John first became interested in Amateur Radio in the mid-50s as a teenager living in Syracuse, NY. His high school Elmer (Gary, K2UZJ) helped John get his Novice "Ticket", WV2BQJ, in 1958. One year later, John upgraded to General Class as WA2BQJ. In his early years, John operated from Ohio and Pennsylvania, but in 1976, John’s career took him to Silicon Valley, where he focused on work- and family-related activities until 2001. Soon after, he reconnected with amateur radio, receiving his Extra Class license and current callsign, K6MM.
To capture some of his best memories of ham radio including his extensive DX QSL card collection, John designed his own website in early 2006:
http://www.k6mm.com
Since then he has created amateur radio websites for a number of organizations, including NCDXF:
In addition to currently serving as a Director of NCDXF, John was the President of the Northern California Contest Club from 2008-2009, and is a founding member of the CW Operators’ Club. He was also co-chair for the 2011 International DX Convention in Visalia.
John was a member of the PJ7E DXpedition to Sint Maarten when they received their independence on October 10, 2010.
His article entitled The No Excuses 160M Vertical won the cover plaque award for the June 2009 issue of QST.
For the last decade, John has focused heavily on DXing, Contesting, and recruiting new operators into the hobby. His current DXCC total stands at 321 worked and 319 confirmed.
John recently retired after careers in research, marketing, and sales in the pharmaceutical, medical diagnostics, and human resources industry. He holds BS and MS degrees from Syracuse University, an MBA from Pepperdine University and a PhD from Case Western Reserve University.
In addition to his four grandchildren, John's interests include website design, piano music composition, and exploring the back roads of the Bay Area on his Harley Davidson motorcycle.
