Hello there! My name is Stan and I currently live in Champaign, Illinois. (Grid: EN50) I’ve been around ham radio virtually all my life. Both my parents, W9ULS (SK) and K9VFW, were hams which got me interested at an early age. As a child, I would often listen to my dad talk to hams all over the world before I would head off to school on a Kenwood TS-520. (10 meters was amazing back then!) My parents would also use ham radio on VHF to talk to each other on the way to work. (This was pre-cell phone days.)
Before I got my ham license I listened to shortwave radio. I started with a Realistic DX-302 receiver. I then got a Realistic DX-392 portable shortwave radio which I took everywhere. I think my favorite station at the time was HCJB in Quito, Equador. I corresponded several times with the station and enjoyed their various shows.
When I got my first car, I was really into storm chasing. To keep in contact with other chasers, I had a CB in my car. That was ok but the range wasn’t very good. I needed something better. I needed ham radio!
On September 17, 2000, I took and passed my technician exam at a hamfest in Peoria, Illinois. I purchased a brand new shiny Icom IC-W32A HT that day and it was incredibly frustrating not being able to use it. Waiting for my license to hit the FCC database was probably the most excruciating process of the hobby. Twelve days later, on September 29, 2000, I had officially become a ham with the callsign of KB9YBU! Yankee Bravo Uniform was on the air!
In April 2002, I decided to apply for a vanity callsign. I was very interested in weather and storm chasing so I wanted to get a callsign that reflected that. A few weeks later in mid-May, I was approved for the vanity callsign of K9SWX. (SWX = severe weather or Stan’s weather)
I was getting frustrated by not having the privileges to work the HF bands with my technician license. In June 2002, I started studying for my general license which at the time also required the morse code test. I’d never been very good with code, but I practiced enough to hopefully get me through the exam. On exam day, I took the written test for the general license first. I passed that part just fine, but the code test was still to come. I was the only one taking the code test that day, so everyone else in the room was talking. I was a little flustered by this, but then I realized this was just QRM which I would have to learn to deal with. I made it through the code test and had successfully upgraded to general class! Whew!
I currently live in an apartment with no patio or balcony so my all gear is mobile/portable. After an 11 year hiatus from HF, I’m finally able to get on HF again with the addition of the Icom 705 in 2023. I use a OM0ET MC-20 mag loop antenna which is just awesome. I have used it indoors for some FT8 contacts on 5 watts. I also have the N9TAX VHF/UHF slim jim antenna which lets me work 2m/70cm SSB, FT8 and FM which works well. I am trying to get more into Parks on the Air (POTA) and have done a couple of activations.
I QSL via LoTW, eQSL and QRZ. If you want a paper QSL, please be patient. I don’t have any ready-made cards so it takes a while for me to get them sent out. Sorry!
I have a YouTube channel focusing on ham radio, Raspberry Pi and software defined radios (SDR). I can also be reached on various social media platforms under K9SWX.
73! de K9SWX (Stan)