I currently am "in and out" of Ham Radio.   I really enjoy the technical aspects of Ham Radio, but get kind of tired of talking to the same people on the local repeater all the time.  So, until I am able to acquire a decent HF setup, I'm focussing most of my effort on APRS.  APRS stands for Automatic Position Reporting System.  It is a means to relay the GPS information of participating stations so that other stations can communicate with and locate you.   If I am running APRS as you read this, you should be able to locate me under the Callsign: KB9YNB (home) or KB9YNB-8 (mobile)  If I am not currently running APRS, you won't see me there.  I have several Ham radios that I have picked up over the past few years.  All of my radios are currently manufactured by Yaesu.  I don't have anything against any other manufacturers, but my first radio was an FT50RD (I have 2 now) and it has served me well.  I also have an FT470 and an FT2600.  Also living in the shack are PK-88 and KPC3+ TNC's.  These are used for packet radio, which APRS falls under.  My next item that I would like to get, I think, is an Az-El rotator system for my 10 element beam so that I could work satellites.  Those systems are pricey, so I'm sure I'll have to wait.

I am also a member of the Clifty Amateur Radio Society, which operates a repeater on 145.17 (standard split)  I haven't been to any of the meetings lately (see my work page) but I still like to be involved as much as I can.

Update 6/7/04: I finally got an HF rig!  It's an FT817 from Yaesu.  I really like this rig so far.  I'm working on getting some sort of permanent antenna setup here at the house so that I can make some contacts.  I'd also like to get a 20m whip for the car, so that I can make the most of my 1 hour(each way) commute.

Can you identify this antenna?  Here's a couple of pictures. On the left is a picture of the whole antenna, it's about 10 feet tall.  The middle picture is a picture of the feedpoint with the radials. The picture on the right is the "tuning elements" on the antenna.  Email me if you know what kind of antenna it is.  Thanks.