I grew up a “Navy kid” so, I have lived in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Japan, Okinawa, Maine, Virginia, Georgia and Florida. As a consequence, I attended 13 different schools from kindergarten to high school. Tired of moving around, I attended all four years of college at Georgia Southern University where I met my future wife, Debbie, now N4APZ, and I have since lived in FL for 20 years and GA for 24 years.
Debbie and I have been married over 40 years and live back-and-forth between our house in Daytona Beach Shores and a 20 acre mini-farm about 20 miles south of Augusta, GA. We have two grown, educated and married daughters, both of whom are enthusiastically and totally uninterested in ham radio. We also have two granddaughters: Aubrey, 15, who is an excellent student and athlete, and Brylie, 7, who is absolutely horrible at CW, but loves to sit on my lap while assuming the role of “assistant Morse code key or SSB microphone operator.”
Debbie and I are both veterans of thirty-four years in education, but we are pleased to report that we are both retired and almost fully recovered from our educational endeavors. We tell people that “most days, we don’t do anything and we usually don’t start that until after lunch.”
I was a physics & chemistry teacher for a few years, a principal or some other type of school-based administrator for twenty-seven years, an occasional adjunct college professor and I finished out my educational career in a regional office of the Georgia Department of Education a few years ago.
Amateur Radio at K4BR
I operate mostly CW, but enjoy a SSB rag chew with my ham buddies, too. My HF equipment includes:
● Icom IC-7600 HF transceiver
● Alpha 87A linear amplifier
● N3ZN ZN-5 iambic key
● Heil desktop mike
● 1.5 KW automatic antenna tuner
● Dentron Super Super 3 KW Antenna Tuner
● 110 feet of Rohn 25 tower
● 75/80 meter dipole up 70′. It was built in the 1980’s by Bill MacDonald, my father and the previous K4BR (SK), and refurbished in 2015 by me.
● 160 meter ZS6BKW inverted-V up 105′. It is 205′ long and is fed with 80′ of ladder line and 75′ of coax. It is oriented for east/west propagation
● Windows 7 computer and Ham Radio Deluxe software
I am a member of the:
● A-1 Operators Club
● 10-10 International Association #15706
● Southeastern Repeater Association
● FISTS Club #16084
● ARRL – life member
● Burke Amateur Radio Club (president)
● Amateur Radio Club of Augusta
● Columbia County Amateur Radio Club
Actually, Debbie and I are both life members of the ARRL and we are trying to keep those memberships active for as long as we possibly can. I also own, operate and maintain the K4BR repeater in Waynesboro on 145.23 MHz (-600 KHz).
Besides Amateur Radio
I enjoy golf, but I stay in shape by playing tennis, which I got into literally by accident (broken arm playing h.s. football). After a successful college tennis career, I played tennis professionally for a few years albeit at a level that was not quite at the pinnacle of the game.
I have enjoyed a number of years as a tennis club owner and teaching pro. I was a school administrator, but I taught a LOT of tennis lessons after school and on the weekends.
Besides ham radio, most of my free time now is spent with Debbie trying out a new restaurant, walking on Daytona Beach, sitting around our backyard firepit at “the farm” in Georgia, playing golf with my two son-in-laws or just hanging out at the huntin’ club with the guys. On Saturdays in the fall months, you’ll more than likely find us at Georgia Southern football games whether they’re home or on the road. GO EAGLES!
Other Hams In Our Immediate Families:
Bill MacDonald, Jr. (silent key), ex-K4BR, VP9JM, KR6AO, W2CIS and, when first licensed in 1921, 2CIS – Father
Bill MacDonald III, (silent key),W7VAG – Brother
Rev. Tom Oliver, KA4HED – Father-in-law
Alan Williams, KK4OHV – Cousin
John MacDonald – K4BR
(cell) 706-466-5646
Comments, questions & inquiries are welcome.
Please feel free to email me at john@k4br.com
or
to call me on the phone at 706-466-5646.
Thanks!
John, K4BR
Just dial (571) 223-5117, enter your zip code and you will be told by voice when is the next opportunity to see the International Space Station from your location.
At this time, the service is available for US callers only. The timing is calculated for the timezone associated with the given zip code, so that the predictions are provided in local time with daylight saving applied automatically.
It works. Want to the “see” the ISS pass over your QTH?, call and find the date & times.
