I was first licensed in 1961 as WN8AQL in Marquette, MI.  In addition, I operated from Biloxi, MS and Austin, TX, and held the call-signs WB5FCO and WJ5MH.  AJ8MH was issued September 26, 2008.  My wife was licensed March 20, 2009, and holds the call-sign KD8KMN.
 
AJ8MH is a member of ARRL, and the Hiawatha Amateur Radio Association of Marquette County.  AJ8MH has also been a member of FISTS ( #14321 ), SKCC ( #5857 ), AMSAT, YL - ISSB ( #9420 ), QRP - ARCI ( #3904 ) and 10-10 ( #5991 ).
 
I retired from AT&T Mobility (Cingular / AT&T Wireless / McCaw, etc) as Operation's Manager, and joined the ranks of the unemployed in February 2008.  I left Texas and moved back "home" to Marquette in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, fully realizing that most people move south after retirement.
 
The radio-room (my little museum) in Michigan is on-the-air.  Current antennas include a Mosley TA-33-M-WARC (4 element beam) at 36', and a ground mounted homebrew twin-T capacitive loaded vertical dipole (doublet) for 30 and 40 meters.
 
At one time, I kept a running history on the WEB of every new project, and every new mode of operation I enjoyed, but keeping the pages updated proved difficult.  Now, I've decided to keep it simple.
 
Most all of the new modes have been tried during the past several years.  I've experimented with packet satellites, antennas, built QRP rigs, and I've operated in many contests.

  In 2002, I found duplicates of the Hallicrafters equipment I had during the sixties.  I refurbished all of it, and actually use the station.
 
Refurbishing the old station lead to many other projects including an RCA Radiola, a Hallicrafters SX-16 and SX-99, an Echophone EC-1, Heathkit AT-1 transmitter and a complete Heathkit HW-101 station.  I've also refurbished a small collection of telegraph equipment manufactured by Signal Electric of Menominee, Michigan.
 
Check the Site Map for pictures and links to many of my projects.
 
These days you'll find me chasing DX as I try and make up for lost time.  With so many avenues to follow in this great hobby, my DX totals really aren't what they should be, so I'm making an effort to greatly increase the number of entities worked.  Links to my tracking spreadsheets are listed below along with my current totals.
 
73, and hope to work you on the bands...again, or for the first time.
~  Joe  [ AJ8MH ]

  Download:  ( WAS Tracking ~ ARRL LoTW ~ Excel Spreadsheet )  My original WAS-Mixed was completed in the early 1970's in Austin, Texas under the call WB5FCO.  After moving to Michigan in 2008, I made an effort to work all states again, but on CW, phone and PSK-31.  I succeeded and was awarded the ARRL Triple Play Award ( #533 ) on February 15, 2011.  All contacts were made running 100 watts or less.  See Excel spreadsheet for additional information.
 
  Download:  ( DXCC Tracking ~ QSL Card and ARRL LoTW ~ Excel Workbook )  My DXCC Country total as of January 31, 2012 is 276 worked (of 341 on the current DXCC list) with 268 confirmed by QSL Card running 100 watts or less.  LoTW totals differ.  See Excel workbook for additional information.
 
  I also use eQSL, but I don't track my progress as closely as LoTW.  It seems to me that more operators are using LoTW, anyway.  Tracking CQ Worked All Zones (WAZ) is a nice feature of eQSL, and as of November 30, 2011 I have 36 of 40 Zones confirmed since September 2008.

DX Code of Conduct

1)  I will listen, and listen, and then listen again before calling.
2)  I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly.
3)  I will not trust the cluster and will be sure of the DX station's call sign before calling.
4)  I will not interfere with the DX station nor anyone calling and will never tune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot.
5)  I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before I call.
6)  I will always send my full call sign.
7)  I will call and then listen for a reasonable interval. I will not call continuously!
8)  I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another call sign, not mine.
9)  I will not transmit when the DX operator queries a call sign not like mine.
10)  I will not transmit when the DX station requests geographic areas other than mine.
11)  When the DX operator calls me, I will not repeat my call sign unless I think he has copied it incorrectly.

12)  I will be thankful if and when I do make a contact.
13)  I will respect my fellow hams and conduct myself so as to earn their respect.
 
*14)  I will have patience and ignore the jerks, especially the pile-up police, jammers, pirates and the ill-mannered, both on frequency and on the DX cluster.  I will remember I can always turn the technology off and do something more productive to pass the time.

*Added by AJ8MH - 21 April 2011  Please visit the "DX Code of Conduct" site.
( www.dx-code.org )

  Marquette is located along the southern shore of Lake Superior about 150 miles north of Green Bay, Wisconsin in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  Marquette is the home of Northern Michigan University and one of four Olympic training centers in the United States.  Marquette is also know for its beauty and all season recreation.  It's also a shipping port, supporting two active ore mines in the western third of the county.  Millions of tons of Hematite and Magnetite are processed and shipped through Marquette each year.  The controversial development of the Kennecott Eagle Minerals (Rio Tinto) underground nickel and copper ore mine continues.  This is a sulfide mining operation, and it's located on the Yellow Dog Plains in northern Marquette county.  For more local information, visit the links below.

Marquette Links:  ~  City  ~  County  ~  Downtown Marquette  ~  Lake Superior Community Partnership
Marquette is the sister city of Kajaani, Finland, and Higashiomi (formerly Yokaichi), Japan.

 

  Are you interested in Amateur radio?  Have you been thinking of enjoying this great hobby?  If so, read below.
 
"Welcome to the World of Ham Radio.  You've heard of it.  You probably know that Amateur Radio Operators are also called Hams.  (Nobody knows quite why!*)  But who are these people and what do they do?"
 
"Every minute of every hour of every day, 365 days a year, Radio Amateurs all over the world communicate with each other.  It's a way of discovering new friends while experimenting with different and exciting new ways to advance the art of their hobby."
 
"Ham Radio is a global fraternity of people with common and yet widely varying interests, able to exchange ideas and learn more about each other with every on-the-air contact.  Because of this, Amateur Radio has the ability to enhance international relations as does no other hobby."
 
[ This introduction to Ham Radio is from the 1985 ARRL Handbook. ]

  Anyone who has an interest in electronics, radio theory, communications, and serving the public will enjoy this hobby.  Let Amateur Radio open up an whole new world to you.  Explore many operating modes including voice, television, several computer generated digital modes, and yes, even Morse code.  Communicate around the corner or around the world!
 
Amateur Radio is a licensed radio service.  To earn a license requires passing examinations regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, and the Hiawatha Amateur Radio Association of Marquette County can guide you through the learning process.  The members and officers of the HARA are interested in sharing our enjoyable and interesting hobby with anyone who is curious about Amateur Radio and communications.  Click on the Hiawatha Amateur Radio Association banner below to visit their web page.

  Need more information about Amateur Radio?  Click on these links.
    1)  What is Ham Radio
    2)  Licensing-Education-Training

  *A magazine called Home Amateur Mechanic in the early 1900's featured many simple radio sets a person could build, and it's likely that when asked what kind of radio the operator was using, he may have simply replied...HAM.  HAM, of course, meant that the radio was built from a circuit shown in Home Amateur Mechanic magazine.  ~  Joe, AJ8MH
 
In the very early days of radio you didn't need a license, so radio hobbyists just built transmitters and started broadcasting.  Listeners that had built receivers started using the phrase: "Those guys are just hamming it up."  About 1923, the government saw need for an authority to regulate stations and formed the FCC.  Since the hobbyist needed a place to transmit, the ham bands were allocated.  The term "ham" stuck.
 
I think the term "ham" was coined back in Vaudeville days.  It meant "clowning around."  People would say, "He is a big ham or joker."  If you think about it, Vaudeville was at its peak in the pre-license days of radio.  ~  Tom, WØTO