Steve was raised in Minnesota and was licensed in 1956 as KNØDNM. While still a Novice, he became involved in traffic handling, and developed an early interest in DXing and contesting.

Steve has held the callsigns KØDNM, N4TQO and W6EMS. He currently also holds the call OHØZZ.

In recent years, he has been quite active in DX and contest expeditions to locations such as VK9L, HV, OHØ, 8P and HC8. He is one of the founders of the HC8N superstation.

In his career in high tech, Steve has held many management positions and currently works for Nokia Internet Communications.

In addition to currently serving as a Director of the Northern California DX Foundation, Steve has served as President of the Northern California Contest Club and has recently become Director for the CQ WPX contests.