First involvement in Amateur Radio was 1972 in the Chicagoland area. Built, and fixed a number of Heathkit devices and radios in elementary school. Licensed in 1985, and have been a ham since at le...view moreFirst involvement in Amateur Radio was 1972 in the Chicagoland area. Built, and fixed a number of Heathkit devices and radios in elementary school. Licensed in 1985, and have been a ham since at least then.Currently, I'm very involved in Oklahoma Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), and I play the webmaster at the South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) web presence located at http://w5nor.org.On that site, Gary Skaggs WB5ULK and I have gathered, scanned, and assembled the 28 years of the Central Oklahoma Amateur Radio's Collector and Emitter (C&E) newsletters at http://w5nor.org/ce/. Here you'll find each of the 325 monthly newsletters from February 1975 through February 2002. If you remember these newsletters, it will bring back great memories. If you don't remember them, you'll love to see a snapshot of amateur radio in the Central Oklahoma area. Read the advertisements to see what was new, and exciting. Lots of great stories that probably are rehashed in every section of the country.Also, I've created a section on the W5NOR.org/qrzedd website that's dedicated to the stories about the "great one", Q. R. Zedd A5A. These stories were published in the C&E over almost 10 years. Here you'll find all of the 104 stories that were created by our own KU5B Jack Bickham. Some great amateur radio stories and references throughout these issues.Another web project is an online LearnMorse Code program located at http://w5nor.org/morse/. Here I've created 20 days worth of training, each with five 5 minute training sessions. So, in 30 minutes a day, for 20 days, you'll be able to learn Morse Code at 20 WPM. Here you can enter your email address, and obtain daily reminder messages for the training, and another 20 lessons of practice sessions. If you already know the code, come on by and practice your code skills online at http://w5nor.org/morse/I'm also playing the role of the Cleveland County ARES Emergency Coordinator. We've got a great group of hams that are ready for anything, and are learning something new every day. We get about 50 or so to check in on a weekly basis. You can listen in on the weekly ARES net at 8:00 pm Central Time on Tuesdays by visiting our http://w5nor.org/listen/ Broadcastify service.I've been involved with the SCARS repeater technical committee since 1985, and we've been operating VHF since about 1980, UHF since the '90s and APRS since the '00s. Always something new, always something to do.To help local hams study for their Amateur Radio exams, I've created a study guide that should help you CRAAM for the test. The Correct Radio Amateur Answer Manual (CRAAM) lists the exam pool questions, and ONLY the correct answers for all three pools, Technician, General, and Extra. The CRAAM is available on Amazon in paper, and Kindle versions, for $19.99 at: https://www.amazon.com/Correct-Radio-Amateur-Answers-Manual/dp/1535483318/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473305864&sr=8-1&keywords=mark+paul+kleine or from MTC Radio at: http://www.mtcradio.com/correct-radio-amateur-answers-manual-craam-by-n5hzr/ or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/craambook or on the web at http://crookedcornrow.com/craam or can be purchased at a SCARS meeting.In 2017 I start a new project as President of the Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs (CORA). This group works throughout the year to prepare for the annual (since 1974) hamfest, Ham Holiday. This event happens on the fourth weekend of July each year. More information is available at http://w5nor.org/hamholiday/.view less