Welcome to Captain Michael’s Ham shack on the net. I haven’t been a ham all that long (2001) but I grew up in a Ham family. My dad (WD9AMC) and my mother (WD9AMD) are both hams and when I was a baby was pushed all over the Dayton hamfest in my stroller. Around this same time period was when my mom and dad were both active and dad ran phone batch for sailors at sea. We had a family friend Don Backus (K9UQN) whom would let me sit in his lap and spin the dials on his contest station for hours on end. When I got older I was into computers and electronics and my dad set up a station in a closet in our house and I have many fond memories of helping him pull coax and put PL 259’s on them. I always had to hold them while he soldered them. He always wanted me to get my ticket but the Morse code scared me away from it. Enough with the past Now that code has been dropped and I was in college in Maine I went to the local club in Lewiston Maine and took my tech. I was the president of the schools ham club station (W1MMA). When I moved back to Wilmington I talked to Bill Usher with Azalea Coast Amateur Radio Club (AC4RC) and I have become one of the gang. I took my General during the last test session before they dropped the code and two weeks later at the special test session I took my extra and passed it first try. I have been the secretary of the club now for two years. I run a Kenwood TM-700 in the truck interfaced with my Garmin 478C GPS for APRS. For HF in the truck I’m running a Yasue FT-100 all mode with a Yasue ATAS 100 screwdriver antenna. In the Camper I run and Yasue 8800r and the FT- 100. At home I have an ICOM 756 Pro and a 40M attic loop antenna and a G5RV JR Dipole. My HF abilities at the house are limited due to the HOA. I try to have the Most fun as I can with what I have. I recently built a portable tower with Steven (NI4SR) to help out with events and to have a little fun of my own. I am a self employed business owner that also captain’s yachts and drives limos and wreckers. Camping and portable operations and especially any operation on the battleship are my favorite. I have now just started up my own club here in the area call Hurricane Area Hams or HAH (W4HAH) for short and we are the official Ham club of the Frying Pan Shoals Light Tower (N4FPT) check us out at www.qsl.net/w4hah I look forward to working you on down the Log. Check out my company @ www.bluewater-marin-rv.com

ARLHS 1602,   OMISS 5889,    VE

Captain Michael

WELCOME TO CAPTAIN MICHAEL’S (KG4SRW) HAM SHACK ON THE NET