Welcome to Pagosa Springs, Colorado! We are located in southwest Colorado, surrounded by the incredible beauty of the San Juan and Rocky Mountain Ranges, at an elevation of 7500 feet. Pagosa Springs is about 50 miles east of Durango, and 25 miles north of the New Mexico border. Pagosa Springs offers many outdoor recreation opportunities and is perhaps best known for its historic mineral hot springs. Retirees, tourists and a steady base of "locals" who enjoy the high mountains, four seasons, fresh air, plentiful sunshine, and diverse attractions of southwestern Colorado make Pagosa Springs a dynamic town. Pagosa Springs has been "discovered", and property values have skyrocketed in the past few years. Archuleta County, home to Pagosa Springs, has a population of about 11,000 people. Only about 40 percent of them are full-time residents, making Pagosa Springs largely comprised of second homes. Within the 11,000 person population in the immediate vicinity of Pagosa Springs, there are about 80 ham radio operators. A large majority of these hams are technicians, with a strong representation of general and a handful of extra class hams. If you're fortunate enough to live in the mountains, you're fortunate enough! I moved to Pagosa Springs in 2003 from Fritz Creek, Alaska, where I was licensed as WL7M. I decided to get a new callsign that's "sorta" familiar, WDØM. My equipment is now in place, I've installed a US Towers TX-455, and placed a new 4 element SteppIR antenna on the top. It was quite a project, but I'm back on the air! My 5 acre property is virtually covered by bedrock just a few inches under the dirt. If you'd like to see how it turned out, click on the links above, entitled "Ham Radio", then either "TX-455 Tower Project" or "SteppIR 4 Element". I've also provided some information on installing a lightning protection system that may be of use to some visitors. I employ six different antennas, selectable by remote control from my shack, and they are described in some detail as well. I'm a retired USAF colonel, having spent 26 years on duty in locations around the world. My duty assignments took me to many places around the globe, and it's always a delight to be able to talk to someone in a location I've been to at one time or another during my career. I've had the incredible opportunity to work with some wonderful, dedicated champions of liberty during my career, as well as on many fascinating programs. I served as a missile launch officer on the Minuteman ICBM system at Whiteman AFB, Missouri (now home of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber) and operated the Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station (BMEWS) in Alaska. I served as a contracting officer and program manager on progams like the Manned Maneuvering Unit worn by astronauts to "fly" around outside the Shuttle, and as the Director of Contracting for the Alaskan Air Command. I was Chairman of the Joint Acquisition Coordinating Board at the US European Command Headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, and served as the Deputy Director for Security Assistance at the US Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii. My last assignment before retiring was as the Commander of the Defense Contract Management Area Operations office in Hartford, Connecticut, where I was responsible for $12 billion in Department of Defense contracts in locations throughout New England. The last project on which I worked was the F-22 Raptor advanced fighter, where I performed an audit of the program for the Secretary of the Air Force. A fascinating and capable airplane, this fighter is just now coming into front line duty with the USAF. There are many interests within the ham populace of Pagosa Springs. There are two 2 meter repeaters on the air, one sponsored by Fred, NØJSP (146.610 -), and another by Doug, WA5PBR (145.475 -). Both are open repeaters, and local and transient hams are encouraged to use them. The Colorado Connection Repeater Organization is attempting to find a place for a regional repeater that will tie the Pagosa Springs area into the statewide 2 meter repeater network. Should that happen, I'll post the information here. The most recent attempt to place a repeater on Wolf Creek Pass resulted in an increase in rent that the organization could not afford. As a result, that repeater is off the air. Working DX stations (countries far away) is a favorite pastime of mine. I'm continuing my pursuit of "the last one". I came very close when I lived in Alaska (ex-WL7M) with 313 of 338 countries, but now that I've moved to Pagosa Springs, I've had to start all over again! So far, I've worked 310 countries...just over ninety percent of the way there. I love 6 meters too - I've managed to work 45 states in two months. When I lived in Alaska, I worked all states in 30 days on 6 meters - quite an accomplishment, but the bands were wide open and being in a "rare" location, I got a fair share of attention. My thanks to all the guys and gals who made that happen. I've also started using High Speed Meteor Scatter on 6 meters, which allows me to talk to people on a daily basis on what otherwise would be a "dead band". Give it a try - you may really enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by.......... 73, Joe, WDØM E-Mail to WDØM