K0EJ notebook

Project Phoenix: My hope is that this open notebook will document Project Phoenix - the K0EJ contest station rising from the ashes of some hardware left over from W1ZM, K4JNY/W4PA, and my previous station in Hendersonville,TN - just northeast of Nashville. Phoenix will exist on a 2 acre plot of land located at 912 Mowbray Pike, Soddy-Daisy,TN which is near Chattanooga.

Background: I was originally licensed as WN0URW on May 28, 1968 at the age of 13 in Winona, MN. I upgraded to General about a year later and received WA0URW. The Winona ARC had a novice license class every year at the home of George/K0DHI(sk). His son, Steve is N0NO, also a contester altho not currently active. Like many, my original interests were in CW traffic handling and rag-chewing. My first station consisted of a Heathkit DX-20 with a Knight V44 VFO, and a Knight R55A receiver. A lot of upgrades have occurred since. My other primary Elmers in those early days were Carl/WA9NIX, Pete/W0UWG->W0LN, Ken/WA0JPR->N0JP, and Les/K0BAD

After college graduation (1973-Physics-St Mary's College-Winona), I joined the Navy where I learned how to drive a submarine and operate a nuclear power plant. I did this for most of a 20-year career in various parts of the US (CT,SC,ID,CA,TN). My last assignment was at Vanderbilt University in Nashville where I retired in 1997 and we (xyl Judy and I) stayed put until our kids (Maegan and Ryan) were both out of high school. Most of those "retired" years were spent teaching basic physics and electrical/electronics topics at a community college.  In 2004, our youngest-Ryan- went off to college, so I returned to the nuclear power world as a power plant inspector for the USNRC. I was assigned as the resident inspector at TVA's Sequoyah Nuclear Plant near Chattanooga,TN. Judy and I moved here in the summer of 2004.