WC2L

Amateur Radio Station

Welcome

Operator

I was originally licensed as KB2HUN May 1989. I had upgraded to Advanced in January 1997. I went for a vanity call in October 1997 when the flood gates opened up. I got the call NA2NA. This was a great Sweepstakes call, but not very good in DX contests. I had remained an Advanced operator till March 2007. In February 2007, I was golfing with a fellow ham friend (W2GDJ) in Florida. He mentioned that I should upgrade to Extra. So I picked up the study manual. A couple of weeks after getting licensed, I decided to get a new vanity call. I wanted a call that would be good in WPX, sounded good on CW (not that I am good at it) & SSB. The other thing that I wanted was a call that had some meaning. My full initials was taken, I was able to get most of them in. The C is not my middle name.

WC2L Station

I have been licensed as a Amateur Radio operator since 1989.  I took a Novice License class at Hudson Valley Community College.  I got hooked on contesting by the fall of '89. I am a member of the Albany Amateur Radio Association and the Yankee Clipper Contest Club. I have had two different QTHs since I have been licensed. As many hams do, my station has changed many times. I have had things from basic wires to my current station

My current station is modest by some standards.  I have not had a lot of time to operate recently. I am in the process of trying to get my station a bit more ready to operate. This is always a work in progress.

Current radios: 
Yaesu FT-1000, Kenwood TS-790, Icom IC-207, Motorola GM-300 (used for the RF packet node)
Current Amplifiers:
Ten-Tec Titan 425
Antennas:
Cushcraft X9, XM-240, D3W, 75/80 vertical dipole, 160 inverted L on HF (160 not currently up)
Hustler G7 for the packet node, 2 & 440 Satellite antennas on the VHF - UHF
Rotors:
CDE-Hygain Ham IV and Yaesu G-5400
Tower:
Tristao TX-455 (currently a US Tower TX-455)

I do have a home brew tuner for 40-160 (TNX WA1KKM).  I use a KK1L 2x6 antenna switch. I am always looking for a DX Solutions SAS-6 (have one and would like another). There are a couple of keyers and other items kicking around. I have tried to keep things simple but automated. There are a few other new projects on the near horizon.

I have two basic PCs. One is currently running XP, the other is running SuSE Linux 10.3. I do have a couple of other machines kicking around. The packet node is currently running AR-Cluster on a Windows 2003 server. The WEB site had been running on NetWare 6.5 Small Business server with Apache as the WEB server. I have decided to move it off to a commercial site. The WEB server is hosted by Scott KA9FOX at qth.com. I have a WEB interface for those who want to monitor things from the office. There is also a PDA/WAP enabled WEB site for every one else.

The new addition to the station is my desire to learn Linux.  I am currently set up for Windows or Linux. I am planning on running Linux for most things. My contest logging software will be KB on Linux and N1MM on Windows.  I am currently configured to use DX4WIN for Windows, but have been trying to get jLog to run on my SuSE Linux box. My goal it is to be 75% Linux by the end of 2008. The only issue that I have with jLog is the radio control.

Staton Links & Etc....

About Will

William is a Certified Novell Engineer (CNE). I am working for the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division Third Department. I also do network and computer consulting as well. I have gotten involved with computers and networking since I have been a ham. It has been fun!!

We live in Niskayuna, NY. I have been happily married for over 20 years and have a teenage son! Our dog Ginger is a fun loving, full of energy German Short Hair Pointer.

One of my other great bitterest hobbies is Golf! I spend as much time as possible to learn and play the game. I am not very good, but we have as much fun as possible. I have played mostly municipal courses, but have played some very nice courses.

I grew up in Bethel, Vermont. It was great to grow up in a small town. The only downside was the lack of exposure to amateur radio. I went to Whitcomb High School. After high school, I was very fortunate to make a living in the food service industry. Through amateur radio, I got very interested in computers. My career with my last food service company, led me to the computer field. I am now working in a NYS agency as a network administrator.

I am also a member of the West Albany Italian Benevolent Society and the Polish American Citizens Club (Albany, NY).

Links

Contacting Will - WC2L

William Liporace
763 Huntingdon Drive
Niskayuna, NY 12309-2926

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