Amateur Radio Page
It seems like Ive always been a Ham but actually Ham Radio became my passion in 1968, first licensed as WH6GMP, novice class, then general class as KH6GMP, progressing through to advanced class and finally to extra class. Currently my favorite amateur radio activity is RTTY contesting but Ive "Been There and Done That" with almost all the other things there are to do with this wonderful hobby, Dx'ing, QSL collecting, voice contesting, remote operation, visited other Hams in other countries and on the Mainland and have enjoyed visits from Hams and their families at our home. There have been two major events that stand out as my greatest thrills as a Ham. The first was in 1971 when I was invited to go on the USS Okinawa on the recovery mission for the Apollo 15 Moon Landing Flight. I was active in the Navy Marine Corps MARS program at the time and even though I was active duty in the Air Force. I was given the opportunity to go on the mission for the purpose of running phone patches for the crew of the ship during the mission. And since we were not allowed to transmit during the actual splashdown and recovery, I was allowed to stand up on the island directly above the red carpet on the carrier deck and it was the thrill of a lifetime when the chopper landed and the astronauts appeared after actually having been on the surface of the moon. I will never forget it. And then the other event was my DXPedition to Johnston Atoll (KH3/KH6GMP) in December of 2002. It was the 50th anniversary of my one year tour of duty that I spent on that tiny rock in 1952. I spent my 19th birthday there and then, 50 years later, my 69th!
There are some links on the left about the Apollo recovery and the Johnston Atoll DXPedition as well as a couple of more Amateur Radio Links
The KH6GMP Shack
The picture is an old QSL card showing the yagi antenna, Force12 C3S on a 9ft rooftop tower. Down in the shack the rig is an ICOM IC-7200 and Kenwood TL-922A amplifier.
Favorite Ham software is Writelog for contesting, Airlink Express for PSK31, DXKeeper for logging and Ham Radio Deluxe for rig control and remote operation. I dont collect QSLs but do answer any that I receive. I am active on the ARRL Logbook of the World (LOTW) and upload all contacts.
Also the GMP shack is the home of an IRLP and Echolink node which I maintain for the Milolii Amateur Radio Club.