Welcome to my website

My interest in radio started in my late teens when CB started showing up in my native country of France. The government crackdown on the use of CB’s was rather brutal and led to a massive protest, of which I took part at the Le Mans racetrack. While the use of CB was still prohibited for few years after to protest took place, I begin transmitting in the upper 27.000 band in USB and collected QSL from pretty much all over the world.

I gave up the hobby when I left France in December of 1981 and relocated in the U.S. – What brought me back to HF radio was a new hobby… in 2014 I begun flying drones equipped with telemetry and video transmitter. Figured I would get my Tech ticket so I would be in the clear for the higher power I needed. Passed the Tech exam and, just for fun, bought a cheap 2-meter handheld radio but the ham bug got into me and 2m was simply not enough. So I bought an old Yaesu FT-840 on Ebay which led me to get my General License few days later. That next day I built a 40-meter dipole and made my first contact with Ukraine with 10 minutes. I was hooked again.

These days most of my QSO are using FT8 or FT4

I recently transitioned from a Yaesu FT-857D to a Yaesu FT991A. I plan on setting up my FT-857D for mobile or portable operation and using the FT-991A solely as a  base radio.

Because I reside in an HOA my antenna are just a couple of MFJ hamstick dipole for 20 and 30 meters mounted on top of a 16′ painters pole. Far from ideal!

Beside HAM radio, my other hobbies are fishing, surf-kayaking, flying airplanes (not done that for few years) and flying drones and working on refrigeration equipment (I am licensed to do so).

Professionally, I am a Pastry Chef and own and operate The French Bakery, LLC. (formerly “La Gourmandise, inc.) in Ormond Beach, Florida since 1984.

I reside in the beautiful city of Ormond Beach, Florida, 7 miles south of Daytona Beach home of NASCAR and Bike Week.