I was born on September 19th

I was born on September 19^th, 1961, in Moline, Illinois. On the 20^th I took apart the toaster, and then the coffee maker.

Not much happened until I was in the 6^th grade in Mr. Don Hammerlink’s class. What a great guy! One day I was looking through an encyclopedia, and I saw a crystal radio, along with the plans on how to make one. In short order I was listening to WHBF on 1270Khz. What a thrill!

For years after the toaster I was constantly playing with electronics. If a neighbor needed a new phone line or cable TV outlet in their home, they called me. Then, at the age of 27 or so, I meet Mr. Bob Ward, K0SVZ. Bob was my Elmer. In fact he had Elmered approximately 125 people up until his death in 2000. Bob had a heck of a museum for a shack; lots of cool BAs. I recall playing with a Collins 75A4. Perhaps that’s where my love of BAs started.

About this same time I meet my wife Cindy. We have two wonderful daughters. We live in the country and have several acres of land and three towers; number four is on the way. Anyway, for the last several years I have been collecting boat anchors and antique tractors. I am no expert, but I have been rebuilding and repairing them with much success. My primary interest is in the WRL line of equipment, such as Globe Kings, thanks to W9UD. I also have an interest in Collins rigs; I currently have a very nice S- line station and a very nice A-line station, thanks to WC9M. I feel that it’s important to preserve the older radios. There is something about fixing and cleaning an old radio, then putting it on the air. You just can’t get that feeling from a radio from Japan. Not to mention all the really great guys on AM.

I own my own business, called Global Wireless, Ltd, located in Moline, Illinois. We sell cellular phones and pagers, but most of all we do lots of Satellite work, both TV and home theater work. We also do commercial satellite work, selling and installing two-way Internet systems. I also build computer networks, etc. Ham radio has taught me most of what I know in my line of work. See my website for more info:

73, Dave