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KA2DEW Tadd C. Torborg Raleigh, NC QCWA # 38733 Chapter 126 |
I'm a happily married (to KB2TNR) father of 2 and a microprocessor computer programmer / packet radio network architect, professionally. I've been doing firmware engineering since 1992 with only brief excursions into engineering group management. In my 40 years of employment, for all but 5 years I've worked for employers where Amateur Radio and my ham radio projects played a critical roll in finding and obtaining employment. Thanks WB2RFV, W2CCE, WA2IKL, KZ1X and at least one other ham whose callsign I forget (alas he left the company shortly after hiring me!).
I was licensed in 1979, the year I left West Morris Mendham High School in NJ, and thanks to the efforts of K2BPP, WB2BYW and the Morris Radio Club.
After 11 years of building repeaters, home-made repeater controllers and packet radio networks, I was conned into taking the 13wpm code exam, which I passed.
My favorite HF mode is mobile 20m - 75m SSB. I travel with an Icom IC7100 and a Kenwood TM-D710G. I have attended the Dayton Hamvention 20 times from 1982 to present.
I married KB2TNR in 1994 and have two kids including Sergeant Jack Torborg in the USARMY 82nd Airborne and Laura who is office manager and CAD operator at a NJ surveying/civil engineering company.
My favorite ham radio pastime is creating long-term large ham-radio technical projects to try to engage as many hams as possible. I love building over-ham-radio repeater networks and over-ham-radio packet radio networks. I've been involved in several that ran for decades. I fight a constant battle over losing ham radio projects and ham radio operators to Internet operation. In 1987 to 1989, while living in New Hampshire, I partnered with WA2WNI in Albany NY area to create the North East Digital Association and a 500 mile long Amateur Radio-only packet radio network that permitted across the region real time connectivity in 2 Canadian provinces and 8 US States.
I moved to Raleigh NC in 2007 after living in and being an active ham in WA, TX, FL, PA, NJ, NY, NH.
I have elmered over 100 hams, provided first contact over the air with hundreds of hams, and performed GOTA services at home and field day. I have hosted nearly 100 hands-on new-ham build-test-exploration group sessions to try to get newly licensed hams to start having fun with the hobby. I created a website about my new-ham work at: torborg.com/a I have run the website for 10 years and bought supplies for all of the new ham sessions (except the meeting space) out of my own pocket.
As of this writing (from 2013 - 2022 and beyond) my current big project is to try to create an across North Carolina lively social text-chat network using packet radio technology and zero dependence on commercial networks (Internet/cellular). No Internet required/No Internet Desired. We're calling it NCPACKET. I also created the Terrestrial Amateur Radio Packet Network project. The TARPN / NCPACKET project is designed to improve on NEDA by reducing the cost of creating a backbone networked expandable packet station. The new network architecture (TARPN) creates more powerful, yet cheaper, network stations and permits a scalable round-table chat with a potential of 1000s of simultaneous participants, and is entirely VHF/UHF using converted voice radios. Every participant is part of the network and can add services or expand the network while learning about many aspects of data communications and station design, 24/7 operation, antennas, coax, power supplies. My expectation is that younger hams are likely to be interested in the that kind of project and this could attract both Makers, Off-the-Grid, and Emergency preparedness hams. NCPACKET is engaging and very social while being entirely ham radio.
While younger/newer hams might not have the gumption to create a huge tech project on their own, we experienced hams can build ham radio infrastructure for them, lead projects, and then hope to retain new hams for long enough for them to make their marks in the hobby.
Check out my websites at http://www.ncpacket.org and
http://www.tarpn.org and
http://www.torborg.com/a
---- KA2DEW Raleigh NC http://qrz.com/db/ka2dew
*Photo above was taken in Xenia OH marking
43 years of ham radio --- May 2022
July 02, 2022