Amateur Radio Home Page of

WD1M

Welcome to my Amateur Radio Home Page. My name is Bob Gilmore, and I live in Shelton, CT USA. First licensed in 1986 as a Novice, and my first call KA1OVE. After a few months of CW practice, I up-graded to General. A year later to Advanced, and in 1990 finishing off with Extra.

I’m a DXer on HF. This is where I spend most of my time on the Ham Bands. I have always enjoyed chasing the rare DX, and other similar stations. I find 10, and 15 meters very exciting when the solar cycle is in our favor. I have worked the world on QRP in the height of the solar cycle in the late eighties.

I have been off the air the last decade due to moving and getting married. Recently I have set up my station and get back on the air using a simple dipole with good results. The antenna is in a "V" like fashion and 100 ft in length. See the photo below left.

In 1989 I took my entire ham station to Iceland on my first expedition. What a blast to finally be on the other end of a pile up. It really is a challenge to pick out a single call. It sounds different than in the USA because now most stations are equal in strength. When home in Connecticut you hear some stations much stronger than others. My call was KA1OVE/TF. The following year (1990) I went back for more. This time I was WD1M/TF, see the QSL card above. Special thanks to my good friends Arí Pall Palsson & Marlisa Smith then of Reykjavík for letting me stay with them, and hooking up all kinds of make-shift antenna’s at their apartment flat. It was very rewarding to do this, and I would do it again at a blink of an eye.

In 1990 I served as President of the Fairfield Amateur Radio Association (FARA) in Fairfield, CT. It was a pleasure to serve such a wonderful group of Hams. Field day that year included a five foot helium balloon which we were able to extend a few hundred feet. Naturally we had to notify the FAA and install a flashing light on the top.

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