Amateur Radio Station N5KR - Plano, TX
I was introduced to Amateur Radio by my friend, Gary - N4TXI, in the Spring of 1997 while attending Mississippi State University. He convinced me to take my Technicians exam in August 1997 at the Hunstville (AL) Hamfest. I passed the first exam there and the second exam at the MidSouth (Memphis, TN) Hamfest the next month. I was licensed KD5CJS in Mississippi in October 1997 obtaining the Technicians Class License. I moved to the Dallas, Texas area in January 1998 and continued to study and practice morse code to move to the higher license classes. With the mentoring of N5KA, Henry and N5YA, Bill, I quickly received the General Class License in April 1998. I then received the Advanced Class License in September, 1998. I finally passed the exams (written and 20 wpm Morse Code) and received the Extra Class License in November, 1998 and assigned the call AC5RV. I applied and was granted my current call, N5KR, through the Vanity Callsign System in December 1998.
My main interests these days are mostly in HF communication. I enjoy SSB and RTTY contesting and ragchew from time to time. I do chase DX and am working to get my DXCC in SSB and RTTY. At this time, I do have enough countries to make DXCC, just need to apply at the next hamfest. I also dabble in PSK, but do not spend the time on it that I once did. CW has not kept my interest, and my skills in that area have deteriorated. I dabble a little in VHF doing some VHF contesting on 6m, 2m, and 440cm. But, outside that, about the only thing I do is perioically jump into a 2m repeater net.
For contesting, most of my operations were done at the Amatuer Station of N5YA/NM5O with some (mostly RTTY) at my home QTH. I have operated at N5YA/NM5O under my own callsign, as well as N5YA and NM5O. I operated from this station from January 1998 to September 2007.
N5YA recently moved from North Texas to East Texas, and is rebuilding his contest station at his new QTH. Once operational, I expect to be operating from his new station.
Station Information:
Current operation at N5KR has stopped while I determine which antenna I want to use to repace my Carolina Windom that was taken down in a big storm in Spring 2007. Thinking of going with a vertical this time to get a better take-off angle for DX. I am also taking a break from Amateur Radio to "recharge my batteries".
Current Station Information:
Callsign: N5KR
Class: Extra
Former callsign(s): KD5CJS, AC5RV
Club: North Texas Contest Club
Location: Plano, Texas (20 miles N of Dallas)
County: Collin
CQ Zone: 4
ITU Zone: 7
ARRL Section: NTX
Grid Square: EM13ob
Station email: n5kr@arrl.net
Current Equipment Information:
ICOM IC-756PRO II
LDG AT100 Auto Tuner
MicroHAM USB micro KEYER
Diawa CN-101 SWR/Power Meter
West Mountain Radio RigBlaster
Heil GM-5 w/boom and shock mount
Heil Proset 5
Kent Iambic CW paddles
RadioWorks Carolina Windom 80 Special @ 35ft (10-80m) - OUT OF COMMISSION
5/8 wave J-Pole for 2m/440cm
ICOM IC-706MK II
Kenwood TS-930SAT - BROKEN
Yaesu FT-817
ICOM IC-W32A
ICOM IC-2710H
DXLab for all logging
N1MM Logger for contest logging
QSL Information:
I QSL 100%. Cards can be sent either Direct or via the BURO. I am an active member of the ARRL and have full BURO priviledges. If you send direct, I will return Direct. If you send via the BURO, I will return via the BURO.
For Direct QSL's:
Matthew Burke - N5KR
3825 Dutton Dr
Plano, TX 75023
My incoming BURO (via your BURO):
ARRL W5 Incoming QSL Bureau
P.O. Box 2591
Claremore, OK 74018-2591
Manager: Jerry Chouinard, K5YAA
Please note that due to time contraints, I usually only do QSL cards 3-4 times a year. So if you send a card direct, it may be 6 months before you get the return. If you need your card quicker than this, please contact me via email at n5kr@arrl.net. I will mark your QSO as needing a quick return and will process it as soon as it arrives.
For direct QSLs, I prefer that you send an SAE with proper postage for your return. If you send me a QSL card as a postcard, I will return it as a postcard.
Also, if you are a county hunter, please be aware that I operate from two stations, N5KR and N5YA/NM5O (using my call). The two stations are in different counties. For most casual QSOs and DX chasing, I operate from home. For most contests and some DX chasing, I operate from N5YA/NM5O (using my call). If you need a county from me, I suggest contacting me by email at n5kr@arrl.net to determine which station I was operating from for your QSO before you send a card.