AKØA Kenneth A. Kopp Topeka, KS QCWA # 35001 Chapter 110

I first became interested in "radio" at an early age, having grown up near an AM station that shared it's frequency with the mighty border blaster, XERF. Long distance radio propagation was nothing short of magic to me. My parents fostered my interest with radio's and electronic project kits. Grandmothers gave me walkie-talkies. Family friends gave me shortwave receivers. In the 80's, I stumbled upon two hams talking on 40 meters - AM. An engineer for WGN in Chicago was having a casual conversation with another ham nearly 2,000 miles away, in California. I've been hooked ever since. With the help of my local radio club, I obtained my Novice License. With the help of my dad, I obtained my novice rig. I quickly followed with upgrades to Technician and General. College took priority for a few years, but I eventually achieved my Advanced and Amateur Extra class licenses. My current interests include DX-ing (DXCC awards on 7 bands, so far), contesting, traffic handling, emergency preparedness and communications and Linux on the ham radio desktop.

June 11, 2017