I1GXV Web Site

To be a "Ham" is a state of mind...
I'm an Industrial Chemist and from when I was graduated I have been working in Ceramics starting in production units, proceeding into the ceramic plant suppliers side, till the independent consultancy activity as done since 2000: my work has taken me all over the world giving me the chance to visit more than 40 countries and to meet many hams wherever I spent some weeks for my job.

These are the visited countries at June 2014:
A6,B,CT,DL,EA,EA6,EA9,F,G,HB9,HC,HP,HS,HV,HZ,I,IS0,IT9,IF9,JA,K,LX,OE,OZ,PJ2,PY,SP,SU,SV,S5,TA,T7,UA,UA9,UJ,VE,VR,VU,XX9,YK,YO,ZB2,3A,3V,3W,4S7,5A,7X,9H,9M,
9V.

Sometimes I had the opportunity to operate from nice radio shacks as from the radio club of Bangkok (HS0/I1GXV) or from the ones of friends with whom a relationship has been carried on for decades as with my dear friend Ralph W7COK ex-WWII B52 veteran (SK) from Cheyenne, WY who followed me at distance since when I was a young student till after the birth in 1998 of my daughter Anna, with weekly skeds on 10 meters or, when the solar cycle was making impossible the contacts, by mail by means of many, many letters (…not e-mail, it was not available at that time hi hi…). Luckily for us, after so many years of only remote contacts, in March 1998 I was able to pay a visit to him and to his dear wife, Lois W7COJ, a visit which signed my life forever as there I did realized which solid link was built between us in so many years, just thanks to our ham radio interest.
Similar friendship was carried on with another dear ham, DL6FZ, Hein ex radio operator in WWII German tanks (SK) located in Buxtehude near Hamburg: we met each other in early 80’ in a camping place near Venice and from that time till years ago, when he became S.K., we were used to have a sked on 20 meters almost every Saturday morning….

The number of travels I did for job or leisure allowed me to be in contact with cultures of areas and people I met really different from my own ones and only to be a "ham" allowed me to have opportunities of meetings and friendships in other way impossible to be realized.
Anyway, when at home, radio keeps me "travelling" in another meanfull way, making any contact a new experience.

Ham radio for sure has influenced my character since when I was a boy, making me eager to improve my English which helped me in my professional life and to start and carry on friendships with ham fellows worldwide.

Also actions for direct support to emergency communications after natural disasters as the earthquake in Irpinia (southern Italy) in 1984 or indirect as for the research of Italian citizens after the earthquake in Mexico City in 1985 and for other further local events (as lake floodings etc) has helped and still help to make my radio activities more meanfull.

I'm married to Ersilia and we have two children, Anna (born in 1998) and Mark (born in 2004) both potential future hams.
For some years we spent part of our summer time in one nice countryside area in central Italy, about 30 miles north from Rome and one of my job areas, where we enjoyed in playing with a vineyard surrounding a small countryside house where I set up some temporary antennas to run the I1GXV/0 call sign again, as I did since 1986 till 1990 from the same area at the beginning of my career…