W9GL is located in a rural area south of Madison, ideally situated for a nice antenna farm and low noise levels.  Several out buildings provide for storage, a shop, chickens and a reserve ham station.  Jim was first licensed as WN9GGD in 1971 and got his General ticket, W9GGD,  in 1972.  In the 80's he earned his Advanced and Extra class licenses and became KQ9L.  In 1996 he opted for W9GL.

Jim attended Monroe elementary and high schools.  He furthered his studies at Whitewater and graduated with a degree in sociology in 1971.  He was first employed at Swiss Colony until 1975 and then Trucks, Inc. where he became a partner in the business.  He retired in 1998.

The pictures show some of Jim's large Morse key and microphone collections and old radio restorations.  He has scored well in several ARRL and CQ DX contests when operating from his previous location near Monroe.  Jim has operated from HQ9R, Swan Island, V3, Belize, and continues to operate and visit ham friends in Honduras.

He is a life member of ARRL, and is a member of MDXC and FLARC, serving as vice president and president of MDXC.

His station is impressive including a Collins S line, Collins KWM-2, Drake B and C Lines, and an Icom IC-756 Pro.  An ALS-600 amplifier and Dentron tuner complete  the shack.

Antennas facilities include two eighty and one forty foot towers.  One eighty five foot tower has a HyGain TH-11, 80 meter delta loop and dipoles for 80, 40 and 30 meters.  The second eighty five foot tower is insulated at the base and serves as a 160 and 80 meter vertical.  A five band quad for 20 through 10 meters is at the top.  An AV640 vertical is also resident in the apple orchard.

  

EST Sept 10, 2011