Director 2006 - 2013 W5PUT Val L. Erwin Flower Mound, TX QCWA # 18381 Chapter 42

Val grew up in Pueblo, Colorado and while in his teens, discovered ham radio quite by accident while tuning for short-wave broadcast stations on an old Philco upright radio with a seemingly magical "green eye" (6E5). Instantly fascinated by the hobby, he became licensed in 1959 as a Novice, KNØYCJ, later to become KØYCJ.

Following college graduation in 1965, he was recruited by Texas Instruments (TI) in Dallas, TX. In that era, a move to Texas from Colorado resulted in a FCC-mandated call change to W5PUT. After a year in Engineering at TI, Val's interest in ham radio beckoned him to Collins Radio Company, also in Dallas.

At Collins Radio, Val worked in both Engineering R & D and the Field Engineering departments. When not involved in product design, he traveled extensively worldwide in the support of Collins products performing seminars, product training, and Collins avionics in-flight training. Many foreign assignments were in less than desirable locations such as Greenland, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Vietnam, and Turkey, to name a few. While in Thailand, his ham license expired and he was briefly relicensed as WB5VZD, a few years later regaining his old Texas call, W5PUT.

In the early 70's, with a Collins/ham radio RF background, he moved to Xerox Corporation assuming the responsibilities of a Senior Compliance Engineer, ensuring the RF and Product Safety compliance of Xerox products in coordination with regulatory agencies such as the FCC, VDE, CE, UL, and CSA, etc. While still at Xerox, he formed/sold two companies: Erwin Communications, a two-way radio/tower lease business, and RF Consultants Inc., an EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) compliance consulting firm.

Departing Xerox in the late 80's, Val formed International Compliance Corporation (ICC). ICC offered both compliance engineering design and test services to clients throughout the world. He sold this company to a British conglomerate in 1998.

Now, despite being semi-retired, Val continues in the engineering world with his part-time consulting business, Summit Associates, Inc. In addition to his position on the National QCWA Board of Directors, he also serves on the Board of Directors of the local Water Board. Semi-retirement has afforded him increased time for his ham radio pursuits such as HF amplifier repair/restoration, antenna design/construction, and key collecting. Val, a 20+-year collector of old telegraph straight-keys, attends 10-15 hamfests per year not only to recruit/meet QCWA Members but also to pursue that elusive rare key. When not on his tower trying a new antenna design or assisting others with tower work, he can frequently be heard on 20M CW or operating HF mobile en route to another hamfest or dance. That's right; Val and his wife Jettie are enthusiastic ballroom-type dancers. Together, they enjoy frequent travel in pursuit of these interests.

Both professionally and as a ham, he enjoys affiliation with the following organizations:
IEEE, EMC Society / National Association of Radio and Telecommunications Engineers (NARTE) / QCWA Life Member # 18,381 / Dallas Chapter #41 QCWA / Oklahoma Chapter 63 QCWA / Ft. Worth, TX Chapter 72 QCWA / ARRL Life Member / OOTC / Dallas Amateur Radio Club Life Member

and holds the following licenses/certificates:
FCC General Radio Telephone License with Radar Endorsement (former First Phone) / NARTE-Certified EMC Engineer / FCC Amateur Radio License, Extra Class / FAA Private Pilot

January 5, 2010