newton, Sabine, San Augustine, and Angelina counties. Since the land around the town is too hilly for cultivation, local products were confined to timber and some cattle. The Yellow Pine Lumber Company operated a sawmill in Colmesneil in the 1880s. At one time Colmesneil was larger than Beaumont.
Nearby Lake Tejas, fed by cool springs, provides water sports for a large East Texas area. Our town has a bank, post office, hardware store, sawmill, restaurant, several small grocery stores, and a good high school with an excellent sports record.
The population was at its height around 1890 at 1,016. By 1900 it was down to 632, and in 1931 it was 370, but by 1939 it was back to 1,000. In the late 1980's it was 600. Today the population is  598.


Software For The Amateur Radio Operator

Ham Radio Deluxe
Virtual Legacy Radio CAT Control
HamInfoBar
FTBCAT & other Yaesu Software
Orbitron Satelite Tracking Program
Dipole, Inverted V and Ground Plane Antenna Calculators
Just Learn Morse Code
MorseCat 2.0
DigiPan
NAP3 - Panadapter Display Program
HDSDR - Software Defined Radio Program

Propagation Reports
Real Time Propagation Report
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
Real Time VHF Propagation Maps
Real Time Band Conditions
Local Clubs and Other Links

Tyler County Amateur Radio Association Reflector
Tyler County Amateur Radio Association
Lakes Area Amateur Radio Club
Deep East Texas Amateur Radio Club (DETARC)
Beaumont Amateur Radio Club
Jefferson County Amateur Radio Club
Orange Amateur Radio Club
Big Thicket Amateur Radio Club
eHam.net
ARRL South Texas
U.S Amateur Radio Bands
Worldwide Grid Square Interactive Map
DX Zone HF Net Listing
View APRS Activity on Google Maps
AC6V's Technical Reference - EXCELLENT !
American QRP Club - Great resource for the homebrewer
Send me an email.......  Click the key.
Last updated 06-28-15
5BTV
G5RV
5BTV Base Installation
- 73 -
Click on the links below.......
I spend most of my time on 17, 20 and 40 meters. I hope to catch you down the log.

Nick, AE5VV
Can't forget....  Jeeps - Motorcycles - ATV's - Hunting - Fishing
QRZ callsign lookup:
QRZ Callsign Lookup
My XYL and I decided to build our retirement home in a small town in East Texas. We wanted a home "in the woods"! Colmesneil fit the bill. It's a good place to live after working in Houston for 23 years.

We designed and physically built the home ourselves. It took about 3 years. We moved from Beaumont to Colmesneil, Texas the first week of August, 2012, just two weeks before my retirement!

I have two shack's. The photo's above show my current working conditions. This is my shack located in the house. I am building a 12 x 16 shack that is under construction and located in the shop. The tower and beam's will be next. It's nice designing and building a shack from the ground up.
Colmesneil Brief History...
Tram 1480
32 X 40 Shop
QTH
My pretty
XYL

Martin's Hardware
Bank-Texas Star Restaurant
Lake Tejas
"Ol' swimmin' hole"

City Hall
"Radio"
New addition to my working conditions
4 months old on 3-18-13.
Radio today
at 50+ lbs.
Digital

CW
Voice
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