Don N4KC @n4kc
Joined onIndian Springs Village, Alabama, USA EM63 CQ Zone 4 Shelby County
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I've published several books on ham radio, based on numerous requests from those who have read my articles and short stories on the hobby on eHam.net and my own web site. Dial Dancing is a collection of short stories that show the excitement, diversity and just plain fun of Amateur Radio. Get on the Air...NOW! is for those interested in the hobby or newly licensed but are hesitant about putting a station together, wary of the jargon, or just not sure what they want to do with ham radio. THE Amateur Radio Dictionary is simply the most complete glossary of terms one might encounter on the air...more than 1400 of them, more than 1600 definitions, and hundreds of web links. The dictionary is also included in Get on the Air...NOW! as well as in the stand-alone book. Riding the Shortwaves: Exploring the Magic of Amateur Radio, a best-selling work, talks about the magic of our hobby as it enters its second century. All three are available for Kindle, Nook, Apple iPad, Adobe Digital Editions, and most all e-book readers as well as in PDF, RTF and plain text for computers and, of course, in traditional paper version.
Man, I love this hobby! I was first licensed in 1961 at the age of 13 as WN4BDW, and later WA4BDW. I changed to N4KC in1977 when I got my Extra Class license. I enjoyed a 22-year career in broadcasting and was twice named BILLBOARD magazine's "Broadcast Personality of the Year." I later worked for a company that developed software for radio, TV and ad agencies, then spent 4 years with Arbitron, the company that provides audience rating information for radio broadcasters. I recently retired from my position as senior vice-president of advertising and communications for Education Corporation of America (www.ecacolleges.com).
I'm also an author with 30 books in print in addition to my Ham Radio titles. My second novel, WIZARD OF THE WIND, was set in radio broadcasting and had a ham operator as a key character. It has just been re-issued for Kindle and e-book readers and is available HERE. My national-bestselling thriller, FINAL BEARING, co-written with former nuclear-submarine skipper George Wallace, takes place in the jungles of South America, in Seattle, and beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean. A movie from a major studio based on that book's sequel is now in post-production. I also co-wrote an 8-book series of young adult novels set in NASCAR stockcar racing called THE ROLLING THUNDER STOCKCAR RACING SERIES.
I was honored in 2016 to receive the Bill Leonard W2SKE Journalism Award from the American Radio Relay League. The award was for an article I wrote about Ham Radio for American Legion Magazine.
Several of my latest books are true stories of WWII submarines: GALLANT LADY is the "biography" of the USS Archerfish, which sank the largest vessel ever sunk by a sub, the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano, and IN THE COURSE OF DUTY, which tells the fascinating story of the USS Batfish, which sank three enemy subs in three days and today rests in a bean field in Muskogee, Oklahoma (The Batfish is also the location for a ham station, WW2SUB, that conducts special operating events on occasion from the submarine's radio room). Another submarine book, FINAL PATROL, was published by Penguin/NAL in October 2006. It tells the stories of the 17 World War II submarines that are open to the public as museum ships around the country (many of which also have ham stations aboard and are on the air for special events).
In 2007, I published a biography of legendary University of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, THE BEAR, released by Cumberland House.
My next book, THE ICE DIARIES, written with the late Captain William Anderson, details the dramatic story of USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the first nuclear-powered vessel in the world, and her amazing voyage beneath the polar ice pack from the Pacific to the Atlantic...through the North Pole...in 1958. Captain Anderson was skipper of Nautilus for that historic transit. (That's the reason for the N9N special events operation mentioned below and detailed at www.n4kc.com as well as on the N9N page here on QRZ.com.)
WAR BENEATH THE WAVES is an amazing true story of remarkable heroism that took over 60 years to tell. UNDERSEA WARRIOR, the next WWII historical work, is the true story of one of WWII's most brilliant and controversial figures, Commander Dudley "Mush" Morton, and how he changed the way submarines fight a war during his few months as skipper of USS Wahoo. The most recent non-fiction works are THE SHIP THAT WOULDN'T DIE, a remarkable story of bravery and tenacity during the World War II Battle of the Coral Sea, and THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN, the story of a little known WWII hero. And the latest military thrillers include FIRING POINT, the one in production as a major motion picture. The film is due to be released in late 2017 under the title HUNTER KILLER. And brand new is another submarine-and-SEAL thriller co-written with George Wallace titled DANGEROUS GROUNDS.
And as mentioned above, I have also published four amateur radio books. All my books are available wherever books are sold, including the online bookstores like amazon.com, and are listed and linked at www.donkeith.com.