I was first licensed in March 1973 as WN4DOX and upgraded to General Class the following September, with a callsign change to WA4DOX.  While still a Novice, I got tired of using a hand key and bought a Lafayette bug to improve my sending (and thus receiving) proficiency.  I never became very proficient with the bug, so in August of that year, when QST published an article, "The WB4VVF Accu-Keyer", I eagerly built my first keyer, modifying the bug to be used as a paddle for the keyer.

As a General Class, I was excited about my new privileges and became a regular SSB operator on 40 meters, daily checking into EastCARS.  I discovered 15 meter DX using a 40 meter dipole and got hooked on DX.  I put up a 2-element beam for 15 meters and started working on my DXCC.  The following year I upgraded to Advanced and bought a Wilson tri-bander so I could work the other higher bands, still looking for DX.  In August of 1975, QST published another article "Memory for the WB4VVF Accu-Keyer" and I added that to my original keyer.

Later that year, I discovered CW traffic nets and my modus operandi changed to 80 meter CW, almost exclusively.  I found an old Navy RBB receiver (dated December 8, 1941) and used that with my HW-101 and a Collins 30L-1 along with a homebrew QSK box to send and receive CW traffic.  Six months of CW traffic nets prepared me for my Extra Class license which I passed in June 1975.

I spent four years on the island of Adak, in the Aleutians, operating KL7AIZ and my CW skills helped to work a lot of Asian DX, especially pileups of JAs and UAs.  A hiatus from 1981 to 1995 didn't ruin my CW proficiency, so I became active again, chasing DX, only this time I abandoned SSB for CW because CW is a more sensible mode for DX since there is never a problem understanding the other fellow.

Since 1975 I have been active in the Virginia CW Traffic Nets, the Fourth Region CW Traffic Nets, the Eastern Area CW Traffic Nets, and since 1998, the Hit-and-Bounce Independent CW Traffic Net.  I have been Net Control Station (NCS) on the Virginia Slow Net (VSN), the Virginia Net Early (VNE), the Virginia Net Late (VNL), the Fourth Region Net (4RN), and the Hit-and-Bounce Net (HBN). I have been liaison between VNE and 4RNE and between 4RNL and VNL. I have been liaison between 4RNE and the Eastern Area Net (EAN) and between EAN and 4RNL. I have held Transcontinental Corps (TCC) KILO skeds on a weekly basis.  The VNE meets daily on 3680 kHz at 7:00 p.m.  I re-established the Virginia Slow Net (VSN), in February 1999, to help bring slower operators into the Virginia Section of the ARRL NTS.  The HBN meets daily on 7042 kHz (7114 kHz alt.) at 8:30 a.m.  4RNE meets daily on 3567 kHz (7051 kHz alt.) at 7:45 p.m. followed by 4RNL at 9:30 p.m.  EAN meets daily on 3670 kHz at 8:30 p.m.  

I reside in Terry's Fork, a quiet rural community in Floyd County, in southwest Virginia, located about 10 miles west of the crest of the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains.  The elevation at my QTH is 2640 feet above sea level (1/2 mile), so towers are not needed.  While most of my acreage is wooded, I still manage to hang sufficient wires between the trees to maintain reasonable communications ability.  On 80 meters, I use an 80-meter inverted-vee and on 40 meters, I use a 40-meter inverted-vee for casual QSOs and a full-wave 40-meter loop for traffic handling on HBN.  Also, for 40 through 10 meters, I use a Cushcraft R-7, mounted to a tree-trunk, about 15 feet above the ground.  To switch between my HF antennas, I use a remote-controlled multi-coax switch so I have only one coaxial cable between the house and the switch, which is also mounted outside to yet another tree.

My home rig is an ICOM 736 which has fantastic QSK, so I never miss a single dit when passing traffic back and forth.  For emergency power, and for Field Day operating, I have a Honda 5 kW generator.  Since our community is rural, we are often bothered by power outages, some lasting only a few minutes, others lasting hours, even days, so the generator comes in handy to take up the slack.  To bridge the occasional two-to-ten minute outages, I use a 450 VA UPS, the $99 variety you would use for a personal computer.  The UPS can keep my rig on the air for up to 30 minutes, so it's a nice shack accessory, especially for CW traffic net operating.

I look forward to encouraging new and old amateurs alike to become involved in CW traffic handling and the VSN provides a means for anyone who is not yet "net-savvy" to jump in and get a taste of what CW traffic nets are all about.  The VSN is active each Tuesday evening, on 3680 kHz, at 7 p.m., eastern time.  The VSN runs strictly at 13 wpm, and will QRQ or QRS to send or receive traffic if participants so request.  All stations are welcome to check in.

Between May 1997 and November 1998, I operated 40 meter CW mobile from my 1986 Jeep Cherokee, using a Ten-Tec Scout with 50 watts into a 40 meter HamStick, attached to my roof by a four-legged magnet-mount, and a VibroKeyer single-lever paddle to communicate.  I checked in to the HBN almost every day while driving to work, bringing traffic to the net as well as taking traffic from the net.  It was not unusual to see my Jeep alongside the highway, or in a parking lot while I pulled over to copy amateur radiograms by hand.  On the way home, I would ragchew with lots of folks, many of them new contacts and many of them old ones.  I logged over 100 QSOs per month from the mobile and have worked into Russia on the way home in the evening and into Australia on the way to work in the morning.  While operating mobile, my radio logged more QSO miles in 12 months than my Jeep had in the previous 12 years!