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N8DXZ Gerald S. 'Jerry' Custer Allen Park, MI QCWA # 38322 |
I was first licensed in 1976 as WN2WRA at age 14 in Metuchen, NJ, through the help of the local YMCA club station K2YNT. A year later, I upgraded to General, and became WB2HCO. First station was a Hammarlund HQ-110A and a Heathkit DX-40 transmitter. Great fun! College intervened and my license went dormant. After school (B.Mus. in music education from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, M.Mus. in conducting from The George Washington University in DC), I married, moved to Michigan, retested, and reclaimed my General ticket, this time as N8DXZ.
What a great CW call sign! And that's what I worked, 80 to 20 CW on a TS-520 from the basement of a townhouse, loading up the gutters at night with an MFJ matchbox. 48 states and about 20 countries. Then came children, career and other challenges (including getting my doctorate -- in my 50s -- at Michigan State University), and my license went dormant, again.
Finally, I decided to take advantage of the quarantine to return to the hobby I love best. Studied with HamTestOnline and went from zero to Extra in a single exam. Very glad to be back, with my old callsign as my new callsign. For right now, the station is a gently-used Icom IC-735 into an end-fed dipole for HF, an Anytone 778 for VHF and UHF into a homebrew quarter-wave ground plane about 20 feet up, and a Wouxun KG-UV8D HT in the car. There have been changes in technology and modes of operation in the 35 years since I was last on the air, but the thrill of connecting with other people is as exciting as ever.
In real life, I am a conductor, composer, arranger, author, and teacher. If you'd like to see some samples of my music and books, go to www.giamusic.com/store/artists/gerald-custer. My blog is www.wordsmusicworship.com.
Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to meeting you on the bands! 73,
Jerry N8DXZI was first licensed in 1976 as WN2WRA at age 14 in Metuchen, NJ, through the help of the local YMCA club station K2YNT. A year later, I upgraded to General, and became WB2HCO. First station was a Hammarlund HQ-110A and a Heathkit DX-40 transmitter. Great fun! College intervened and my license went dormant. After school (B.Mus. in music education from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, M.Mus. in conducting from The George Washington University in DC), I married, moved to Michigan, retested, and reclaimed my General ticket, this time as N8DXZ.
What a great CW call sign! And that's what I worked, 80 to 20 CW on a TS-520 from the basement of a townhouse, loading up the gutters at night with an MFJ matchbox. 48 states and about 20 countries. Then came children, career and other challenges (including getting my doctorate -- in my 50s -- at Michigan State University), and my license went dormant, again.
Finally, I decided to take advantage of the quarantine to return to the hobby I love best. Studied with HamTestOnline and went from zero to Extra in a single exam. Very glad to be back, with my old callsign as my new callsign. For right now, the station is a gently-used Icom IC-735 into an end-fed dipole for HF, an Anytone 778 for VHF and UHF into a homebrew quarter-wave ground plane about 20 feet up, and a Wouxun KG-UV8D HT in the car. There have been changes in technology and modes of operation in the 35 years since I was last on the air, but the thrill of connecting with other people is as exciting as ever.
In real life, I am a conductor, composer, arranger, author, and teacher. If you'd like to see some samples of my music and books, go to www.giamusic.com/store/artists/gerald-custer. My blog is www.wordsmusicworship.com.
Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to meeting you on the bands! 73,
Jerry N8DXZ
August 29, 2020