Personal Stuff

Detailed information (probably much more than you would ever want to know) is available at http://www.mpna.com/ripowell/rdp1.html. The condensed version is:
Born: Long Ago
From: Far Away
Been Licensed: For Quite a While
Likes: QRP, Sunspots, Camping/Portable Ops.
Dislikes: Intermodulation Distortion, Thunderstorms.
Vision: Poor.

HAM Radio Stuff

I have been an Amateur Radio Operator since 1974, originally licensed in San Diego. My main interests have been in low power operation. The challenge of QRP (low power) operation is twofold, how many contacts can you make how far away, and how many 'miles per watt' can you log. For example, a contact 3000 miles away when you use 3 watts results in 1000 miles per watt!. My best was in 1976 when I worked a station in the Netherlands Antilles from San Diego on 2 watts transmitter power! I have worked 22 states on less than 1 watt!

Presently living in Cincinnati, and working hard to get back on the air (apartment living :-( )

Shortwave Listening Stuff

I originally got started in electronics as a hobby when my dad got me a Radio Shack Shortwave radio in 1971. It took me about a month to get hooked. For about 5 years I managed to collect over 200 QSL cards. Unfortunatly, with all the moving I have had to do in the Navy, most of them have been lost or destroyed. Today, internet communications have taken a large toll on the popularity of Shortwave broadcasting, but there is still fun to be had.

© 1997 ripowell@mpna.com