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 I got my Novice ticket back in 1974, and built a Heathkit HW-16 & HG-10B VFO and was on the air by Spring of 1975 with CW as WN0PCK.  Then, after much CW practice, I upgraded to General in 1983 and continued with CW on a straight key with the same rig and the new call sign of N0EOS.  With many absent years other than a brief period in 1993, I’ve been off the air, sold my gear and thought the internet and cell phones had taken the allure and fun away.

After I retired in 2015 from a career in Electronics Engineering, Computer software, and Project management, I was looking for something to do with my free time.  I came across a Roku channel called Amateur Logic TV, and started watching and caught the bug again – I watched every episode and was amazed at how things had changed in the world of Ham Radio in 30 years.  In 2017/18, I finished off a room in my basement to be my Radio Shack, setup an electronics bench and a radio desk, and built my first rig as a kit – the QCX-40, CW rig – great fun building a kit again.  I also decided to study for the Extra and got my ticket in 2018 with my old call sign, which I was able to exchange for the vanity call of NQ0N – short on CW. 

Then, since I had never made a QSO with phone on HF, I was excited to purchase the Icom 7300, which has been great.  I strung up a fan dipole in my attic, since I live in a close neighborhood HOA, and it works great.  However, I immediately discovered the frustrations of AFCI circuit breakers, and had to stay off the air for 6 months until all of my circuit breakers and several of my neighbors’ were replaced with an upgraded design AFCI circuit breaker.  In the meantime, I continued to learn about digital modes, new software, acquire more equipment, like the SDR-Play, which is amazing and configured with the MFJ-1708B switch, allows me to connect with my transmitters and not blow out the SDR-Play – works great! On June 1, 2019, I was ready to go.  I’ve been having lots of fun with making FT-8 contacts around the world with anywhere from 5 to 50 watts and my simple attic dipole.