My name is Ben, and I am a 23 year old Amateur Radio operator from Lansing, MI. I have been very active in Amateur Radio since I became a HAM in 2005. While being a HAM, my favorite modes of communication have been just simple VHF/UHF repeater voice, Amateur Fast-Scan Television and listening to HF. With the addition of a working HF rig and a dipole antenna, I will be studying up to take my test for my General. I would really like to get on the HF bands and make a few contacts if possible.

I do a lot outside of Amateur Radio as well. First and foremost, I enjoy watching sports. I spend almost every Sunday in the fall watching NFL games, and participate in at least 2 or 3 Fantasy Football leagues each year. I also enjoy watching hockey. My favorite team is the Detroit Red Wings.

I also enjoy riding roller coasters when the weather is nice. I guess it goes along with the rush you get chasing tornadoes, but I really do enjoy the rush I get when riding a roller coaster. My favorite coaster is the Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH.

In my professional life, I work as a Systems Administrator and Technical Support Supervisor for a medium-sized datacenter/web hosting company here in Lansing, MI. I enjoy this work. We primarily deal with Linux based servers, although do have quite a few Windows 2003 servers as well. I personally use Linux on most of my computers, and prefer Slackware as my favorite distro.

I also enjoy working out at the local Y where I swim 3-4 times a week and also have recently been trying to get back into a weight lifting routine. I make it outdoors from time to time too and typically spend my time outside fishing.