The customizable parameters made me think "Wow, this was a logging program written the way a real hacker can appreciate!" Having been comfortable with Unix-style configuration parameter files for quite some time, I've really enjoyed its flexibility.

I haven't come close to tapping all the abilities it offers-- which is nice, knowing there's plenty more I can do with it. "Radio Biography"

I was first intrigued by the amateur radio concept when I was in high school, around 1992. My friend Thom and I tinkered around with lots of electronic and computer distractions. He worked at a local electronics store and picked up one of the No-Code Technician study books, and it was easy to convince me to study up and take the exam. We both passed our tests easily. I was licensed as N9NTI, and Thom as N9NTK. For years around the west suburbs of Chicago, N9NT's H through N, all from the same test session, roamed the No-code segments. After a few years, I wanted to do more, so I studied the code and passed my 5wpm test with relative ease. My studies in Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois precluded me from going further at the time. I did have some time for radio at U of I, and enjoyed operating from Synton "Professional Radio Fraternity" club station W9YH. It was here that I was introduced to the "contesting bug," operating a sweepstakes or two ("check 25? Roger, twenty-five") with some good elmering from the more experienced ops. My radio activity had faded somewhat as I proceeded on with school, and the subsequent move to Raleigh, NC. One day, as I was working on some network gear in a lab, a co-worker's cellular phone rang with a CW pattern. I looked over at him and commented quizzically that the CW ring sent "S M S" (I guess Nokia's engineers thought twice about sending distress signals with each incoming phone call). I learned that my co-worker was a ham, and he filled me in on the license restructuring, some of the new digital modes, and the current "state of the art" in IF-DSP rigs. I walked out of a test session a few weeks later as N9NTI/AE, genuinely surprised-- I hadn't really studied for the Extra theory, but I guess those EE classes at Illinois really paid off! I decided to become a "4-lander" and was granted NI4S a short time later. I'm now getting my station back on the air, exploring HF territory more than before, and having a great time.

Club Activity

	I've been doing some things with a local group of hams, the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society, or RARS for short. This club meets regularly and participates in public service events throughout the year. An all-around good group of people.
	I've recently become a member of the Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC) through their local chapter in Raleigh, PVRC-NC. This is a contesting club competing in the Unlimited category in major events. I've been interested in contesting ever since attending my first Field Day, and subsequent contest activity at Synton got me hooked. I'm glad to have a station I can do some contesting from, and a great group to learn from in PVRC.