Sunrise @ FN03AN with 10 & 24 GHz
Welcome
I was federally licensed by the Canadian Government in 1985 and hold the Advanced level certificate. I wrote and passed the Radio Electronic Theory and Rules & Regulations exam, the Morse Code sending and receiving tests and was awarded the callsign VE3OYH. After 10 years I changed to the shorter callsign VA3TO. I'm also licensed in the U.S. as Amateur Extra NA3TO after writing and passing the exams for their three levels of license. I hold the additional callsigns VE3GHZ and VA3BCN.
I despised having to learn Morse code and it held me back from getting my license years earlier. I was easily discouraged after a couple of half-hearted attempts but one day I decided to make it a personal challenge and like most things, if you put your mind to it then the repetition of practice eventually pays off. I'm glad that I learned it as I still use it to this day for the challenging weak signal modes that I enjoy most. Our ears have an easier time digging a very weak tone out of the noise than they do voice.
Over the years I've tried my hand at just about every facet of the hobby but my primary interest is weak signal operation from 6 metres (50 MHz) and up. I love to explore alternate modes of propagation including Sporadic-E, Tropospheric ducting, Aurora, Meteor Scatter, Rain & Snow Scatter and Moonbounce. In recent years I've become more focused on the higher microwave bands using homebuilt portable equipment and very directional parabolic dish antennas. I enjoy pushing the conventional limits of "Line of Sight" microwave operation. My current interest is focused on increasing my grid count and personal best distance on the 10, 24, 47, 78 and 122 GHz bands. I also enjoy casual HF operation, particularly QRP-CW and a bit of the digital modes. Admittedly more of an experimenter & builder than operator, I have a passion for designing & building RF & digital electronics, microcontroller programming, fabricating the mechanicals then assembling it all into a functioning system.
The links on the sidebar detail some of my projects and accomplishments. I hope it inspires others to explore the hobby and microwave operation in particular.
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Updated June, 2022.