K4TD

Rick Walker
Harvest, AL

Background: Born in Mississippi in 1957, I became a ham in 1969 at the age of 12. My interests included CW traffic handling and limited contesting & DXing; however, my ability to do the latter two activities was always hampered by a significant lack of antennas. In 1975 I joined the U.S. Navy as a Cryptologic Technician and, after a substantial period of training, I was sent in 1976 to my first duty station in Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico. As it turned out, NSGA Sabana Seca was at that time a "hotbed" of contest activity, and it also had a great ham station (for its day), KP4USN. It was also in Puerto Rico that I met some outstanding contesters of that era, including N9EA, KP4EKJ (now N4FX) and KP4RF (now NP4A), who helped me develop a real love for CW contesting. In 1978, I made my first serious attempt in the ARRL DX CW contest from KP4USN in the Single-Operator High Band category and finished 1st place world-wide in that category. In those days, there was not a plaque offered for the High Band category, but I did get a nice certificate indicating a first place finish from Puerto Rico. In 1979, I received my first taste of multi-multi contesting at the home of Chet Moore, KP4EKJ, where we set a world record in the CQWW DX CW arena that, according to Chet, lasted almost six years. It was also during this time that I met one of my very best friends, Doug Haft (KY4F). My tour of duty in Puerto Rico ended in 1979 and with it (for about 23 years) so did my ham activities. For the next 23 years, the demands of family and work kept me from having much time to devote to the hobby. Living in CCR neighborhoods prevented me from setting up much of a station. This combination served to keep me off the air until 2002. During this interval, I kept renewing my amateur radio license in the event that I might one day be able to get back on the air.

Back on the air: In 2002 the urge to establish an amateur radio station suddenly became irresistible even though at that time I still lived in a CCR neighborhood. I managed to get a stealth antenna up a pine tree in my back yard without being spotted by any of my neighbors. I was finally back on the air after a 23 year absence!! I was thrilled to be back on the air again, but the memories of Puerto Rico and especially the KP4USN station kept me from being satisfied with that setup. In 2003 I made up my mind that I was going to move out of the city and far, far away from places that had CCRs. My dream was to find a mountain-top location within reasonable commute to my job. While I never found that mountain top location, in 2004 I finally found a beautiful location that included 11 acres of land. I moved into my new QTH in September of 2004. Soon thereafter, I started to construct my current station the details of which may be found at www.qrz.com/K4TD.

Current Activities: I am a Life-Member of the ARRL and a member of the Alabama Contest Group and the South East Contest Club. I enjoy DXing, but I don't make a serious attempt at collecting QSL cards. I find that competing in the DX pileups gives me some indication of how my station will perform in contest-related situations. I really enjoy contesting although it has changed significantly during my 23 year absence. My favorite contests are the ARRL Sweepstakes, the ARRL DX and the CQWW DX events. I also enjoy the NAQP, both the ARRL and CQ 160 Meter contests and the CQ WPX.

Previous Callsigns: WN5DLW - 1969 to 1970

WB5DLW - 1970 to 1977

K5PM - 1977 to 2002

K4TD - 2002 to Present

Education: BS, Applied Mathematics, The Pennsylvania State University

MBA, Florida Institute of Technology

Occupation: President and Chief Financial Officer

Applied Data Trends, Inc.

Huntsville, Alabama