A lifelong resident of New York State (with the exception of a five-year tour of duty in the United States Air Force), I reside in the town of Fishkill, in the southwest corner of Dutchess County; approximately 65 miles north of New York City on the Eastern shore of the Hudson River. Situated on a hill, I have a clear and spectacular view of Fishkill Ridge and Mt. Beacon, the Northernmost end of the Hudson Highlands. I'm employed as a Staff Assistant in the Information Technology Department at Westchester Community College, from which I received my A. A. in Communications and Media Arts.
My love of radio goes back to my childhood, when I received a small transistor radio for Christmas. I was immediately hooked! Here was this amazing little box that could pull music and more right out of the air! While at the time I had no idea how radio "worked", today I'm still fascinated by the fact that the world around us is permeated by electromagnetic waves which are invisible to the naked eye, yet convey so much information and entertainment.
I used to love listening to WABC, WNBC and all the other great New York City AM stations. When we'd visit my grandmother in Flushing, Queens, I'd always look forward to passing the studios of WTFM, craning my neck to see the top of the tower. Around this time I also received a pair of Lafayette two-channel walkie-talkies, which I had a lot of fun with. When I was about 12, my stepbrother turned me on to CB radio. This was during the early seventies, and the whole CB/trucker thing was about to explode. I used to stay up late at night in my top bunk, monitoring the six channels on my little Radio Shack CB while listening to WHN (1050 AM) play truck songs. With both the Long Island Expressway and the Northern State Parkway within 1/2-mile, there was plenty to listen to. My early CB experience foreshadowed my current radio/internet style, as I tend to always be lurking about, monitoring everything but not often sticking my head out...
By the time I started junior high school, I'd discovered FM and rock-n-roll... I still remember the afternoon I was laying on my bed, listening to my AM/FM clock-radio, just tuning around. I came across 99X (WXLO) playing something by Elton John. The world would never be the same! My appetites for both music and radio were fed by a class of album-oriented rock stations the likes of which haven't been seen since the seventies - the original WNEW-FM (102.7), WPLJ (95.5), WPIX, and the epitome of 1970's AOR: WLIR (92.7). While some of these stations still exist, most are mere shadows of their former selves; relegated to spewing forth (mostly) crap music dictated by accountants and playlisted by corporate "program directors" who have as much freedom to program as political dissidents have in China. Fortunately, satellite radio has come along and provided a lifeline. 130 channels of digital heaven, with commercial & DJ-free music channels, news, talk, sports, old-time radio and more!
Moving to White Plains in Westchester County halfway through high school, I still messed around with CB and was introduced to Short-Wave Radio listening, but got involved with lots of other things. Upon graduation from White Plains High School (Class of '81), I enlisted in the United States Air Force as a Munitions Systems Specialist (AMMO Troop). Three years of my enlistment was spent in England, during which time I soaked up tons of offshore pirate radio, which has a long and colorful history in Great Britain (Radio Caroline, Laser 558, etc...) along with weekly doses of the BBC's "Friday Night Rock Show", as well as their World News services. I also got turned on to recordings of the Vietnam-era "Radio First-Termer," which was as historically interesting as it was outrageous. Unfortunately, during subsequent moves I've lost those open-reel recordings; but there is an "RFT" website which includes audio files that can be listened to and/or downloaded.
I can't remember exactly what my first exposure to amateur radio was, but the idea had already taken hold by the time I was discharged. Having been radio-inactive throughout my enlistment, I reacquainted myself to the hobby by getting into VHF/UHF scanning. Eventually I picked up a copy of "Tune In The World With Ham Radio", and the hook was set! The newly adopted No-Code Technician license seemed the quickest way to enter the hobby, and the rest is history. Apartment life limited me primarily to mobile operation, but a small, HT-based station kept me on the air when I was indoors. Now that I have virtually no restrictions, my permanent station allows me to operate on multiple bands using various modes.
Earning my General license was an important milestone, and I've been enjoying amateur radio more than ever since then. I'm currently studying for the Extra-class exam. I'm very interested in all aspects of radio, including Emergency Communications, VHF/UHF packet, satellites, scanning, and radio history. One of my radio goals is to operate an Air Force MARS station.
Other interests include music, baseball, motorcycling, scale-modeling, railroading (model and 1:1 scale), UFOlogy (yes, I believe they exist - I've seen one!), shooting, computers and anything having to do with England - especially real ale! I'm always eager to hear from anyone with similar interests.
This page was last updated on 01/27/11.