Tim, N9CD Member of the MVARA  I’ve been a licensed amateur radio operator (call sign N9CD) for only a short time. I dove into ham radio with great enthusiasm. I especially enjoy chasing DX and participating in contests. In 2021, I published the book “Quick, Practical Guide to DOING Ham Radio.” The goal of my book is making it easier for others to get started in amateur radio. Even though I don’t exactly work in a science field (I’m an environmental attorney), I’ve had a strong interest in science for as long as I can remember, which springs from insatiable curiosity and a profound sense of wonder—wanting to know how the world works. Certain aspects of radio have surprised and intrigued over the years. I remember my first experience with the amazing world of radio propagation. It was in the mid-1970s, and I was probably between seven and ten years old, living in a tiny town in northern Wisconsin. My family’s Ford Galaxy 500 was equipped only with an AM radio (and, at some point, a CB radio). I remember sitting in the car late on a summer night, listening to the radio with a friend and looking out at the stars. We were picking up stations from far away—stations I never heard during daytime. In particular, I remember a station from Chicago—it must have been WLS—and the audio was crystal clear. My friend, who was several years older than me, explained that the signal was skipping off the atmosphere at night, which is why we were hearing the station so well. Probably within a year of two of that experience, I had my first encounter with a shortwave radio. I remember tuning across the bands with my friend, also named Tim, and hearing various languages and Morse code tones. Another aspect of radio that caught my attention was the plan for building a crystal radio in what I think must have been the Cub Scout handbook. The idea from those plans stuck in my mind until my 20s when I finally ended up building a radio receiver using scraps from a broken electric razor, a junked toaster, and a germanium diode from Radio Shack. It was in my 20s that I first seriously considered pursuing a ham radio license. As adiversion from the grind of law school studies, I started teaching myself basic electronics. In addition to building an AM radio, I constructed a Morse code tone generator, and I started trying to teach myself CW. I have a lot of interests beyond amateur radio. During my college years, I worked as a blacksmith at a living history museum. Years later, I earned a black belt in karate. I enjoy flying airplanes (land and seaplanes), and I have served as a U.S. Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol) mission pilot. I like biking and unicycling, landscape photography, travel, writing, playing guitar, rock climbing, scuba diving, and spending time with family. My wife Lisa and I have three delightful grandkids. Also, I served as executive producer of “Mysteries of the Driftless,” an Emmy Award- winning film of science exploration and adventure, and as a producer and cinematographer of “Decoding the Driftless,” another documentary. Both films have been broadcast on PBS. I authored a techno-thriller, “The Kurchatov Penetration” (that happens to mention the use of Morse code).
Check out Tim's Book here. Click book for details 
73, Catch you on the air. Tim , N9CD Return to Member Profile page |
