|
WY4O James 'Jim' Mundy Glen Allen, VA QCWA # 38062 |
 |
Greetings from Glen Allen, Henrico County (Richmond Virginia metro area) Virginia.
I was first licensed in 1993 with the call KE4GVO then QRT shortly thereafter for everything but occasional 2m/70cm local repeater activity. Finally bought something other than a condo when I moved to Richmond in 2015 to be closer to family and got back on the air. In February 2018 I received the vanity call WY4O in the hope of avoiding so many busted calls during contests.
Modest setup here - IC-7300, LDG AT-100 tuner, Carolina Windom 40 up at 50' running down to 10' - a sloper. Since I had very few HF contacts in the log, when I did get back on HF I started chasing DX and I'm enjoying that a lot. I do need to beef up the antennas. I've also got an Elecraft KX3 that was intended to be my QRP rig from those condos I lived in but mostly it just balances out the ham desk for now. (Note - as of March 2018 I'm back in a condo/apartment while I search for a QTH that allows me to enjoy this hobby to its fullest - so QRP for a while with stealth antennas. Guess I can dust off the KX3.)
My dad, WA3JTU (SK), was my elmer.
Long before I had my license I was assisting him in his shack - that's where I got my love of digital modes working RTTY on a Model 28 ASR, tape punch, tape reader, and a HAL ST-6. Dad loved rag chewing and fiddling around. Dad's shack was the last home of the W3YA AM transmitter from the Penn State Radio Club. It was a monster but amazing on AM, one of dad's favorite modes. Dad totally restored it. From what I've heard that was its last home before being dismantled after dad passed. Dad did leave a ham legacy. After he passed the majority of his gear (three stations - home/mountain home/Florida home) was donated to the Nittany Amateur Radio Club and much of it is in operation today at the Everett Mundy Memorial Contest Station on top of Tussey Mountain in central Pennsylvania near State College and Penn State.
As for me I spend most of my time on digital modes - JT65, RTTY, and PSK. I'm really making an effort to get on CW. I never did much CW operating but managed my first two license exams with 5 and 13 WPM code requirements respectively for the Novice and the General. But after being away from it 20 years it feels like I'm starting all over.
I'm a member of:
Richmond Amateur Radio Club
Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society
Dominion DX Group (Secretary)
FISTS (#17851)
Quarter Century Wireless Association
I look forward to seeing you down the log.
73, de WY4O, Jim
July 31, 2019