N2EWS formerly KI5VDI formerly KB0FU formerly WB2EWS formerly WN2EWS
I started back in the ’60s with my novice license (WN2EWS). Practiced CW and got my Advanced (WB2EWS). I used to really enjoy the Delaware Valley Radio Association, W2ZQ in vacation paradise Trenton, NJ.
When I attended University of Northern Colorado for my DA in music theory, composition and conducting, I renewed and got KB0FU. I hated that call sign (say it out loud and you’ll see why), but I was without gear for a long time, so I let that expire.
I took the exam again a while back and got my General (there is no Advanced anymore). FCC gave me the callsign KI5VDI. That’s right. KI5 Venereal Disease Infection. So, I purchased the vanity call sign N2EWS, a shorter version of my original.
When I was operating 6 meters at the club, DVRA, a contact used the phonetics Every Woman’s Sweetheart for WB2EWS. I never would have thought of that, but it has come in handy while writing stories. I am by no means every woman’s sweetheart, but I am fortunate to be my wife’s sweetheart.
My rig is currently the Yaesu FTDX10. My antenna is what I call unaffectionately a “Perverted V”. It is an inverted V where the center is only 20ft high, attached to a flagpole in the corner of the yard. The two legs of the antenna are at right angles with each other, and one leg bends at the corner of the fence and runs a bit parallel to the other leg. Not ideal, to say the least, but so far it has fooled the HOA. I have everything I need to build a magnetic loop except a variable capacitor that can handle the voltage. Maybe someday.
I like to fix, build, and improve junk guitars. I used to play guitar, violin and piano well, but age and lack of practice took its toll on me. I played guitar in a couple bands back in the good old days. I still enjoy playing badly on the instruments, though.
Most of my career has actually been as a writer and editor for computer journals. I was editor-in-chief of Network Computing World, Linuxworld, Linux Journal, Tux, and an award-winning columnist for InfoWorld. Like my other skills, my writing chops have dulled with age, but I still submit work because I enjoy it so much. I downsized out of a job as of April 15, 2024. I have been a band member, disk jockey, radio producer, script writer, programmer, teacher, consultant, animated cartoonist and even a Fuller Brush Man.
You can read my articles about how I got back on the air in the January, February and March 2023 issues of CQ magazine.
“The Adventures of Every Woman’s Sweetheart and the Perverted V”
I’m also working on a book of (mostly) fiction using that title.
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Worship only God. All else is idolatry.