Started as a short wave broadcast listener facinated by hearing programmes from distant countries and became hooked on ham radio after finding stations on 20 and 40m. Licensed in 1965 and soon found I could work more on cw than am, with home built low power tx's. Eventually I did not build the modulator stages. 10 years on, got my first HF ssb transceiver, but by then the cw mould had firmly set and a few years later went back to a separate tx and rx in a cw only station. These days, with modern transceivers, the cw filters & accessories still take priority and it has only been in recent years that I have added a desk mic. Have spent times specialising on 10m fm, 2m ssb and packet, but eventually came back to 160-6m cw. Currently, with a shortage of shack time I am not really into regular nets or skeds and so tend to be active during contests to maximise brief sessions. I'm usually on cw during HF events, but sometimes plug in a mic for VHF activity night contests. Have been active (usually QRP cw)during past holiday and business trips from CT7, EA6, EA8, EI, F, GD, GJ, GM, GU, GW, IK0&8, ON, OY, OZ, SV5, ZB2, 5B and 9H.