I initially pursued my amateur radio license in preparation for cruising the Pacific in my sailboat and being able to participate in the SSB cruising nets. 

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I studied electronics at Eastern Technical High School in Maryland, and a 20-year career at Microsoft helped me grasp the technical aspects and revive the electronic interests in me. Soon I was spending hours reading blogs and forums to enrich my mind and feed the craving.

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By January 2017 my 'shack' was built, and WA7WJR was on the air. My first contact was an SSB contact with KA6LMS (Last Man Standing). I joined the OMISS and 3905 Century Clubs. In February 2017 after a few months of practice and listening to morse code I made my first CW contact. I built the first antenna i used to make my first contact which was a G5RV, and experimented with a few loaded coil dipoles and verticals. I built an Elecraft K2 kit and had so much fun I sold it and bought the Elecraft K2/100 and KAT-100 kits which i still have and love. I also like to build Ardruino projects for the shack and my sailboat.

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I enjoy travelling and operating as a 1-man "holiday-style" Dxpedition, as well as being an active "activator" and volunteer mapping representative for Parks on the Air (POTA). I also love chasing DX and special event stations and "hunting" POTA activators when I can't get out there. I sometimes play the role of a little pistol contester, and still enjoy the occasional rag-chew on CW.