Craig LaBarge, WB3GCK
EPA-QRP #16

I first got involved in radio as a teenager through short-wave listening.
My grandmother gave me a big old Silvertone console radio which covered the
short-wave bands.  I still have that radio today.

After graduating from high school in 1970, I joined the Navy and was sent
to Radioman School in Bainbridge, Maryland, where I first learned Morse
code.  After radio school, I was stationed at a Naval communications
station in Sidi Yahia, Morocco and later aboard the USS LaMoure County
(LST-1194), an amphibious tank-landing ship.  By this time, though, most
ship-to-shore communications was by radio teletype so I rarely had to use
CW.  During this period, I often used the ship's spare R-390 receiver in my
spare time to continue my SWL activities.  I was a Radioman 2nd Class by
the time I was discharged.

After leaving the Navy in 1974, I went to school for an Associates Degree
in Electronics and was first licensed as WN3YSV.  From the very beginning,
I was fascinated with QRP and small rigs.  My first QRP rig was a
homebrewed, single transistor, crystal controlled transmitter which put out
about a watt.  Back then, the Novice license was non-renewable and I let my
WN3YSV call expire.  I was later licensed again as WB3GCK.

Between working on a Bachelors Degree in Electronic Physics, pursing a
career in Engineering and raising a family, I wound up being inactive on
the ham bands for almost 15 years.  In the early 90s, the ham radio bug bit
me again.  I dusted off my old ticket, upgraded to Extra, and have been
active in the hobby ever since.

Today, I operate QRP and CW almost exclusively.  My main rig is an old Ten
Tec Century 22 and my primary antenna for the past six years has been my
rain spout.  My rain spout antenna has been written up in several QRP
journals over the years.

I particularly enjoy portable operation which allows me to combine ham
radio with my other hobbies, camping and fishing.  In 1996, I placed first
in the first-ever running of NorCal's "QRP to the Field" contest and placed
second in the New England QRP Club's "QRP Afield" contest that same year.
(I haven't even come close to winning either of these events since!).  I
enjoy experimenting with antennas and most recently I have been refining a
homebrew vertical antenna which I strap to the side of my pop-up camper.

I also hold an appointment as an Official Emergency Station (OES) and am
active in the Chester County ARES/RACES organization