A Bit of History In 9th grade, I joined the radio club at Test Junior High School in Richmond, IN. I joined because my friends were joining. I didn’t have much interest in radio. One of the requirements of membership was learning Morse Code. I couldn’t. Maybe the fact that I never studied in order to learn it was part of my problem. Within a few weeks I was booted from the radio club. So, even then, I was no stranger to failure. Fast forward to 1984. I became the staff advisor to a student organization at Purdue University that included a ham radio club, W9CLY. My interest in radio was rekindled but I did not have the time then to pursue it. I found the time in 1993 and was first licensed as N9UXK, a Technician Plus. I soon upgraded to General Class, then Advanced (KF9WX) and earned an Extra Class license in 1994. I acquired the K9WX vanity call sign in 1996. I’m interested in a number of facets of ham radio but, historically, my greatest interest is contesting. I also chase some DX if it doesn’t get in the way of a good contest and completed 5BDXCC in August of 2016. I also completed DXCC Challenge in December 2016 and have the 1500 point medallion. My antennas are limited so I favor domestic contests and work mostly CW and RTTY events. I usually operate SO2R during a contest to help maximize my score. I retired from Purdue in July 2014 after a 37-year career and appreciate being able to spend more time in the shack. I served on the Board of Directors for the Society of Midwest Contesters 2019-2021 and currently manage the data for their Lifetime Achievement Award. I was the Editor of Solid Copy, the CWops monthly newsletter 2017-2022. I was also the manager of the now-concluded NAQP Challenge.

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