The Man Behind The Mic
Mike Cole - WB7BVW
I was born in 1951 in Sacramento, California, and raised in Ione and Sutter Creek, California. I graduated from Amador High School in 1969, and California Maritime Academy in 1972. My wife, Ava WB7NMZ, and I met in Kindergarten in Ione. We did not start dating until our senior years of high school and we married in 1973. We lived at various locations in Stockton, California for a couple of years while I was sailing with MSC, mostly in the Far East. When I went to work with Crowley Maritime, on offshore towboats, we moved to Seattle where we lived in an apartment for a couple of more years. That involved sailing as far east as Europe and as far west as Saudi Arabia, but mostly between Seattle & Alaska.
I was very active on HF while sailing. The towboats, with the vast salt-water ground plane, provided an excellent location for maritime mobile operation, as long I as kept the seaweed off the antenna. Radio activities diminished to mostly VHF / UHF after I came ashore. The apartment provided an acceptable location for VHF, but fell short of a desirable HF environment. We moved to Fox Island, Washington after I took a job with Port of Tacoma. In 1986, we moved to Longview, Washington after taking a job with Stevedoring Services of America, mostly loading newsprint for Japan, until I retired in 2007. Since retirement, I have again become active on HF.
My first radio license was a Third Class Radio Telephone Permit, which was needed to sail. I upgraded to a Second Class Radio Telephone in 1975 followed shortly with an upgrade to a First Class Radio Telephone, which is now a General Radio Telephone License. I got my Novice license, with an upgrade to an Advanced within a few months, in 1975. My wife and I both upgraded to Extra shortly after I retired in 2007.
Ava & I have two daughters & one granddaughter. One of our daughters is living in Peoria, Arizona and the other lives in Rockton, Illinois. Our daughter in Peoria has her General license and our son-in-law in Rockton has his Tech license. We are becoming familiar with the roads to, and between, our kids.
Our present RV is a 31' Airstream trailer. While not traveling and/or talking on the radio, my other hobbies include horses, working with the tractors, working in the shop with both wood and steel, and growing a vegetable garden. I really enjoy visiting with everyone on the RV Service Net.
73, Mike WB7BVW