W4SV Stanley L. 'Stan' Vandiver Valparaiso, IN QCWA # 31941 Chapter 36

My first license (Novice) arrived in 1978 when I was in Air Force boot camp. Back then I was WD9ILO. Upgraded to General at the FCC Field Office in San Francisco and then went to Korea for a couple of years where I operated as HL9KG. Upgraded to Advanced at the Chicago FCC Office after my discharge, became KD9BE, and kept that for many years. Upgraded to Extra in anticipation of the vanity callsign program and got my first choice, W4SV, on opening day for that gate in 1996.

My main passion for amateur radio is manned space missions. I've followed along since Owen Garriott, W5LFL, first took a handie-talkie onboard a shuttle in 1983. I've been fortunate now to talk to many astronauts and cosmonauts on shuttles, the Mir Space Station, and also the International Space Station. You can often catch me on the ISS packet digipeater.

73, Stan

July 06, 2016