Amateur Radio Station K1TR  

A brief biography of Ed Parsons, K1TR, organized in sections of Ham Radio, Personal and Professional.

Ham Radio

I was about ten years old when I first became enamored by wireless.  It was when my brothers and I discovered an old National Radio shortwave receiver of my father's in the basement of our home.  It was amazing; hearing stations from around the world and all variety of odd noises (CW, RTTY, and the like).  Then I discovered CB and  I was talking to my friends using 100 mW walkie-talkies.  This was a lot of fun but the range was limited.  So I introduced myself to the Ham living 3 doors away (Henry Cross, W1OOP).  I could tell from his many big antennas, on his house and automobile, that he could likely help me in extending my range.

And did he ever.  Hank (W1OOP) told me about Ham Radio and how you could reach across the globe from your backyard.  He loaned me an army surplus BC-348 receiver to take home and play with.  Wow this was incredible!  CB was left in the dust and I knew that I wanted to be a Ham.

With Hank's help, I took the novice class code and theory tests and became licensed in January 1971 as WN1OAM in Needham, MA.  Several of my friends (WN1OZI, WN1ONB, WN1PBU, and WA1QWF) caught the bug too, and with the help of Elmers W1OOP and W1JOT, we all got licensed at about the same time. 

In June of 1971 Hank took me up to to visit the W1DC (1200 Radio Club) operating a VHF contest from Pack Monadnock, NH.  Top notch operators working long distances using huge antennas and state-of-the-art radios.  It was an experience that left an indelible mark on me.  From that moment on, I knew I wanted to get involved in this VHF contesting stuff.

Over time I would operate nearly every of the major ARRL and CQ VHF, UHF and Microwave contests, in various multi-operator (K8GP, W1DC, K1TR) and single-operator categories, from home as well as from some of the most impressive summits in the Eastern U.S.  While there were a few national victories along the way, the most memorable aspects have been the operating adventures of catching unexpected openings, leveraging exotic locations, overcoming equipment failures, and reconnecting with my fellow amateurs.

HF contesting didn't get much of my attention until I attended college.  There I found the likes of N2IC and W2PA cranking out DX contest QSOs at the W8UM club station.  Unlike most VHF contests, HF contesting focus was on rate, rate, rate.  Soon I was entering some CD Partys and ARRL Sweepstakes and having a ball.  As the years went by, I had the opportunity to operate single-op or multi-op at a number of notable HF contest stations, such as K1DG, N6BV, K1EA, K1CA, and KC1XX.

Personal

Born in 1957 in Norwood, MA.  Raised in Needham, MA where I graduated High School.  At the University of Michigan I earned a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering in 1979 and 1980 respectively.

In May of 1980 I settled into an apartment with my wife in Salem, NH, and began working at Bell Labs in North Andover, MA.  In the Fall of 1981 we purchased our first little house in Salem.  Less than 0.25 acres but enough to fit a 50' Rohn 25G tower supporting a 3 element tribander, 5 element 6 meter Yagi and 14 element 2m Yagi.  Two beautiful sons were born to us in 1982 and 1984.

After a one year stint in Londonderry, NH (where the Zoning Board forbid my 90' tower), we moved onto a small hilltop in Windham, NH; a town that allowed amateur radio towers.  Within a year I had erected a 90' tower sporting a variety of HF and VHF beams and wires.

Among my most fulfilling activities have come along thanks to my two sons. I really enjoyed supporting them and the community in my roles as Soccer Coach, Little League Coach and Scoutmaster in the local Boy Scout Troop.  Even though my children have long-since become adults, I continue to support Scouting as the Advancement Chairman for Daniel Webster Council, BSA.

In addition to Ham Radio, I enjoy distance running, cycling, hiking, and sailing.

Professional

After earning my BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, I began work as an EE at Bell Labs.  For the first several years I designed analog ASICs principally for T-carrier repeater systems, resulting in 3 patents.  In the late 1980s, I moved into system validation of fiber optic transport systems (417 Mbps and 1.7 Gbps).  In recent years I have worked in both management and engineering roles for the development of SONET MSPPs. The company morphed a few times along the way (Bell Labs, AT&T Network Systems, Lucent Technologies, and Alcatel-Lucent). In June of 2012 I left ALU to work for Infinite Computer Solutions as a contractor; providing professional engineering services to telecom equipment vendors.