***April 2012 W3HF/KH2 will be on LoTW and eQSL as soon as I get the logs cleaned up. Paper QSLs are always welcome via bureau or direct to home call address. Direct QSLs do NOT require greenstamps or IRCs for postage; a self-addressed envelope would be appreciated but is not required.***

***September 2011 W3HF/KH2 operation is on LoTW and eQSL. All direct QSLs have been answered. Bureau QSLs answered as they arrive.***

I was originally licensed as WN2FKS, and then WA2FKS, back in the mid-1970s. I was inactive (but still licensed) for the entire 80s and 90s--busy with all the other things in life, like a real job, getting married, buying a house, having kids, etc. Became reinterested in amateur radio in 2000. I was W3KI for a few months before settling on the current callsign in September 2000.

I spend most of my operating time on PSK31 now, although there are short bouts of RTTY and SSB. These other modes are used primarily to chase DX that isn't (yet) on PSK. The current station complement is a Small Wonder Labs PSK-20, a Yaesu FT-817, and a Kenwood TS-2000. The antenna farm is a set of dipoles in the attic for 40, 20, 10, and 6, yagis in the attic for 6m and 2m, and an outdoor 80m inverted V that can be temporarily strung out for contests.

I've dabbled in satellite QSOs, using an Arrow Dual Yagi (handheld) and a Yaesu HT. I'd been interested in OSCARs for a long time, but only recently got the equipment to try it out.

I regularly operate from several portable locations. W3HF/6 is hosted at the WA6GFY club site, and I operate there while on business trips. W3HF/4 was operated for one week each during the summers of 2001 through 2006 from a beach house on Bogue Banks Island (IOTA NA-112) in North Carolina. It looks like 2006 was the last time for that island. Other temporary operations (W3HF/0, W3HF/8, W3HF/2) have also been on the air.

My own search for a vanity callsign led to an interest in the vanity callsign process itself. I discovered Vanity Headquarters, a web site run by N4MC, the single most useful source of information on how to apply for a vanity callsign, callsign availabilities, and status of current vanity applications. (Dean Gibson's http://www.ae7q.com comes in a very close second.) Visit him at http://www.vanityhq.com. I still hang around there as a vanity callsign "elmer."

The interest in vanity callsigns grew into an interest in the history of callsigns. And this, in turn, led to my growing collection of old amateur radio callbooks. Check my own web site for the current inventory. I use this collection to document former license status (for examination credit purposes) and research former holders of callsigns. Contact me if you'd like help with a problem in this area.

My son Matthew upgraded to General in November 2006, just before his thirteenth birthday, and just before the elimination of the CW requirement. He's been dabbling on 6m SSB for the past three years, but is now starting to operate HF, and PSK31 especially.

QSL Policy: I will QSL all legitimate requests, responding in kind. If you send me a QSL via the bureau, I will send one in return (if I haven't already done so.) If you send me a QSL direct, I will respond direct--no SASE needed (either US or DX). I am AG on eQSL (with separate accounts for W3HF, W3HF/4, W3HF/6, W3HF/8 and W3HF/0), and am also good in the WM9H bureau for the 3905 Century Club. And if I owe you a QSL of any kind, please do not hesitate to contact me by email.

Latest info is that I am trying to rebuild a web site now that Yahoo has shut down geocities.com, my free host for the past seven years or so. I'll update this when it's done.