QTH Indio, CA

Jim and Roni Leighty moved from Thousand Oaks to Littlerock, California in mid 1996. For almost 17 years we lived on a small farm with horses, cats, some Bernese Mountain Dogs and Dachshunds. In 2013-2014, after retirement we moved to the Coachella Valley to find warmth in the winter and be near family.

Prior to retirement, for 47 years Jim worked as an aerospace engineer at Northrop Grumman in Woodland Hills, California, Teledyne in Newbury Park and Northridge, California and Aerojet General. Roni is a homemaker, having worked in insurance prior to her marriage to Jim, with manÿ^ activities related to Bernese Mountain Dogs. Jim is a ham radio operator, and has been licensed as W6UJX since 1952. If you want to see a "hamography" (ham-biography) of Jim, click here.

Jim's Ham Radio Interests:

CW (Morse code operation)

DX (Long distance High Frequency Communication/Competition)

Talking with his friends on VHF FM.

Radios

W6UJX base station in Littlerock, CA prior to the move to Indio

Jim's station is a mix of new and old. Some of the equipment in his shack has been there for over 40 years. He operates on voice, Morse code, radioteletype, and packet.

One of Jim's favorite activities is listening to high speed CW (Morse code).

Antennas before the move to Indio.(hey, what's it all about anyway)

All hams like to show off their antennas. Jim had not operated with any big antennas for years prior to the move to Littlerock. With the help of friends, Jim was able to put up a 40 meter beam atop a 54 foot motorized tower located at the rear of the property.

Mobile

Jim operated on VHF FM and HF while traveling back and forth to Northrop Grumman in Woodland Hills. Every weekday morning for 14 years Jim traveled "down the hill" to the San Fernando Valley in his Honda Civic. He could often be found on the "Hauser" repeater on 146.730 MHz (VHF).

The Littlerock Farm

The Littlerock house was an old house (originally built in 1957), with a two-horse barn, an "RV" grarage, and cross-fenced corrals extending far back from the house to a creek at the rear of the property.

Some of Jim's favorite web sites are:

Jim is a member of the following organziations:

The Shack

W6UJX Littlerock - Antenna Site