Radio Team

• Pista was born in 1951. He was radio operator in the military between 1971 and 1973. In 1973 he joined HA5KHT club station and was a very active member of the contest team until 1990. In 1976 he was licensed as HA7VT and changed to HA5AO in 1984. Due to professional commitments, he wasn’t active between 1990 and 2004. Pista is back on the air since 2004 and active on HF bands (mainly CW).

  He is DX enthusiast and member of the HA5HRK (Haros Radio Club), A1 Operator Club, INDEXA, CDXC, ODXG.

  DX peditions: T88CI (2008, 2009), 7P8AO (2009, 2010), YJ0HA (2010), C21HA (2012) and member of ZL9HR team in 2012 and 9M4SLL in 2013.
  Website: http://www.ha5ao.com

• Dave started playing with radio as a youngster in the early 1970s, using radios that glowed. Initially he was an SWL, listening to Radio Moscow battling it out with the Voice of America and the BBC on the broadcast bands. First licensed in the UK as G4HJT, he was keen to chase DX . With a QTH at the bottom of a valley and low-powered equipment, CW was a much more effective mode for DX than SSB; bitten by the CW bug, that’s been his favorite mode ever since.

  College, moves to W and VE and back again, work, and other activities kept Dave out of radio for decades. He met his xyl in this period and completely forgot to mention his radio habit to her; luckily she is very understanding and didn’t leave when, years later, radios and antennae started to appear. Unfortunately for his DXCC ranking, Dave failed to fully take advantage of solar Cycle 23 (lesson: make the most of today’s propagation because tomorrow’s may be worse!). He now enjoys CW ragchewing, warm dark beer, SOTA (activating and chasing), red wine, occasional contesting, Scotch, chasing DX, and when possible, being DX.

  He was a member of the ZL9HR DXpedition in 2012 along with several other members of the Mellish Reef 2014 team, and will be active from the Austral Islands as TX6RV in November 2013.
  Website: http://k3el.wordpress.com 

 Gene K5GS Co-organizer, Treasurer

• Les found Ham Radio with some High School friends and became K2SHL when he got his general. He became interested in DX and discovered that contests were a great way to find more DX and started contesting in the early 1970’s. In 1996 he received W2LK.

  In 1992, he operated from the US Virgin Islands for his first experience on the other end of a pileup. In 1998, he and his friend Steve Weinstein, K2WE, were the first Americans licensed to operate from Vietnam since the war as 3W6LK and 3W6WE. Since then for CQWW CW, he has operated from J7, KH6, CT9 and V3 and for many years from K2LE and W2AX in Vermont. In 2011 he was part of the VK9HR Lord Howe expedition and in 2012, ZL9HR on Campbell Island. He is active on all bands from 160 to 6 meters and particularly likes 160 and 80 meter Dxing.

  He is a member of Cwops (726), North Jersey DX Association, Hudson Valley Contesters and Dxers, Order of Boiled Owls of NY, the Yankee Clipper Contest Club and ODXG.

  Professionally, he started his career with IBM as a programmer, worked in several banks and brokerages and eventually ran a successful consulting and staffing business with his wife, Barbara.

• Glenn entered Amateur Radio in 1975 at the age of twelve, initially licensed as WN4CSH.  Upon earning subsequent license class upgrades, he received the call of WA4CSH.  He obtained his Amateur Extra Class license in 2007 and shortly thereafter obtained his current call of KE4KY.  Glenn is an active contester and DX enthusiast who currently serves as an officer in the Derby City DX Association (Louisville, Kentucky).

  Glenn’s life long career is in public service.  He served as an EMT/Paramedic prior to joining the ranks of a major urban police department as a police officer.  Much of his career was in the investigation of major case offenses, serving in several specialized investigative units.  After a short retirement period in 2005 Glenn returned to public service and is currently serving as a sworn officer in a government agency.

  A member of the 2012 ZL9HR Campbell Island DXpedition, Glenn looks forward to his next adventure.

  His amateur radio affiliations include: ARRL (Life Member); Derby City DX Association; Bullitt Amateur Radio Society; Amateur Radio Transmitting Society of Louisville; INDEXA; NCDXF; QCWA; SKCC, ODXG and FISTS.
  Website: http://www.ke4ky.net

•  Mike, originally from Moscow, Russia, has lived in the USA for the past 22 years. First licensed as UA3AIW, he operated mostly from UK3ABF, UK3ACL, and other club stations in Moscow. In 1998 he received AD6GY and WA6O in 1999. He’s a member of Northern California Contest Club, and 40m captain in N6RO contest team.

  Over the years he participated in many CW contests from DX locations – with “Team Vertical” from Jamaica, Fiji, Bahamas as 6Y2A, 6Y8A, 6Y9A, 3D2XA, 3D2OK, C6AAW. He also operated from HC8N, Galapagos. Since 2003 he held a CQWW CW NA record in Single Op/Single Band (15)/Low power category.  His non-contesting DX-trips include: CE0Y/WA6O, FO0SHA, ZK1WAL. Most recently he was part of the Clipperton 2013 DX-pedition team.

  In his professional life, he is a software engineer with Ph.D. degree in computer science. He works for HP Labs in Palo Alto, CA, Mike is married and has two sons.

• Gyorgy Kovacs, entered HAM radio in 1979 at youngster’s RadioClub of Miskolc (HA9KOK). First licenced in 1984 (HA9TE)Moved to Budapest in 1991, changed call to HA5CTA, then HA5UK from 2001. Main interests: HF DX-ing, VHF meteor scatter. Preferred modes: CW, SSB, RTTY, SSTV, PSK, MS-FSK. 9band DXCC, DXCC Honor Roll, IOTA Honor Roll, WAZ, WAS…

  Dxpeditions: HF:   YJ0HA (2010), C21HA (2012), 9M4SLL (2013). VHF MS: YO5KUW KN17 (2006), YO5KAI KN15 (2007), YO6KCN KN26 (2008), YO/HA5KFV KN36 (2009).

  Works as advisor for a financial firm, married with 2 children.

• Luke was first licenced in 1981, aged 17, as a Novice, then later that year Unrestricted.  Over the years, he explored various aspects of the hobby, but other interests intervened though most of the 90s until 2006. Finding new interest in Amateur Radio, particularly HF DX, he started the chase, with the Mixed DXCC certificate on his wall in 2009. With a few more countries on Top Band, he’ll have 9BDXCC.

  His first DXpedition was with the VK9LA team on Lord Howe Island in 2009. In 2010, 11 and 12 he operated with the YJ0VK team in Vanuatu, and in 2013 VK9NT Norfolk Island.

  Luke is a member of the Oceania DX Group, FISTS CW Club, and various other clubs. He prefers CW, but has also used various digital and phone modes.

Heye, DJ9RR

• Norbert was first licensed in 1961 as DJ7JC. He spent his professional career in electronics, beginning with radio / television technical training and later electronic engineering-microwave research development, including teaching RF-communication techniques. He spent 35 years on all levels of management up to 15 years as CEO level of a training and research center.

  Retired since 2005 Norbert is a well known DX-pedition participant. His interests include CW, DXing, SSB and Digi modes, contesting, DX-peditions and traveling around the world or with my mobile home in Europe.

  His DX-peditions include:

  TI9KK, TI7/DJ7JC,
  3D20CR, FK/DJ7JC,
  VU4RG, VU3NLF,
  A31JC, 5W0NM, A31A,  E51NAA, ZL/DJ7JC, W6/DJ7JC,
  TJ9PF, PJ4C, PJ4M, 5X8C,
  V84SMD, S21ZBC/S21ZBB,
  CQ3L, CR3L, CT9/DJ7JC, CS95A, CT8/DJ7JC
  LX0HQ, LX7I, LX0RL,
  OH0CE, OH0/DJ7JC,
  TK4A, TK7JC
  VK2IAW, VK2/-, VK5/-,VK6/-,VK7/-,VK8/DJ7JC

  Norbert brings many years of DX-pedition experience to the team, we welcome his participation on Mellish Reef.

• Born in 06/24/1956, Luigi received his amateur radio license in 1982 at the age of 26 with the call sign IK8BZA. His preferred operating modes are SSB, RTTY and SSTV, with high scores in many contests. He began operating the amateur satellites AO13, AO10 etc with one contact in 1985 with DP0SL Space Shuttle. Being a contester, he participates in: ARI, DXCC, JARTS WW RTTY, CQ WW RTTY, WPX WW RTTY, and others. In 1998 his call sign changed to IV3YER when he changed his QTH. Luigi’s dream has been to join a DX-pedition, he is very happy to be selected for the Mellish Reef 2014 team, his first DX-pedition.