Greg Tomerlin - K4KO

... no wait!  That wasn't me. 

I got my first license KG4OQV in the summer of 2001 after being introduced to ham radio by Keith Harris K4MHK.  Keith had just returned from Field Day and was fired up about amateur radio.  He loaned me his copy of Now You're Talking, I began studying right away and I've been hooked ever since.

My first act as a licensed amateur was to apply for the vanity call N4WSM.  I chose it because I love bluegrass music and WSM were Bill Monroe's initials (William Smith Monroe).  My second act was to buy the General-class license study manual and begin working on my General ticket.  Like many new hams today, I learned Morse code just enough to pass the test.  However, I knew early on that I wanted to get better at copying the code and that five words-per-minute wasn't going to cut it.  Then I got interested in contesting, thanks to Lee Hall NY4T, and I knew I had to get better at the code.  Plus, about that time, I found out how much fun VHF can be when I happened upon a six meter opening to the northeast.  After listening to 50MHz on and off for months and not hearing so much as a squeak, I was shocked when on 30 November 2002 I worked N1YTN in Bowdoinham, Maine on 50125 kHz.  Then another station in Massachusetts, and another in New Hampshire.  Over the next two hours I worked over 40 stations on the magic band.  That's the night I became a grid hunter.  And that's yet another reason to become proficient at Morse code.  You don't want to miss out on logging another grid just because you don't use CW.  To date I have worked over 400 grids on six meters.

In 2002 I began studying for my Extra ticket and in June, while attending the Silver Point hamfest up on the Cumberland Plateau, I decided at the last minute to take a shot at the test.  What do you know, I passed the thing.  To celebrate, I applied for another call sign and lo and behold, I was issued WN4M.  It's a good call for contesting and it sounds good on CW too.  And had my friend W4SK minded his own business, I'd still have WN4M.  But lucky for me he didn't and as a result I am now, and until I die, K4KO.  Thank you John. 

An Elecraft K2 is my current rig of choice and I love it.  Jerry McCarthy WA2DKG of Hicksville, NY built it for me in the summer of 2007 and it is a beauty.  Before getting the K2, I had an Elecraft K1 built by Jim Younce, K4ZM in 2004.  It too was a beauty and a blast to operate, but it has since moved to Indiana and living with KA9HJZ.  I hope Anthony has as much fun with it as I did. 

When not operating QRP, I use an Icom 756 Pro II and an Icom 910h.  The antennas, this month, include a Force-12 C3 for 10, 15 & 20M, dipoles for 40 & 80M and the tower is shunt-fed for 160M.  For VHF+ I use an M^2 5el yagi for 50MHz and a Cushcraft 15el yagi for 144MHz.

In addition to John, Jerry and Jim mentioned above, I have a bunch of people to thank.  One of those is Sam Shields, WB4CSG.  Sam has built antennas and radios for me, and he's repaired numerous radios and other devices for me as well.  He's also taught me more about amateur radio than anybody else.  Sam is always willing to lend a hand and he can do anything!  The man can also make anything, and I mean anything!  He's also a fine fellow and a good friend.  My hope is that someday some ham thinks as much of me as I do of him.

And finally, the ham who has done more for me both within amateur radio and otherwise, one who I can never repay all he has done for me, is Allen Brown, K4AL.  He's also the smartest person I have ever known.  In November 2002, Allen, with help from Sam, Eddie W4EBX and Wallace KG4EVD, raised my tower.  Then he introduced me to the weak signal modes on VHF which led directly to my working RN6BN on 144 MHz via EME propagation on 14 February 2005.  What a thrill that was and I owe it all to Allen!  But it doesn't stop there.  When, due to a medical problem, I ended up bedridden for over a year, Allen, with help from another very good friend Bob (ex. K4RGL & W9AZM), moved my shack (and rerouted all the coax, cables, wires, etc.) from one end of my house to the other so I could operate from bed.  No small task!  And Allen has hung countless antennas for me in the last six years.  He's been a good friend too.  If I become even half the amateur K4AL is, I will have accomplished more than I ever dreamed possible and I will be one hell of a fine amateur. 

Still under construction ... check back soon.

In addition to the Cedar Forest QRP Group, I am a member of the Tennessee Contest Group, the Middle Tennessee DX Club, FISTS, the Flying Pigs QRP Club International, the North American QRP CW Club, the QRP Amateur Radio Club International, the Wilson Amateur Radio Club, the Short Mountain Repeater Club and ARRL.

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