We are an all-ham family:

I am Phil AD5X.  Originally licensed in 1964 as WN3BCQ/WA3BCQ, I hold BSEE and MSEE degrees from Virginia Tech and Southern Methodist University, respectively.  I am now fully retired after 33 years in the engineering field.  I have held positions in RF, Microwave and Lightwave new product development from design engineer to Vice President of Engineering, and was once honored as a Rockwell Engineer of the Year.  I've worked for the Naval Ship R&D Center (co-op), Goddard Space Flight Center (co-op), Texas Instruments, Collins Radio, Rockwell International, Alcatel, and Celion Networks.  My ham radio interests include HF cw ragchewing and DXing, HF portable and mobile operation, QRP, boat anchor restoration, and ham-related construction projects.  I enjoy writing ham radio-related articles, and I am pleased to have received the December 2000, January 2010, February 2012 and August 2014 QST Cover Plaque Awards, and the 2005 Bill Orr Technical Writing Award.

My daughter Stephanie AC5NF graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas with a BS in Software Engineering. She "retired" after working 5-years for Rockwell/Collins to be a full-time mom. She was first licensed as a Technician in 1996, and obtained her Extra Class License in 1997 (yes - she's a 20 wpm Extra!). She is married to Kenny KD5EVW, a design engineer at Rockwell/Collins in Richardson, TX. Kenny holds a BSEE from The University of Texas at Dallas, and a MSEE from Southern Methodist University. Steph's and Kenny's sons (Brandon and Collin) are too young to be licensed.  But we'll work on that!

After 31 years of marriage I lost my wife, constant companion and best friend Debbie N5UPT to cancer. I'm so glad I was able to retire when I did, as we were able to spend over 12 years together 24/7. Debbie held a BA in Psychology from The University of Texas at Dallas.  She was a great wife, mom, grandmother, sister and friend. I miss her terribly.

    

WA3BCQ High School Sr 1967              WA3BCQ NASA co-op 1969                    AD5X in his home lab today                                           N5UPT and AD5X

 

 

Steph - AC5NF                                                                                    Working with Brandon (our grandson) on an electronic project

 

My station:  43' Vertical (160-10 meters), Hy-Gain TH-1 rotatable dipole (20/15/10/6 meters), Elecraft K3, Elecraft KPA500 amplifier, Elecraft KAT500 autotuner, Elecraft KX3 (portable station), VX-2r, and a boat-anchor station (Johnson Ranger, Drake 2B/2BQ, Hallicrafters TO1 Keyer).

 

Home Lab Test Equipment:  Array Solutions VNAuhf Vector Network Analyzer, Array Solutions AIMuhf Vector Impedance Analyzer, Mini-circuits PWR-6GHS+ Power Sensor, HP651A Test Oscillator, Array Solutions PowerMasterII, Circuit Specialists MS8050 DMM, Tektronix TDS-2022B 2gb/s Oscilloscope, Siglent SSA3021X Spectrum Analyzer/Tracking Generator, Goldline TS1 audio test set, BTECH UV-25X4 (144/220/440 MHz signal source), Icom IC706MKIIG (1.8-54 MHz signal source), MFJ-226 Antenna Analyzer, Mini-Circuits  ZFDC-20-5 0.1-2000 MHz Directional Coupler, MFJ-4245 Power Supply.

 

Laptop:   For Mini-Circuits PWR-6GHS+, AIMuhf, VNAuhf and SSA3021X spectrum analyzer control & data recording

 

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