| W7YQ, Tim
|
Let me introduce myself, I am Tim, W7YQ. I have been a ham ever since I was 12 and got hooked on DXing as a novice back then when I was WN9SKQ. I did the typical upgrade to general and became WB9SKQ. I could finally use voice communication but I preferred CW then as now.
My family moved to W0-land and was tagged with KA0CXK (try sending that 3 times quickly at 25 wpm!) from Proctor, Minnesota, just outside of Duluth. Finally, I became KK0G when I passed the extra exam while in high school. Those were the days. 10 meters was wide open to the world and I had my TH6 perched atop a 40 foot Rohn 25G tower, snatching up new ones by the hour using my trusty TS520S.
My ham radio hobby lead me to junior college where I learned all about being a technician and decided to QSY to the silicon valley, as work in high-tech was scarce at that time in northern MN. I landed a job at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company in Sunnyvale in 1984. As luck would have it, I was able to work on some very interesting projects with some very talented engineers. From Lockheed, I jumped to Metricom, and then I went back to school to become a machinist. I just love making stuff. Finding that machinist pay was not as high as technician pay, a year later I hired into Diablo Research Company.
Jump ahead to 1998. Reno here I come. I decided to go back to school and finally enrolled at UNR in 2000 and got my BSEE in 2004. I really like Nevada and wanted a new callsign that would reflect my affection for W-7 land and was fortunate to win W7YQ from the FCC lottery. Actually, I really like school and decided to enrolled in the Masters program to continue learning about engineering, focusing on antenna theory and microwaves technology. Hopefully I can graduate within the next few years.
Watch for my future antenna projects from my new QTH off of the Mt. Rose Hwy! After joining the Reno QRP Club, I acquired a K2 and a TA33. Ever since, I have been loving every minute of QRPing and participating in our W7FST club events, such as 7 call area QP from Manzanita Park and Field Day. I foresee great things ahead for the Reno QRP Club. I will see you on the bands! - W7 Yelling Quietly
73 Tim, W7YQ