Herb Jordan  W9LA

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 6318 Putnam Rd., Madison  53711

Herb earned his Class B amateur license in July of 1950 and was issued W9LAA.  In 1951 he obtained a Class A license.  In 1975 he progressed to Amateur Extra and became W9LA in 1976.

He attended college North Central College (IL) and received a BS degree in engineering.  Shortly thereafter he obtained a First Class commercial license and went to work for WTKM in Hartford.  In 1953 he moved to Madison where he worked for WKOW-TV, WISC-TV and WHA-TV.  Herb retired from WHA-TV in June of 1990.

W9LA boasts a TS-870 transceiver, TL-922 HF amplifier, SB-610 monitor scope, TM-721dual band FM transceiver, DX-Cluster packet equipment and an Apple computer for logging.  There's plenty of spare equipment in storage too, including a homebrew HF amplifier with a pair of 3-400's.

Herb is a member of ARRL, FLARC, MDXC, INDXA, Ragchewers Club and NCDXF.  He has earned DXCC mixed (361), phone (360), CW (311) and DXCC #1 .  As well, WAZ, WAC, Golden Jubilee DXCC and Bicentennial 200 QSO awards hang on the walls.  He received the MDXC Hog award in 1998 and 2003.

W9LA has a TH6 at sixty feet with a VHF/UHF dual band antenna and a small beam for packet.  His location nearly the top of a hill looking towards the north gives him very good results.  The present station is a long shot from his first, which was a Stancor ST203 transmitter and Gonset receive converter in his car.  Originally he used a buddy's station at school and recalls when he issued his first CW CQ from that station he was so flustered when he got a reply that his buddy had to finish the QSO.

How serious can a guy get about ham radio?  At one time Herb put a table top in the back seat of his 1965 Pontiac and installed his Collins S-Line.  He had to pull off the road to tune or make adjustments and then resume his travels.