Steve has loved radios for a long time. He started out as a trucker working CB radio. Then he did two hitches in the Navy as a radio operator ECM (electronic counter measures) flying on a P3-C Orion. Part of his Navy training was computers and signaling. One day as they were flying, one of the airplane engines went out. Steve stepped up to the HF radio and called base via telephone patch for permission to continue.
In later years Steve’s friend Vern Paronto N7ZBZ/SK convinced him that ham radio was better than CB. It was! Steve got his technician license in 1995 and in recent years the general. His first radio was the Yaesu FT-450AT. Over the years he has enjoyed talking to friends on a variety of radios. (Vern accused him of being radio poor.) Among those in current use are the Icom IC-2000, the Yaesu FT-dx1200, and two mobile radios. In his pickup he has FT-8800 and in the Explorer the FT-2800 M. He has dual band antennas on both. For his base station he uses a Diamond X510 dual band and a Maldol HVU-8 antenna. Steve says the real reason he stays with amateur radio (besides rag-chewing) is because it is so vital in emergency use. That helps explain why he is so faithful to participate in the CCARC ARES net, as well as the Coffee Net and monthly club meetings. November 2020 Steve died June 2024 |