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KØI

I received my Technician License on 2/25/2002 (my birthday!). On 04/29/2003 I got my first radio, a Kenwood TH-D7A(G). Prior to this I relied on the generosity of my son Ted KC0MKU to let me borrow his ICOM T2H HT. My other son Andrew KC0MKT has purchased a Yaseu VR-7X HT and is enjoying the use of 6m/2m/70cm bands. The three of us are members of ARAC and ARRL. Since then I have earned my General Class exam (11/03/2004), 5 WPM code and General upgrade (11/02/2005) and Extra Class License (03/07/2007). On 11/10/2004 my lovely young bride earned her Technician Licencse. Now the whole family is licensed!

Since my upgrade to General, a number of radios have been purchased or given to me over the past few years... For the base station, I bought a Kenwood TS-520S from Paul KB0P in Ishpeming MI. Since then it has grown:

• TS-520S Transceiver
• AT-200 Antenna Tuner
• SP-520 Speaker
• MC-50 Microphone
• VFO-520S Remote VFO
• SM-220 Station Monitor
• PC-1A Phone Patch Controller
• DG-5 Digital display readout (never got it working)
• TS520 Digital Display (Almost All Digital Electronics)
• TV-506 6m Transverter
• TV-502 2m Transverter
• BAL-450 CWS Bytemark 50 ohm to ladder line balun
• EDZ (Extended Double Zepp, home brew) Antenna at 35', extends 324', fed by ladder line

• R-4B Receiver
• T-4XB Transmitter
• MS-4 Speaker
• C-4 Station Console
• L-4B Linear Amplifier
• L-4 PS Power Supply
• Shure 444 Desk Microphone
• TR-3 Tranceiver
• T-3 PS Power Supply
• TV-1000-LP Low Pass Filter

• Kenwood TM-D700A (base/mobile)
• Kenwood TM-D710A
• Kenwood TS-480HX 200w 6m - 160m
• Hi-Q 5/160 Antenna
• N2VZ Turbo Tuner

• Kenwood TM-D7AG
• Yaesu VX-170

Our home is on top a hill near Knife River MN. Being about 400 feet above Lake Superior we have a beautiful view of Lake Superior and the surrounding North Shore area. My beautiful young bride Diane KC0TIU and I built our home from the ground up with the help of family and friends. It is also a great place to plant antennas! Once I get my two sons through elementary and secondary school and now college (read $$$$), I'll be able to invest more into Amateur Radio.

I am also very active in our church as a leader (Senior Commander) for a boys ministry program called Royal Rangers. In a nutshell, Royal Rangers is the Christian version of Boy Scouts. See Minnesota District and National Office web sites for more info. I am also active in the Royal Rangers FCF North Star Chapter (Frontiersman Camping Fellowship). My given names are "Web Weaver" and "Dot Com" and my chosen name is "White Raven". I was PLTC/DTC Camp Commander for 8 years, and when there are enough trainees I assist with JTT. There are four Hams in our outpost with hopefully more on the way soon. Needless to say all this activity keeps me running!

Every summer we take a vacation out west, mostly to backpack with the young men that came up through our Royal Rangers outpost. We have so far been to:

• Bighorn Nationl Forest, Wyoming (2003)
• Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington (2004)
• Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (2005)
• Holes in the Ground Tour (2006):
• Collegiate Peaks, Colorado
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
• Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
• Arches National Park, Utah
• Canyonlands National Park, Utah
• Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
• Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
• Zion National Park, Utah
• Death Valley National Park, California
• Yosemite National Park, California
• Sequoia National Park, California
• Kings National Park, California
• Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
• Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
• Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
Glacier National Park, Montana (2007)
• North Cascades National Park, Washington (2008)

• You don't take a photograph, you make it. - Ansel Adams
• There is nothing worse than a brilliant image of a fuzzy concept. - Ansel Adams
• There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer. - Ansel Adams
• Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. - Ansel Adams
• A good photograph is knowing where to stand. - Ansel Adams

I have worked in the computer industry since 1978 and naturally have an interest in not only voice, but also digital communications, especially APRS. My computer background is hardware/software service for IBM Mainframes (water-coooled engines). Currently I am employed as a Senior Systems Administrator at SMDC Health System in Duluth, MN. My job responsibilities include UNIX Admin (IBM AIX, Linux), SAN Admin, AS/400 Admin and Tivoli TSM Backup and Restore.

God Bless and 73's!

-Jeff

White Raven (FCF Name) - Genesis 8:7, 1 Kings 17:2, Luke 12:24

(More or less the same info on www.qrz.com)