I'm a transplanted Yankee... born in Boston, MA on 10/07/1941 and grew up in a small New England town called Needham.

   As a youngster growing up, radio communications always fascinated me. Listening to short wave, I discovered the ham bands. When I learned that regular people could get on the air and talk, I knew that it was for me.

    Building a crystal radio set in the 5th grade really got my interest; as I grew older, I learned more about radio... but slowly. In high school, I was instrumental in establishing a radio club. Even so, it was more fun just fooling around and skipping classes than it was learning about radio.

    I received my novice license in 1958 (KN1LKL) and went on the air with a Heathkit DX-40 Phone & CW Transmitter, which I built, and a Hammarlund HQ-129-X receiver. Soon thereafter I received my Technician license (K1LKL). Since there was a very active VHF community in my area, I enjoyed the hobby very much. After high school, I attended Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and majored in electronics. I became a member of the radio club there also.

My Current Ham Station

    After graduation, I went to work for the MITRE Corp., which was a Federal Contract Research Center. They ended up sending me to Northern Virginia on a long-term project, and I stayed. I became a cliff-dweller, living in a high rise apartment building and I dropped ham radio, but kept the license alive.

    When it was clear that my move to Virginia was permanent, since call signs were not portable at that time, I applied for a new call. I was assigned K4DER. It was several years before I made my first contact with the new call. In the late '90's, I forget exactly when, I was able to automatically upgrade to General Class and then I finally got on the air in a big way. First on 2 meters and then later on hf after I bought an old Kenwood TS 520 SE on EBay. This is the same rig I use on the Joker's Net every morning. Drifts a bit, especially in the winter when the temperature in my shack drops at night.

    I retired early after having dual knee replacement and moved to Concord, which is just 10 miles east of Lynchburg, in August of 2003.

    In 2004, I was able to upgrade to Extra Class and also became a VE. I also upgraded my shack by adding an ICOM IC-746 and Ameritron AL-80A. I joined the Lynchburg Amateur Radio Club and presently hold the position of "Ham Tamer".