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I took my Novice test in 1978 and received my license in January 1979 and the callsign KA2DOH. My first QSO took place on January 29, 1979 with KA9CIH (whom I believe is no longer active). I studied hard and upgraded to General in June of 1979. In 1983 I got a hankering for a "General" class callsign; so I filed for a new one and received N2ELW. Later that year, in October, I travelled to the FCC Office in Langhorne, PA and took the test and passed and received my Advanced ticket. In 1992, I upgraded to Amateur Extra; and in the year 2000, I applied for and received W2LJ under the Vanity Callsign Program.

I have always been interested in public service with Amateur Radio. In 1980 I participated in the communications effort during the Olympic Torch Run for the Lake Placid "Miracle on Ice" Olympics. I received a Certificate of Merit from the ARRL for that effort. I have volunteered many hours as part of the ARRL's National Traffic System. I have served as Net Control for local traffic nets; and have held appointments as an Official Relay Station and as an Official Bulletin Station. If you ever get a chance to glance at CQ Magazine's video "Getting Started in VHF"; you'll get an opportunity to see me running a session of the Old Bridge Radio Association's (now known as the Central Jersey Radio Amateurs) "Old Bridge Trash and Traffic Net". During the 1980's I participated in the RACES program and served as a Communications Officer in the Department of Emergency Management for Middlesex County, NJ. During my time as an active officer I received training in Emergency Communications, Hazardous Materials Identification and Handling, as well as Radioactive Materials Handling and Measuring.

Besides my affiliation with the various QRP organizations, I am a Past-President, past Vice-President and current member in the Piscataway Amateur Radio Club. I am also a member of the Electronic Testing Society of New Jersey; or, as it is better known, the ETS of NJ. This fine group of folks maintains the 146.940/.340 Greenbrook repeater which has a statewide reputation. I also served as Vice-President of the Raritan Bay Radio Amateurs who operate out of Sayreville, NJ. I was a Volunteer Examiner with that group; and eventually took it over, becoming the VE Liason after George Miller, K2FD became ill and could no longer fulfill his duties. I learned from the best as George, K2FD and Julius, WV2O were the finest VE's I have ever had the opportunity to meet. They were kind, helpful, enthusiastic and supportive. They are both Silent Keys now; and I miss them both. Because of my efforts in running Sayreville's VE program, I was awarded, in 1998, the "Elmer of the Year" award by QCWA Marconi Chapter 138.
To date, this is my proudest acheivement in Amateur Radio. I still VE with a group of hams affiliated
with both the ETS of NJ, the Tri-County Amateur Radio Club and the Raritan Valley Radio Club. We administer exams on the second Saturday of every month at Union County College in Cranford, NJ

My main interests, as the contents of this Website reveal, are Morse Code, homebrewing and QRP. However, I also like to chase DX, ragchew, work Special Event stations and earn their certificates. And when RS-10/11 and RS-12/13 were orbiting the earth, I was very active on those two Radio Amateur satellites, thanks to Bob, W3BBO who was my satellite mentor.

This past February, I took a nine week course and became a member of my town's CERT. This is an acronym for Community Emergency Response Team. This is a division of the President's Citizen Corp. The purpose of the CERT team is to help out by backing up local EMS, Fire and Police agencies during local and regional emergencies when they become overwhelmed and lose the ability to respond. The training included sections on disaster preparedness, disaster medical operations, fire safety, light search and rescue, disaster psychology, terrorism and CERT organization. It was a well spent nine weeks of training (one night per week). I am looking forward to helping the teams in whatever way I can, specializing in my abilities as a radio communicator, of course. If your municipality, town or city is forming up CERT teams, I strongly urge you to volunteer and get involved! Two other local Hams took the course along with me; and now we are getting busy trying to get more of South Plainfield's amateur radio community involved. If a disaster strikes, a little training and preparedness can make the difference between being able to help and just being on the sidelines. Public service is a HUGE part of our amateur radio heritage. Get involved ... you'll be glad you did!