Member Bio

NOTE:  My primary logger is: 

(I also upload to LOTW frequently)  

*** PLEASE DO ME A BIG FAVOR BY LOGGING OUR CONTACT ON QRZ ***

Welcome to my QRZ Page:

I started with SWL when I was in grade school in the early 70’s.  I found it so interesting to listen to radio stations around the world.  The most enjoyable part was receiving QSL cards from them.

My uncle, who was a ham radio operator, helped me build my first dipole antenna.  He tried to get me interested in ham radio, but as I entered high school my interests were more in cars and girls.  My uncle would talk to my cousin, who was stationed with the Air Force at the Panama Canal.  I would get their frequency and ease drop on their conversations.

After graduating high school, I joined the military.  I served three years in the U.S. Army (’76-’79) as a Military Policeman and was stationed in South Korea and Fort Knox.  After being honorably discharged I entered the workforce and spent the next 37 years in the printing industry.  I have worked for major printing companies and some direct mail firms throughout the Midwest mostly in logistics and regulatory compliance.

I am now semi-retired and filling my time working for a major hospital in Minnesota as a Security Officer.  As I look forward to my full retirement age my wife looked at me one day and firmly said I needed to get a hobby.  I recalled those younger years and decided to get my amateur radio license.  I became a Technician in early December 2021 and within three months I became a General in February 2022.  My original call sign was KFØHMV, but I obtained my vanity call of WØERV in April 2022.

I now live in a HOA and have exterior antenna restrictions, so I have a multiband fan dipole and a G5RV Jr. in my attic.  I have recently also installed a SE HF-360 Vertical on my deck support, but have to disassemble the antenna after each use to avoid HOA violations.  My radio is a ICOM 718 and I usually work phone on 20 or 40 meters.

I look forward to enjoying this hobby for many years to come.

73’s 

Erwin “Erv” Drewek

Equipment: