About me:

Tomas David Hood: Amateur Radio Operator, NW7US (Assigned by the FCC)

Check out my Ham Radio and Shortwave Radio Listening Forums: Click here to check out the discussion forums

Check out my latest website: A New Page for Digital modes: http://digital.hfradio.org/





NW7US Quick Links:

+ NW7US - HFRadio.org
+ My Music Space
+ NW7US at Live.com

I live and work in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley of western Montana. My QTH (location) is in Stevensville, Montana. That is in "Grid Square DN36, ITU Zone 6, CQ Zone 4.

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I have a weather station - it is part of the Weather Underground 'Personal Weather Station' network... click below for the full data sheet of weather. You can also view more about my weather at my personal weather page.



Take a look at my slide show...



About Tomas Hood, NW7US

I am a father and husband, a business owner, a musician and song writer, the contributing editor to several magazines, and an Amateur Radio Operator.

I am more than a passive hobbyist, in that I hope to inspire others to pursue hobbies that cause personal growth as well as contribute to public benefit. Amateur Radio is one such hobby, as is musical performance and song writing.

( You can learn more about my musical endeavors by visiting http://myspace.com/tomashood ).

One of the core passions driving my activities in amateur radio and in music (song writing as well as performance) is the simple, fundamental desire to communicate with people. I'm like the fictional character in Roger Waters' "Radio Chaos", turning the dials on the shortwave radio, wanting to 'talk to the people'. Because I care about those around me, far and near, I want to connect. Music is a language between people from diverse spaces.

Amateur Radio is the same sort of language, if you will. When I meet someone on the air, whether it is by PSK31, CW, or voice, we lower some of our barriers and we extend friendship. Sometimes, this can have a great impact on a life.

My desire is to enable others to communicate, too. Because of this, I write the propagation columns in Popular Communications, CQ Magazine, CQ VHF, and you will also see articles from me in other magazines, such as Monitoring Times. I write and maintain an amateur radio website, the "NW7US Communications Web Resource - HFRadio.org" website. I've been involved in starting school radio clubs, volunteering during examinations, teaching and mentoring.



(Above: This is 'Red' - my Editor at CQ Magazine, and CQ VHF Magazine. Thank you, Red, for all of your hard work in fitting my columns into the magazine, each month, and for the great editing on my text.)



(Above: This is Edith - my Editor at Popular Communications Magazine. Thank you, Edith, for all of your hard work with my column and artwork, as well as putting up with my last-minute deadline scares.)

ABOUT MY RADIO INTERESTS

My radio interest started when I was a young boy. Around the age of nine, I discovered Shortwave Radio Listening ( see my shortwave page at http://swl.hfradio.org ). I had discovered my parents' Sony portable radio that had four bands; Shortwave, Longwave, FM, and AM.

(I've recently obtained a used replacement for this long-lost radio from my childhood! I found it at a Ham Fest. What joy!)

Amazing sounds and exotic stations struck my fancy as I tuned around on the dial. Soon, I found myself listening to the time signals on WWV, news broadcasts from the BBC, and cultural shows from Radio South Africa, Radio Canada International, HCJB, and Radio Australia. These were just a few of the International Shortwave Broadcast stations that captured my imagination. I felt that I was traveling the world, without leaving my backyard.

I was particularly fascinated by WWV's hourly propagation bulletin. I sat listening with rapt attention and great imagination, while thinking of Skylab and space, and radio waves...

I began to look for books on electronics and radio (tubes, electricity, and that sort of thing). My folks bought electronic kits for me to build. I built a simple AM transmitter kit, and VHF receiver kits that enabled me to hear Air Traffic from the local airport. Listening to Northwest Orient pilots talking with the control tower, or hearing South Africa, catapulted me into a world of ideas and possibilities.

As I entered Junior High School, I acquired a military surplus shortwave receiver. Late at night when I was supposed to be sleeping, my bedroom would be lit with the glow of a warm orange light of the tubes in the heart of the radio. I heard signals from all over the world, some of them seemed to flow into my room with ease from the dipole antenna that I hid around the eaves of the house. Even AM Broadcast-band DXing was exciting. I remember hearing stations from South America, such as a station from Peru.

While I served in the United States Army, stationed in Europe, I would stay tuned to the world by using any receiver I could find. An example of my obsession would be from times when I was deployed to tactical communications sites ‘in the field.’ When I was not on duty, and not asleep, I would sneak into backup communications shelters (tactical units sitting on a truck, kind of like those campers on the back of a pickup truck), and fire up military communications gear so I could listen to my news from the BBC, or a show from Trans World Radio in Monte Carlo.

My service to the country was as an Army communicator, in the signal corps. I worked in HF, as well as Troposcatter, Microwave, and satellite communications. I also worked a great deal with computers.

But it was not until after my tour with the Military that I finally became a licensed Radio Amateur. After leaving the Army, I met a group of Amateur Radio operators who encouraged me to get my license. They gave me the Novice test, one day, in a very crowded cafeteria at work (The Travelers, in Hartford, Connecticut, where I worked as a programmer/analyst). I was not only required to receive the Morse code, but also to send a text that they provided out of a technical manual.

I passed the test! I lost no time in setting up my station (a random wire of about 200 feet along with an old Kenwood transceiver and an old Navy Key), and waited for my official “Ham Ticket” from the FCC to arrive in the mail, so I could transmit. I would listen, practicing my ability to receive CW. Night after night, I would sit and try to head-copy CW. (Head copy means to decode the CW in your head, rather than write it down).

One day, when I arrived home after work, I opened the mail box and found the envelope from the FCC! The license finally arrived. Now I could not only listen, but, could communicate all over the world. Sure, as a Novice, I was only allowed to communicate in CW, but I was more than proud to do just that! I felt all of the history and was filled with pride that I could use CW, too.

The problem, however, was that I am human. During my first CW QSO, I forgot my name, English, and Morse code. I was sweating! But, slowly, I found my mind again, and began having a great QSO.

I did a lot of Morse code operation during the first months, and continued using CW but also discovered the world on 10 meters. What a band! The propagation was worldwide during the last part of a great solar cycle. The excitement of talking with people from so many locations was never higher than during those first 12 months. Now, I could really travel the world without leaving home. To perhaps learn just a little bit more about cultures and places outside of my little world.

I upgraded to Amateur Extra about seven or so years after my first license. I desired to work DX, and changed my call to NW7US.

I now also enjoy PSK31, RTTY, and other digital modes. These all have their benefits and challenges.

I am the father of four children. Three of them are now licensed. My oldest son, Atreju, is KD7TZQ. Ashley, my daughter, is KD7QKT. KD7NHF is Nathon, my middle son. Robby is not yet licensed, though has a desire to get his own. And, my wife is licensed as KD7TZR. This is a great hobby for the whole family to be involved in.

I am often found on the digital sub-bands of 40, 30, and 20 meters - running such modes as PSK-31. Here's a spot map from one day's loggings in September, 2008:



Visit my homepage ( http://hfradio.org/ ). Or, meet me on the HF bands. To see another hobby page: http://myspace.com/tomashood - my Musical hobby. Another radio page is my Live Spaces HF Radio page at http://nw7us.spaces.live.com – which has a blog I use to keep you up-to-date regarding HFRadio.org and other topics.

I am quite interested in space weather and radio propagation. Check out http://prop.hfradio.org/ - a complete view of current and forecast conditions.

I am currently the writer of the monthly Propagation columns of CQ Magazine and Popular Communications Magazine. I also write the quarterly propagation columns in CQ VHF Magazine. You may also find two yearly articles by me in Monitoring Times.

In the past, I was in US Army MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System), and served as the US Army MARS State MARS Director (SMD) for Washington State. I've been the Emergency Operations Officer, too. Time does not allow me to do this, at this time.

My latest interest in PSK31, CW, and QRP. I am working on QRP homebrew projects. My current radio is an Icom IC-7000, and I have an Ameritron AL80A amplifier (not hooked up, yet). My current dipole antenna is cut for 10.110 MHz. It is up about 25 or 30 feet. I have great radio horizons around my antenna.

73

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