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AB8KT Kenneth J. Gilcrest Toronto, OH QCWA # 34160 |
20 WPM EXTRA (I originally put this on here to tease a good friend of mine (K8XQ)that was supposed to upgrade at the same time I did, he chickened out and ended up getting his Extra after the morse code requirement was dropped. He is now a SK, and I leave it here sort of, in memory of him).
Former Calls: KA8FFL, KB7ZTU, and AB7KT (all these callsigns were sequentially issued callsigns, AB8KT is a vanity callsign). I held the callsign, KA8FFL as a Novice and a General. FWIW, I took the General Exam at the FCC Field Office in Monroeville, PA (suburb of Pittsburgh PA). I got the callsign of KB7ZTU when I upgraded to Advanced Class (in Nevada)and held that callsign for a month or two. When I upgraded to Advanced Class, I took the20 WPM code test the same day and passed, but I waited a month or two to take the Extra Class theory exam. I chose AB8KT as a vanitity callsign simply because I strongly believe in having a callsign that corresponds to the call district you live in, so when I moved to Ohio I wanted a callsign from the 8th call district. I had been AB7KT for many years and had made thousands of contacts using that callsign, so I decided to just change from AB7KT to AB8KT.
SKCC #4500 Tx6 (Straight Key Century Club)
FISTS #1755 (The International Morse Preservation Society)
QCWA, Life Member#34160 (Licensed in 1979) (Quarter Century Wireless Association)
NAQCC#6338 (North American QRP CW Club)
QRP ARCI #13246 (QRP Amateur Radio Club International)
OMISS number is 7249 (Old Man International Sideband Society)
ARRL Life Member
And, FWIW: I am also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
I am a retired Firefighter/Paramedic, Clark Co. Fire Department, Las Vegas NV, IAFF Local 1908. FWIW: at one time I worked for over a year in what at the time was the busiest one square mile for EMS in the world (the downtown area of Las Vegas). Later I worked at what was then the busiest paramedic rescue in the USA which was stationed at the busiest fire station in the USA (CCFD Station 18 in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip). I have been involved in numerous EMS and Fire incidents that received world-wide news coverage. I have provided EMS service (not nessessarily treatment) to many VIPs, celebrities, The President of the United States (no treatment, just followed him around- never spoke to him or got near him), the Vice President of the Untied States, as well as several Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates (again, I just followed the motorcade around to various events and sat outside in an ambulance. I never provided any actual treatment or transport for any politcal candidate, nor did I interact with them in any way other than to follow them around town and be there in case anything hapened: and thank God nothing ever did happen). I retired as soon as I reached the minimum age for retirement (at that point I already had more than enough time on the job): so I retired very young and then started a completely different chapter of life in a new location with a new part-time job. I am working part-time as a paramedic at a local municipal EMS agency here in Eastern Ohio.
ARRL Awards:
DXCC-mixed bands and modes. I currently have 193 countries confirmed. All but a couple on CW. Many (well over 100) running 5 watts of CW. The remainder with 100 watts. All with a single element wire antenna at no more than 35 feet (10.6 meters) off the ground.I have worked and confirmed in excess of 100 countries on 10,12,15,17, and 20 meters. I am working on 9 band DXCC.
February 22, 2015