Welcome to:

Woody’s Ham Radio Home Page

My card, if you please, sir.


A little preamble:

I’ve been involved in Amateur Radio (or “ham” radio, as it’s frequently called) on and off since I was a young teenager back in the early 1960s.  At the present time, I’m the vice-president for one area ham radio club, treasurer for another, president of a third.  I also am the ARRL's Public Information Coordinator for the state of North Carolina and, as of February 2013, I have a regular column in the SERA Journal.  It keeps me busy!

Woody's photo

Here I am as Net Control during an exercise at the Orange County EOC.

I was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland (which is why there’s that “3” in K3VSA--it’s my original callsign, now reissued to me through the FCC's “vanity” program).  I moved to North Carolina soon after my hitch in the US Air Force ended and plan to stay here for the rest of my life.  It’s a beautiful state. My wife Lisa, was born and raised here in Orange County, and she also has her ticket (KG4PFB).  She’s the Demo Coordinator for Weaver Street Market, an awesome teaching chef, and she makes--my favorite-- a killer peanut butter pie.  We have a homeschooled, teenaged daughter who swims like a fish, loves the Beatles, and is learning piano.  She keeps us both busy!

Lisa and Michaela

My wife and daughter at an overlook in Virginia in 2009.

Orange County is a great section of North Carolina.  We have Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina, historic Hillsborough with its colonial charm, and all the rural parts including the section in the north of the county where we live.

Canada geese

Canada geese on the pond in front of our home in Orange County.

We're active on our club’s blowtorch repeater on 442.150MHz, and we also are blessed with a pair of vintage Kenwood TS-520S transceivers which are...

TS-520S and DG-5

A vintage Kenwood TS-520S with its matching DG-5 digital display unit.

...thirty-five years old and still going strong.  These radios are available, affordable, reliable, and a great way to introduce yourself to operating on HF.

Future projects include better antennas (using a G5RV now) and getting on the air with HSMM, Narrow-bandwidth TV and free-space optical communications.

The Remco Crystal Radio kit

This is the Remco Crystal Radio kit.  The circular loop on top of the cabinet did nothing and was merely for show.

My first radio project was this Remco Crystal Radio kit, which I obtained when I had single digit years of age.  It “tuned” by means of a slider on the coil.  It received the same station, WBAL 1090kHz (called “kilocycles per second” back then), regardless of where the slider was set.  I still have a fascination with crystal radios today, and they can be amazingly good performers if well designed!

I also created and maintain these:


Other websites that I like:


Famous Woodwards (of no known relation):


Other Woodward Hams (of my acquaintance):

  • George Woodward W1RN - of Berlin CT, originally KN3TQM of Laurel MD
  • Mary Lisa Woodward KG4PFB - of Hillsborough NC, my XYL


Woodwards Gripe Water

Many who know me would suggest that I take some of this regularly.


Many Thanks To:

  • The good folks at  qsl.net  for providing cyberspace for the Amateur Radio community.
  • Stan Horzepa WA1LOU for featuring my webpage in his ARRL “Surfin” column, January 19th, 2013.
  • Last, but not least, you, of course, for visiting.  As they say, “Come back, now, you hear?”
Last updated on March 20th, 2013.
-73 de Woody K3VSA
k3vsa@arrl.net