What a humble headline ; )
If you want to learn more about the author of this blog, please click the link on the right side of the page under "Blog Posts By Topic" called "All About Me (biography)".
After a brief break, I'm heading back to school now. I will probably post very infrequently (if at all) until the spring semester is over in May, 2009.
Any suggestions for a 6M DXpedition in the summer of 2011?
73,
Alan, WQ5W
Saturday, December 13, 2008
C6AQW/J75W QSL'S Processed
As promised, I have completed processing and mailing ALL QSL's received to date for C6AQW and J75W (+ WQ5W, V31RR and ZF2TG). I mailed all direct QSL's this morning (December 13, 2008). All bureau cards (including those just received in my December shipment) have also been processed and shipped to the ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau.
If you do not receive your direct QSL by the end of January, 2009, please contact me. Please do not contact me about bureau cards. My experience is that bureau cards take many months (or even over a year) after mailing for you to receive.
I apologize again for the delay. Because of the demands of work and school, I have not had any time to work on these until now.
After a brief break, I am now entering the winter semester in school. The winter semester will be followed immediately by the spring semester. This means I will likely not have any free time to process QSL's again until May, 2009. I appreciate your patience.
As a reminder, all of my logs for C6AQW, J75W, V31RR and WQ5W have been uploaded to Logbook Of The World (LOTW). I encourage you to join LOTW if you haven't already at:
http://www.arrl.org/lotw/
LOTW is a wonderful way to quickly (and cheaply) get DXCC confirmations.
73,
Alan, WQ5W/C6AQW/J75W/V31RR/ZF2TG/VP2M/WQ5W
If you do not receive your direct QSL by the end of January, 2009, please contact me. Please do not contact me about bureau cards. My experience is that bureau cards take many months (or even over a year) after mailing for you to receive.
I apologize again for the delay. Because of the demands of work and school, I have not had any time to work on these until now.
After a brief break, I am now entering the winter semester in school. The winter semester will be followed immediately by the spring semester. This means I will likely not have any free time to process QSL's again until May, 2009. I appreciate your patience.
As a reminder, all of my logs for C6AQW, J75W, V31RR and WQ5W have been uploaded to Logbook Of The World (LOTW). I encourage you to join LOTW if you haven't already at:
http://www.arrl.org/lotw/
LOTW is a wonderful way to quickly (and cheaply) get DXCC confirmations.
73,
Alan, WQ5W/C6AQW/J75W/V31RR/ZF2TG/VP2M/WQ5W
C6AQW Set A Record!
I just looked at the results from the 2007 CQWW SSB contest. My modest effort as C6AQW set a Bahamas record for the 20M low power category!
This is a pretty dubious record as I'm not sure anyone had ever entered that category before from C6. Still, it's nice to see the call in the record book!
http://www.cqww.com/records_ph_na.htm
Like Woody Allen said, 90% of life is just showing up!
This is a pretty dubious record as I'm not sure anyone had ever entered that category before from C6. Still, it's nice to see the call in the record book!
http://www.cqww.com/records_ph_na.htm
Like Woody Allen said, 90% of life is just showing up!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
A word about paper QSL's
A lot has happened in my life since my DXpeditions! I have moved back home to Fort Worth, Texas due to a job promotion and I have returned to college with the ultimate goal of completing a post-graduate degree.
Due to increased commitments at work and my return to school I have not been able to process any paper QSL's for either C6AQW or J75W to date.
I apologize to everyone who has sent me a card. I promise that I will process all cards starting this fall and will complete by the end of the year (2008). Please do not send me another card. I have all cards received stored in a safe place.
The good news is that all logs for both DXpeditons were uploaded to Logbook of The World (LOTW) shortly after their completion. I would encourage everyone who has not already joined LOTW to join at http://www.arrl.org/lotw/. It is a wonderful way to quickly (and cheaply) get DXCC confirmations.
If you do not see your QSO confirmed in LOTW and are sure you made a contact, you can email me and I will check my log. I am sorry, but I will not be able to answer emails regarding paper QSLs at this time.
My new address is:
Alan Benoit
3650 Chicora Court
Apt 332
Fort Worth Texas 76116
Apologies again for the delay, but I promise to complete and mail all paper QSL's by the end of 2008.
73,
Alan,
WQ5W/C6AQW/J75W
Due to increased commitments at work and my return to school I have not been able to process any paper QSL's for either C6AQW or J75W to date.
I apologize to everyone who has sent me a card. I promise that I will process all cards starting this fall and will complete by the end of the year (2008). Please do not send me another card. I have all cards received stored in a safe place.
The good news is that all logs for both DXpeditons were uploaded to Logbook of The World (LOTW) shortly after their completion. I would encourage everyone who has not already joined LOTW to join at http://www.arrl.org/lotw/. It is a wonderful way to quickly (and cheaply) get DXCC confirmations.
If you do not see your QSO confirmed in LOTW and are sure you made a contact, you can email me and I will check my log. I am sorry, but I will not be able to answer emails regarding paper QSLs at this time.
My new address is:
Alan Benoit
3650 Chicora Court
Apt 332
Fort Worth Texas 76116
Apologies again for the delay, but I promise to complete and mail all paper QSL's by the end of 2008.
73,
Alan,
WQ5W/C6AQW/J75W
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
About Me
Hi! My name is Alan and I live in Fort Worth Texas (The Town of The Cow; Where the West Begins). I share my life with a beautiful wife and a mischievous little Chihuahua. I have enjoyed a successful career in the electronics industry for over 15 years now. It’s a career that I love and that has allowed me to learn so much and travel to many parts of the world over the years.
This blog will share my thoughts and experiences in my life both personal and as they relate to my hobby of Amateur Radio. I have been a licensed Amateur (ham) Radio operator since 1985 when I was 15 years old. I have travelled all over the world to operate my radio. I enjoy going on these trips, called DXpeditions, and operating radio contests on them. I am a life-member of the U.S. national Amateur Radio organization called the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). If you want to find out more about this fascinating hobby, please visit their website @ http://www.arrl.org/.
For the next few years, however, I will have little or no time for my hobby. I am currently spending almost all of my time outside of work in college. I am currently working on finishing up my Bachelor’s Degree in business and I then plan to pursue a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA).
Why am I doing this? Well, a baccalaureate degree is something that I have long-felt is missing from my life. I have also reached the point in my career where it is needed to reach the next level. When I was younger and in high school, I was definitely what you would call “college material.” I did well in all of my courses and even received scholarship offers from a few universities. However, after High School, I was “tired” of school and decided to go to work. I found that work fulfilled me in a way that school didn’t at the time. One thing led to another and 20 years later I had enjoyed a successful business career but still had no bachelor’s degree. I had gone back to school at night many years back and received an Associate’s Degree in electronics, but that didn’t fill the gap for me. In fact, not achieving a Bachelor’s Degree is the one regret I have in my life. God blessed me with intelligence and a love of learning and I want to honor that gift by completing my education.
My return to school has been extremely difficult, but extremely rewarding so far. I have taken on a 16 credit hour/semester class load and I plan to take one or two courses in the winter and summer semesters as well. This leaves almost no “free” time to do anything else. I do work hard to make time to spend with my family. Other than that, I only allow myself two other guilty pleasures every week: watching The Office on Thursday nights and watching that week’s Dallas Cowboy and/or Manchester United football games!
I must say, though, that school has been extremely rewarding so far. At this point in my life, I really enjoy learning. I’m not sure I would have had the same thirst for knowledge if I had done this earlier in life. I look forward to every course and to trying to achieve the best possible grade I’m capable of. Most of the courses I have taken so far have been common or “core” subjects and even those have been fun for me. I can’t wait until I actually get to the business courses!
As of this writing (December 2008) I still have a little under 70 credit hours to go to finish up my Bachelor’s in Business degree. I am on course to graduate with this from Tarleton State University in December, 2010. I then plan to start on an MBA at Tarleton, Texas Christian University, The University of Texas at Arlington or Southern Methodist University in the fall of 2011. I plan to graduate with my MBA in December 2012.
I’m already thinking about my next radio DXpedition when school is over! It will have to wait until at least the summer of 2011. That’s OK, though, because we should then be at the top of the 11-year sunspot cycle (the best time for Ham Radio).
Thanks for reading-hope you enjoy my ramblings in the blog!
This blog will share my thoughts and experiences in my life both personal and as they relate to my hobby of Amateur Radio. I have been a licensed Amateur (ham) Radio operator since 1985 when I was 15 years old. I have travelled all over the world to operate my radio. I enjoy going on these trips, called DXpeditions, and operating radio contests on them. I am a life-member of the U.S. national Amateur Radio organization called the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). If you want to find out more about this fascinating hobby, please visit their website @ http://www.arrl.org/.
For the next few years, however, I will have little or no time for my hobby. I am currently spending almost all of my time outside of work in college. I am currently working on finishing up my Bachelor’s Degree in business and I then plan to pursue a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA).
Why am I doing this? Well, a baccalaureate degree is something that I have long-felt is missing from my life. I have also reached the point in my career where it is needed to reach the next level. When I was younger and in high school, I was definitely what you would call “college material.” I did well in all of my courses and even received scholarship offers from a few universities. However, after High School, I was “tired” of school and decided to go to work. I found that work fulfilled me in a way that school didn’t at the time. One thing led to another and 20 years later I had enjoyed a successful business career but still had no bachelor’s degree. I had gone back to school at night many years back and received an Associate’s Degree in electronics, but that didn’t fill the gap for me. In fact, not achieving a Bachelor’s Degree is the one regret I have in my life. God blessed me with intelligence and a love of learning and I want to honor that gift by completing my education.
My return to school has been extremely difficult, but extremely rewarding so far. I have taken on a 16 credit hour/semester class load and I plan to take one or two courses in the winter and summer semesters as well. This leaves almost no “free” time to do anything else. I do work hard to make time to spend with my family. Other than that, I only allow myself two other guilty pleasures every week: watching The Office on Thursday nights and watching that week’s Dallas Cowboy and/or Manchester United football games!
I must say, though, that school has been extremely rewarding so far. At this point in my life, I really enjoy learning. I’m not sure I would have had the same thirst for knowledge if I had done this earlier in life. I look forward to every course and to trying to achieve the best possible grade I’m capable of. Most of the courses I have taken so far have been common or “core” subjects and even those have been fun for me. I can’t wait until I actually get to the business courses!
As of this writing (December 2008) I still have a little under 70 credit hours to go to finish up my Bachelor’s in Business degree. I am on course to graduate with this from Tarleton State University in December, 2010. I then plan to start on an MBA at Tarleton, Texas Christian University, The University of Texas at Arlington or Southern Methodist University in the fall of 2011. I plan to graduate with my MBA in December 2012.
I’m already thinking about my next radio DXpedition when school is over! It will have to wait until at least the summer of 2011. That’s OK, though, because we should then be at the top of the 11-year sunspot cycle (the best time for Ham Radio).
Thanks for reading-hope you enjoy my ramblings in the blog!
ZF2TG Story
Here's a link to all the info on my 1992 Dxpedition and CQWW CW effort from Little Cayman Island as ZF2TG:
http://www.qsl.net/wq5w/zftrip.htm
Amazingly enough, the North American 40M record I set in the contest still stands to this day!
http://www.cqww.com/records_cw_na.htm
Please note that the QSL address listed on the page is no longer correct. My current address is on QRZ.com if you still need a card.
http://www.qsl.net/wq5w/zftrip.htm
Amazingly enough, the North American 40M record I set in the contest still stands to this day!
http://www.cqww.com/records_cw_na.htm
Please note that the QSL address listed on the page is no longer correct. My current address is on QRZ.com if you still need a card.
VP2M/WQ5W Story
Here's a link to all the details on my first ever Dxpediton as VP2M/WQ5W and the 1988 World #1 M/S operation in CQWW I was a part of:
http://www.qsl.net/wq5w/montserr.htm
It includes the story I wrote that was published in the National Contest Journal (NCJ) and many photos.
It sure doesn't seem like over 20 years have passed since this operation. I have lost track of Ron, AA5DX over the years and Bill Carter, KM5R, passed away many years ago (R.I.P. Bill).
http://www.qsl.net/wq5w/montserr.htm
It includes the story I wrote that was published in the National Contest Journal (NCJ) and many photos.
It sure doesn't seem like over 20 years have passed since this operation. I have lost track of Ron, AA5DX over the years and Bill Carter, KM5R, passed away many years ago (R.I.P. Bill).
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