This is a preliminary Web page for N6XI to be hosted at QSL.NET. Since this is my first attempt at creating a Web page, it will be pretty crude at first.
N6XI is located in Northern California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. I have been a licensed ham since 1961 and have held the calls KN3QDD, K3QDD, W1DVH, K1RC, N6XI, N7TN and now, again, N6XI. I spent a year as a guest op at I1MOL and one contest expedition as 4X/N6XI. I was trustee of the MIT Radio Society station W1MX in the 70's and now I am trustee of the Boy Scout Troop 566 Radio Club station K6BSA.
Contesting is my first and strongest interest in ham radio although it has been somewhat in remission during the past decade. My favorite contest is the North American Sprint. I still operate an occasional full-bore ARRL Sweepstakes but I just play around in other contests such as California QSO Party, ARRL DX and CQ Worldwide DX. I operate mainly CW but I do own several microphones and a boomset. No DVK.
Although I enjoy working DX, I dislike the clerical aspects of DXing. I think I have worked about 250 countries but have only received cards from about 150. I don't bother to send cards to "new ones," I have never applied for DXCC and I have never gone through contest logs to see how many other countries are in them.
My current passion is QRP. I have built and operated the following QRP kits:
I am a life member of ARRL and I believe all hams should belong to the League. They are not perfect, folks, and I disagree with their policy recommendations from time to time, but they are the only effective organized voice we have. Use 'em or lose 'em.
I am also a member of the Northern California Contest Club (NCCC) and the Northern California QRP Club. I think my membership has lapsed in the Northern California DX Club (NCDXC) but I contribute to the Northern California DX Foundation and urge you all to support them or other DXpedition sponsors.
N6XI today consists of a TS-930S, Elecraft K2 and Alpha 87A. The 930 and the K2 are an odd couple that I intend to marry via a WX0B Six Pack dual-radio antenna switch for some very casual single-op, two-transceiver contest operation. I think it will be useful in the latter half of SS. Antennas are Force 12 beams for 40-20-15-10, 2 elements on 40 and 3 on the rest. Two booms at 50 and 55 feet. Just a dipole on 80 which is more than enough in my neighborhood which has so many different whistles and obscene electrical noises on 80m that the band is essentially useless and the prospects of a cure are too daunting to consider until I retire from professional work. My apologies to all who have called me hearing an S9 signal and received no response. I have a handful of handies and a mobile rig for 144, 432 and 1.2 GHz. At drive time I monitor 1285.000 (W6CYX system - various linked frequencies throughout NorCal), 147.855- ("Charlie"), 147.36 (NCDXC) and 440.150 (Compaq nee Digital nee Tandem).
Professionally, I am Executive Vice President, Engineering and Operations, at TIBCO Software Inc., a company that opens up the information resources of an enterprise to employees, customers, vendors and partners via the Internet and corporate intranets. See http://www.tibco.com. I have been at TIBCO since 1986 when it was known as the Software Systems Division of Teknekron Corporation, later Teknekron Software Systems Inc., then TIBCO Inc. Our latest incarnation was launched January 1, 1997 when we spun off from Reuters. We enjoyed a successful IPO in July, 1999. As jack of all trades and elder statesman at TIBCO, I could never finish my tasks if I took them all equally seriously, so I choose to focus on topics where I can do the most good at any time. At present, that is TIBCO.net, our Web content hosting service. For an example, take a look at the fine print at the bottom of any stock quote from:
Yahoo!
Alta Vista
Netscape
Financial Times
mySAP
...and other major Internet portals and corporate Web sites. The software that makes these sites work is called TIB/PortalPack. For more information see the
Tibco Software Web Site or via email to
[email protected].
Before my current adventure, I worked at 3Com Corporation, Masstor Systems Corporation and MIT's Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. I graduated from MIT in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in computer science.
I am the proud father of Jeremy KC6YEW, a Cornell computer science junior at this writing (1/2000) and Dan, a senior at Saratoga High School. My wife Ann KD6MOB (why didn't she get her application in eleven items later?!) is a part-time elementary educator and extraordinary community volunteer. She tolerates my often intense work schedule and too many outside interests, does too much of the house work and child rearing (just about done, now) and has been a true partner in every sense of the word.
I am a member of the boards of Congregation Beth David of Saratoga, CA and the Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose CA. I serve on the Federation's allocations subcommittee for designated gifts to support Pluralism and Coexistence in Israel. I am a merit badge counselor and high adventure advisor to Boy Scout Troop and Venture Crew 566. My most interesting adventure with these groups was in Summer 1999 when we spent two weeks backpacking at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, fulfilling a childhood dream of mine.
In 1995 I set out to fulfill another long-deferred dream when I began training toward my Private Pilot certificate. I am now instrument rated and fly a Cessna Turbo 210. Flying, learning about flying and talking about flying have become my primary avocations...sorry, ham radio.
I also enjoy skiing, hiking, astronomy and poker. My photography, cycling, chess and swimming interests are in remission but I hope they return. I subscribe to too many magazines which cuts into my time for spy novels and other more serious literature.
When I retire, I want to learn golf and then fly to and play every California course within ten minutes drive of an airport. I would like to hear from anyone who actually knows how many that is.