W6AIY - Robert F. 'Bob' Sherwood W6AIY

Robert F. 'Bob' Sherwood
Fresno, CA

QCWA # 36887
Chapter 213

Started in Ham Radio in 1977 with the call WD6AIY. When I retired in 2006 I had a 40 x 50 ft. shop built to house all of my boy toys and ham radios. I constructed a ham shack in one corner of the shop, moved my 55 ft. tower to the back and rebuilt the Cushcraft ATB 34 yagi. For some reason all of that work took a lot longer at 70 years of age then it did at 35. Unpacked the old Kenwood 520 se and bought a used Kenwood 480sat for the mobile, Then I purchased a Kenwood 590s as the primary radio in the shack. Up graded from advanced class license to extra in March 2012 and obtained the vaniety call W6AIY. Ham Radio is as much fun now then it was 35 years ago.

From 3-18-14 to 4-14-14, I operated Maritime Mobile as W6AIY/VP9 on the Bermuda-registered cruise ship Island Princess while on a cruise from Las Angelis through the Panama Canal to Florida, and then returning back to Las Angeles on the same ship. I was restricted to 25 Watts and an antenna no longer than 5 foot. The procedure to get permission for operating from a cruise ship is not as hard as I thought. You send a letter to the cruse company telling them what your station will be, and they will send you a list of restrictions which you sign and send back. Then a fax to the country the ship is registered in, in this case Bermuda. Bermuda then sends you a permit /VP9, then $10.00 and a form to AARL to receive your International Amateur Radio Permit (IARP). Last thing to do is have your station inspected by the Chief Technical officer after you get it set up on the ship. I was able to make 18 contacts into the U.S. and Europe with S/5 or better reports. Had a lot of fun and learned a lot.

Thanks for looking at my page. QSL 100 %.

Bob W6AIY

November 14, 2015