QSL manager for N4Z, Special Event Station, Dec. 30, 2003 -- Jan. 6, 2004, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Send SASE, please.

NX4DG -- QSL mgr & trustee, Capital City Contest & DX Group, Frankfort, KY

(I am not the manager for TG9NX. Those cards go to N4FKZ.)

I am a proud user of LoTW and eQSL. If those work for you, great. If not, I do answer all QSLs whether direct or via the bureau. SASE is not required but always appreciated.

I was licensed as a teen in February 1969 -- so I have 43 continuous years on the air. I have held the callsigns WN4MEN, WB4MEN, WB9LHS, WB8TOB, KJ8S, WE4K and N4KZ. I was AB8TOB during the 1976 bicentennial year. Extra class since 1979. My current call of N4KZ was issued in 1996.

I have been active continuously over the past four decades despite having lived in a dozen different locations. I have always enjoyed trying new bands, new modes, new software and new ham radio challenges. I operate voice, CW and digital modes on 160-2 meters. Other ham interests include chasing DX, QRP, weak-signal VHF SSB/CW on 6 and 2 meters and operating HF mobile. I have worked in the publishing and broadcasting fields for more than 40 years. I hold DXCC (336 worked and 333 confirmed), the Worked All Zones, Worked All States and 5-Band Worked All Continents awards. I have worked 40 states from Kentucky on 2-meter SSB/CW and have 49 states and 67 countries worked so far on 6 meters. In the late 1990s, I worked 2-meter EME and enjoyed it tremendously. One of my current goals is to resume 2-meter moonbounce using the WSJT modes. In June 2010, I worked JE1BMJ on 6m CW to give me Asia and worked all continents on 6m. The magic band -- what a blast!

I have written free-lance amateur radio stories that have been published in QST, CQ and on the ARRL web site. One of my earliest QST stories, "The Bardstown Experiment," was about my involvement in getting ham radio introduced to a middle school in Kentucky. Then in August 1998 I had a story in QST about my QSO with Barry Goldwater when I was a teen and the favor he did for me in straightening out a license exam problem with the FCC. It was called, "Thanks, Barry." Later, the ARRL web site published my story about the mechanical rotor system my father designed for my 15-meter monoband yagi and mast during my novice days in 1969. That antenna system put a ton of DX in my log before I left home for college.The June 2008 issue of CQ featured my story about Dr. John Townsend, W3PRB, (SK), an active ham and former NASA administrator. The April 2010 issue of CQ featured my story about Larnelle "Stu" Harris, WD4LZC, an excellent CW operator who is also a Grammy Award-winning gospel and inspirational music singer.

These days my station is comprised of an Icom IC-756 Pro3, ALS-600S solid-state amp, a Kenwood TS-2000, and a Yaesu FT-817ND which I often run on CW and SSB. Nothing like running 5 watts on 20-meter SSB and getting through the pile-ups! My antennas consist of an 8-element log periodic yagi at 60 feet for 20 through 6 meters, an M2 9-element beam for 2 meter SSB/CW, a 3-element HyGain for local 2 meter FM work, primarily simplex, and an 80-meter full-wave horizontal loop which I use on 160 through 30 meters.

I've just started operating the JT65 HF digital mode on several bands. Quite interesting. It was an easy transition because I had worked EME and meteor scatter on 2 meters in the 1990s and the operating protocols are similar to JT65. In fact, I had used a part of the WSJT suite of programs called FSK441 on 6m meteor scatter and the operator interface was the same as JT65. I'm always amazed at the ability to QSO someone that you cannot hear from the speaker because their signal is so weak yet communications is still possible using a digi mode. One of my ham radio thrills was working Joe Taylor, K1JT, on 6-meter meteor scatter using FSK441 while I ran an 80-meter horizontal loop on 6 meters.

My hilltop location with steeply sloping ground around much of my property makes for a great low take-off angle in several directions -- particularly northeast and east.

73, Dave, N4KZ