About Me

I’ll share a little bit about myself. My callsign is KK4CNM, my name is Daniel.

QTH:

I live in Grovetown, Georgia, USA. Grovetown is located in Columbia County and is part of the Augusta Metro area known as the “CSRA” Central Savannah River Area.

Columbia County has a population of 159,693 as of 2021.

Grovetown has a population (within the small city limits) of 16,566 as of 2021.
*Note: Most people who live in Grovetown with a Grovetown address live outside the formal city limits.

“The Central Savannah River Area (or CSRA, as the region is most commonly known) is comprised of 13 Georgia counties and five South Carolina counties that are bordering or within close proximity of the Savannah River, with a total population of more than 700,000 residents.” Source AudiAugusta.com

My ITU Zone is 8, my CQ zone is 5, and my Maidenhead Grid Square EM83vk.

I’m located less than 1km from Gate 2 of Fort Gordon (now Fort Eisenhower)

My adventure in Amateur Radio 

I was always interested in radio! From a very early age in the 1980s, I would take things apparent to see if I could figure out “what makes it tick,” much to the ire of my parents.
In the mid to late 1980s, I started to play around with CB radio, but I wanted more range. I knew of “ham radio” but didn’t know how to get a license; I also had only a basic knowledge of Morse code.
This was well before the WWW came about, and the only way to find information was to visit a library (which we did not often do). You had to know someone you could ask, and I didn’t know any hams.

Circa 1992, I met a friend of my dad’s named Jake Cook. Jake was a ham (KM4WJ / WB4FPE) and told me a little about it, but we didn’t have much time to discuss it.
Jake would later pass away on August 21st, 2000, at just 48 years of age.

Circa 1995, I found an issue of 73 Amateur Radio Today at a local grocery store. I believe this was the actual issue, April 1995.
I purchased this copy and read it cover to cover! I then went to the post office and purchased a money order so that I could mail away for a subscription.
At this point, I got really into building and modifying radios for SWL.

In 1997, I moved from the USA to Honduras and continued to play around with SWL.

Fast-forward a little over a decade. In 2011, I finally took the plunge and got licensed in June of that year with my technician class license.
I purchased a Wouxun HT to work local repeaters. I also bought an MFJ-9406 QRP 6m SSB transceiver from eBay. I quickly modified it to add a squelch.
I made my first DX contacts.
In 2012, I took my general class exam and upgraded my license. I then purchased a Kenwood TS-480SAT, TNC, cables for my computer, an ATT, and a G5RVjr, which I put up in my attic.
The antenna at my attic height was a dummy load, but I managed to make a few contacts via digital modes.
Soon after this, the struggle of work and family life led to me having very little free time, so I got out of the hobby.

In 2021, I renewed my license with the FCC in hopes that one day, I would be able to pick up where I left off.

In late 2023, I got back into the hobby with a vengeance! I purchased several new radios and a much-improved antenna setup that I hope nobody from my HOA should notice as it is very stealthy.
I also got my old domain name back, which you are visiting now.

Professional Career and Education

My first paying jobs were repairing consumer electronics such as TVs, VCRs, computers, radios, etc., and doing yard work. This was in the late 1980s.

In 1994, I started my first “business” at age 15. I began designing websites for profit (albeit a modest one).

In 1998, I began to work part-time for Final Frontiers Foundation as the company webmaster.

In 1998, I enrolled in UHAH to study electrical engineering and IT but quickly dropped out. I simply could not pay attention and sit through lectures. I was later diagnosed with ADHD (in my 40s), which explains a lot!

In 1999, I started an internet streaming startup with my partner Michael (who would later become my brother-in-law).
We had figured out a way to stream 15-24fps audio and video over a dial-up modem, which was common at the time. This technology was WAY ahead of its time!
We had offers from venture capitalists but opted to go it alone in fear of losing control over the company. This was a huge mistake! What we were working on would end up being very similar to what YouTube is now. I should have taken the money! Who cares about control?! But in my youth, I disregarded the council of those older and wiser than myself and stuck to my ideals. And as a result, I am not a millionaire/billionaire today.

In 2001, I moved back to the USA. I worked a number of jobs while still trying to make BeThere a reality. I also managed a business that did direct mail and printing.
I ended up starting a PC repair business and made decent money. My dad gave me $50, and I ran an ad in the local newspaper for my services, and the calls started to come in. Combined with positive word-of-mouth referrals, I quickly became overloaded and talked to my business partner about joining me. We decided to transition BeThere into an IT consulting business in 2022 and achieved moderate success.
This would not last forever. In 2006, my mother passed away, and I decided to make a transition. I was engaged to my wife, Nolvia, and I decided I would go part-time with BeThere and go full-time with Final Frontiers. The truth is I was burned out. I loved working in IT but didn’t enjoy dealing with customers, billing issues, etc. I returned to Honduras for over a year to get married and solidify Touch A Life operations there. During my absence, things at BeThere took a turn. By the time I returned to the USA, I had pretty much given up on the organization. We hired a man named Sam to run things for us and be our main tech.
Michael and I went on to simply administer finances and collect a small stipend from the business until it finally closed in 2022. Another small business that fell victim to COVID, a stagnating local economy, and the simple march of time.

I’ve done other work as a side hustle, such as CAD design, 3D printing, and building props in the motion picture industry with Nova Props (now defunct).
I also design, build, and sell guitar effects pedals for fun and profit.