The History of W4II
I was first licensed in 1962 as KN3SFW in Camp Hill PA, where I was raised. Camp Hill is a small Borough located across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg, the State Capitol.
K3SFW was earned in 1965 by taking the exam in front of the FCC Engineer-in -Charge in Baltimore MD. After a stint to help Uncle Sam from 1966-1968, I was employed in the electronics field, manufacturing crystals, filters, and  oscillators. In 1970 I became employed by Ralston Purina where I held various positions with Ralston Purina/Nestle and Ralcorp Holdings. I retired in 2002, at age 54, after 33 years of service. I was VP Quality and Product Safety for the Company.
When I transferred to St. Louis World HQ in 1972, I obtained W0OTA, followed by K0YR in 1976. That call was held until we relocated to Fairhope AL in 2003, when I obtained K4NP. I acquired W4II (better CW call) in March 2009. Fairhope is a quaint little resort town, located on the east bank of Mobile Bay, a tad north of the Gulf of Mexico.
I have always enjoyed chasing DX on CW, and it is still my preferred mode. The current station consists of a Ten Tec Orion II, and an Alpha 91B.
In 1978 I took down the last tower and monoband yagis. I have used only wire antennas since then and still enjoy experimenting with them.
I am on the DXCC Honor Roll, and have completed 5BDXCC and 5BWAZ. I have 350 entities confirmed. | 
college (thank the LORD!) and our third Golden Retriever, Tanner.
I enjoy old keys and bugs. I accumulated a very nice collection, but have since trimmed it WAY down. I got tired of dusting the pieces! You can view pictures of some of the keys by clicking on the link above......