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WA5TEF Jimmy R. 'Jim' Miller Saltillo, MS QCWA # 37987 |
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I was born in 1944 and was always interested in Morse Code. I built a crystal receiver as a kid and was amazed that the thing worked. I got my first ham ticket in 1963 as a Novice, WN5IDA and after a year, it expired before I got motivated to upgrade to General. I joined the Mississippi National Guard in 1966 and entered Radio Operator's Course at Fort Ord, CA in 1967 to 'learn' the Morse Code. I remained in the Guard for 24 years. I reached the rank of SFC, Platoon Sergeant and retired in 1990.
I was licensed WA5TEF in 1967 and have retained that callsign all these years I upgraded to Extra about 20 years ago. I am active in SKYWARN and a member of the Tupelo, MS Amateur Radio Club. I use an Icom ID-5100 for VHF and UHF and also DSTAR and a newly purchased Flex 6400M for other bands. I recently traded for an ALS-1306 amplifier and really enjoy using it. I currently have 257 countries worked and 182 verified. Using LOTW and HRD trying to up those numbers.. For QRP work on forty meters, I use an MFJ-9240 with matching tuner and SWR bridge. I hope to use the unit to go hilltopping soon. I use mostly double bazooka antennas for the lower bands and a HY Gain AV-680 all band vertical for the higher frequencies. I recently added a K4KIO HexBeam on my second 30 foot tower. I have also taken an interest in QRP work and have made several contacts with my little rig. Look for me on 7.013 MHz. Since I retired in 2007, I removed my HF mobile rig and now run another IC-5100 there for mostly storm spotting.
I am now the ARRL Emergency Coordinator for Lee County, MS.
I have recently added my Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station to the internet. It is currently reporting to Weather Underground and the link to this site is http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=Saltillo%2C+MS
My wife Betty got her ticket in 1993 as KC5EYB and is helpful during severe weather in our area. My son Mike, KE5HJO and his family lives in Conyers, GA. My other son, Jason, also got his license a few weeks later and is now KE5HZG and is working on his upgrade. Both are ARRL members and enjoying Ham Radio.
In 2008, I leased a T1 line and installed a wireless area network for my neighborhood. We are unable to get broadband internet out here so this was a challenge and a learning experience. Just recently I switched from the T1 to a 5.8 GHz feed at a lot faster speed. I now offer speeds from 8 megs to 20 megs with more possible. I would like to hear from any other hams who have setup a similar network.
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2012 Field Day with the Tupelo Amateur Radio Club. Danny Grimes, KB5YJG (left) and I are operating the SSB station. We made numerous contacts and had a great time. |
April 24, 2019