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Karl S. 'Skip' Brooks Winter Springs, FL QCWA # 32660 Chapter 45 |
Hi - I'm Skip WB4YED in Winter Springs, FL (part of Orlando). I teach EE and Electronics electives at a local high school after a long and successful avionics and telecommunications engineer. I am adjunct with Valencia CC and provide up to 30 college hours of credit to my students. I am the sponsor and mentor of two FIRST robotics teams (FTC 3045 & FRC 2757) - our FRC team placed in top 48 in the world last year.
While I am quite limited antenna-wise at the moment (hope to move in a couple of years to a more liberal environmental location) - I run 100 watts on an ICOM 706MKIIG feeding a ham stick on my back fence. The fence is grounded via a series of large braided copper straps to a #6 bare copper halo submerged 1 foot under the normally moist sandy-loam soil (by virtue of the contractor's type of dirt fill). I seem to do very well with it since I have many contacts around the globe on band openings - particularly 20 meters (always my favorite band). Am new to satellite operations but having a blast thanks to the ARRL TI2 clinic by Mark Spencer. I sneak the rotor and antenna out to my back yard occasionally to operate.
Look forward to a QSO anytime you hear me - feel free to give me a call. God bless and good luck to all hams and aspiring hams.
73,
Skip - WB4YED