I am a regular visitor to W1AW, the Hiram P.Maxim Memorial Station, at the American Radio Relay League in Newington, Connecticut. I think the ARRL is an excellent organization, and I am proud to be a life member and regular supporter of W1AW.

The trip there is usuallyvia motorcycle (2001 Moto Guzzi) using the back roads thru the quiet corner of Connecticut.

Having made this trip numerous times,it always has been a pleasure to combine world-class motorcycle touring with operating W1AW.

I enjoy working stations overseas when at W1AW, and also get a special thrill when I point the antennas stateside and work the radio amateurs in my dear country, especially when it is the first time they have ever worked W1AW and have been members of the American Radio Relay League for years.

Amateur wireless a wonderful way for all of us to be connected, and I am mindful that when we are communicating with fellow radioamateurs around the world, we are, in a way, representing our own countries. Considering that, you may hear me sign "73 de N1MX USA" at the end of a DX qso with me.

I own two Moto Guzzi California touring motorcycles. Last long tour was 30 Sept. - 13 October 2011. The tour was 3,500 miles round-trip: Mass-CT-NY-PA-WV-KY-TN-NC. I rode in the rain for 5 days. I passed by the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA (in the rain and fog, and temps at 45F).

Currently I am the chairman of the Walpole Historical Commission. Walpole is my home town, and I am very proud to be the Chairman of the historical commission for an old New England town, first inhabited by the Massachusett tribes, settled by the English in 1659, and later incorporated in 1724. Men from Walpole marched to Lexington & Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775, and participated in the opening battles of the American Revolution.

Walpole is currently celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the US Civil War, and the part that local people played in that confrontation. Please access these links to learn more about this. Many of these men were descended from the Patriots of 1775, and helped create that "new birth of freedom" as described by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg address, based upon our Declaration of Independence which states "All Men Are Created Equal".

I am determined to commemorate their sacrifices for Union & Freedom during this 150th celebration. Part of that will be advocating for our old Town Hall, built in 1881, by the generation that fought the Civil War.

http://walpole-ma.gov/HistCommDocs/HartshornMemorial.pdf

http://walpole-ma.gov/HistCommDocs/SesquicentCollaboration.pdf

http://walpole-ma.gov/HistComm.htm

I also play tenor sax with some friends. Here are a few clips of a gig I did in May 2011, at the Newport Blues Cafe, Newport, Rhode Island.

The guitar player is an old musical friend of mine, Gary Grammolini, the long-time guitar player with John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band (RI)

"HIppology" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hj4ErbgI7w

"These Blues" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uYPCY3QT8s

CW is the primary mode, but I will pick up a microphone once in a while. I did operate for about 5 months from Sao Miguel Island, Azores, in the late 1980's. CU2 is where my fathers parents came from, and I had the opportunity to live there and get to know the place. If you are in Portugal or the Azores, or in Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, I may speak Portuguese with you. I am very proud to be a descendent of "Os Herois Do Mar " The Heroes of The Sea".

" T T" Occupation: senior mechanical designer with an R & D company in the Boston Area. I have had the pleasure to work with numerous world-class engineers (from around the world) on a variety of projects over the past 20 years or so.

http://www.google.com/patents?id=ZTEIAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q&f=false

I am a former full-time musician (in the 1970's) and Boston Cab Driver (4 full years).

I still get a great thrill working stations from around the world or around the corner.

73 from Walpole, Massachusetts, USA (my home town)

Ex: WN1IDP-WA1IDP-WA1IDP/CU2 Sao Miguel Island, Azores

WA1AW

Life member, American Radio Relay League (the T

note: the QSL from K1AWP is from my Uncle Joe, Joseph T. Amaral, A-1 Operator & Silent Key. He was an excellent mentor to me when I was about 12 years old. Photo above taken during World War II. My uncle was a signalman in the U.S. Navy Seabees. Participated in the Invasion of Peleliu Island, September, 1944. Tnx Uncle Joe

In the entrance of W1AW with night manager/operator Scott, WB9RRU. I used to have a National HRO receiver like the one behind me. (Made in Massachusetts!).

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was away from my office in Cambridge, Mass., because my father had fallen in his home. I was with him in the hospital and witnessed the second plane strike the World Trade Center on CNN television. Within an hour or so, I headed to the radio shack, and recorded the log entries shown above.