NN4RB Richard L. 'Rick' Brown Forest, VA QCWA # 35003 Chapter 202

My first call was WD4OLV. I received it in the mail in early January, 1978. My QTH at the time for Florence, SC. I was working and finishing night school for Electronics Engineering Technology. One of the extra credits for a course was to get an FCC 2nd class License. We had a group that was traveling to Savannah, Ga for the test. At the last minute, all backed out except for me and one of my professors. He was not coming back that day, so I got into my little red Ford Courier pickup truck and made the 175 mile trip. I had a Regency HR2B installed in the truck, however I still held my novice ticket. The agenda for the day was to take the FCC 2nd Class and Amateur Technician test. I passed both. (The professor failed the FCC 2nd Class.) I was brighter than my little red truck. I started back home, and while crossing the Savannah River bridge into South Carolina I made by first ham contact. It was through a 94 repeater, but it was still my first contact. I don.t remember the call, because during those days we only had to log that the mobile station was on the air.

In 2004, my wife Keaner, KA4JWR and I changed our calls to N4KCB for her and NN4RB for myself. The calls are our initials. K is a General and I am an Extra license. (I got tire of people asking me why I love WD-40 when they saw my ham tag. WD4OLV equal WD-40 LoVe for the non-informed.)

I became a member of QCWA in 2010 after a visiting with the Old Dominion Chapter 202 as a guest of Bill, KC4D. This year 2015, I was elected secretary/treasurer of the chapter and now I am spending some time with that. Getting minutes, monies and communications organized for web based exchanges and documentation is my major goal in this endeavor.

I retired as a Senior Technical Trainer from GE Mobile Radio and all the way through Harris Corp. in 2013. It has been a big change from traveling across the country and world to being able to stay home for a while. I have more time for ham radio and my other interest. Over the years I have always had 2 meters and UHF in my vehicles. I have always maintain my HF station, however operation was never on a schedule and at time may go months or years without a logged contact. That has change. I have joined the Potomac Valley Radio Club and make most of the SSB and RTTY contests. I have even managed to make a few DX contacts. My interests has always been on the hardware and later software, but actually transmitting and listening was not high on my interest. One more goal is to become proficient as CW, however I am not put the effort into it.

47 & 73,

Rick, NN4RB

September 7, 2015