WB4AEJ Fred W. Atkinson Las Cruces, NM QCWA # 30283

I have been a licensed radio amateur since 1975. My first call was 'WN4AEJ' and a year later it became 'WB4AEJ' when I upgraded to technician. During 1976, I upgraded to advanced and finally made extra in 1990. During a two-week trip to Australia in 1990, I held the temporary call sign of VK3ESS. I hold a general class commercial radiotelephone operator's license (GROL) with a radar endorsement. I also have a Radiotelegraph operator's license (T) as well as the GMDSS Operator's/Maintainer's license. I had a T2 that changed to a T when I renewed it since the FCC is doing the same thing to the Commercial Radiotelegraph licenses as it did in the eighties for the Commercial Radiotelephone license. The GMDSS Operator's/Maintainer's license is where it is at now.

I have written an article about Special Events Station operation.

My ham radio Web site is: WB4AEJ | WB4AEJ's CQ Web Site!. I hold life memberships in ARRL, QCWA, and AMSAT. I am currently a member of the Superstition ARC in Mesa, AZ.

I've dabbled in two meter FM, 440 MHz FM, 40 meter CW (as a novice), and have done SSB on different HF bands earlier in my ham career. I've been very active on our club station (N5BL) at times. I tried some packet back in the 1980s. My friend Bill (WA4ZZQ) gave me an old mobile ten meter FM rig. I'll be hooking it up when I have time. But I've been saying that for years. It's been so long I'm not even sure where that ten meter rig is right now.

I've worked in the telecommunications industry since 1976 in varying areas and am currently working for ITT Exelis. When the industry went to pieces near the end of 2001, I drove eighteen wheelers for about ten months until I could get a part time teaching position (adjunct faculty member) at Midlands Technical College in Columbia, SC. I later taught computer networking at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC in the School of Technology. Later, I taught Cisco at Clayton State University in Morrow, GA in the [now defunct] College of Professional Studies for about a year.

I am also the Webmaster/owner of the Mishmash (Mishmash  A Confused Mixture of Things!) site. I have a few other domains registered as well. I have a Web hosting reseller's account and I host Web sites for amateur radio topics. If you have a great idea for a ham radio site and need a ham friendly hosting provider, I'm your man. Lately, I have been dabbling in WordPress.

My Echolink Node is 8773. I've got an Apple iPad Mini and installed the Echolink App on it.

I am A Plus and Network Plus certified and I need to renew my CCNA (I've been certified three times). I also hold two CCAIs.

I hold a master's degree in Information and Telecommunications Systems from The Johns Hopkins University, a bachelor's degree in Management from National Louis University, an associate degree in Electronics Engineering Technology from Midlands Technical College, and a second associate's degree in Enterprise Network Management from Stratford University. I've taken quite a few computer and other courses above and beyond my degree requirements. I took a WordPress course at our local community college a few years ago.

I don't believe in buying most computers because I'd rather buy the parts and build them. That's not doable with the iPad or laptops, either. I do now have an iPad Mini and a Laptop.

June 19, 2021