Another one of BVRC’s up and coming new members is Brandon Gage-W5BNL. You don’t have to be around Brandon very long at all to witness his excitement for, and dedication to, the club. Brandon was first licensed in November 2024 as KJ5IOP and in the small amount of time since then, has progressed in the hobby and assisted in many events and various aspects of BVRC. His enthusiasm has rubbed-off on many of the newer members as well!
When asked why he became interested in ham radio, Brandon replied, “My desire came from wanting a means of communication when the cell networks go down. I like the idea of my own imagination being the limit to my capabilities, instead of relying on major networks to keep us connected. A true ouroboros moment for myself because the more involved that I became, the more involved I wanted to be.”
Brandon says right now, still being quite new to the hobby and discovering its many aspects, it is presently hard to determine a favorite area of interest. “It’s hard to choose. From satellites to DX, FT8 to CW, and HF to VHF/UHF/SHF, there’s really something for everyone. I enjoy Special Event Stations and QSO Parties, but it would be a missed opportunity if I didn’t say SSTV (Slow Scan TeleVision). With the technology adjacent to that of a fax machine, hams have been able to transmit full color high resolution images across the globe since the 70’s but today’s barrier to entry is much lower than it ever has been.”
So far in his ham journey, Brandon couldn’t list only one of his memorable moments, so he’d have to pick three: “There’s the Triple Operator-Triple Park Activation at the BVRC POTApedition with KJ5CWR and N5ZE with and because of K5DB. Then there’s the night that I hand followed the ISS and captured “most” of an image from the cosmonauts on my handheld radio. And I’ll never forget the night we raised the OCFD antenna of a Silent Key at our QTH and the very first contact it made for us was with FRANCE!”, he said.
Brandon then shared his marital status, “My lovely bride holds the name Alanna Gage, but she goes by Lanna in person and enjoys her General class privileges as N5ALG on the air. We’ve been together for 14 years, and married for 4.”
When it comes to other hobbies and pastimes, Brandon said, “I used to…about 2 years ago!! Just kidding. I still play bass guitar from time to time, I love nature and dogs, and have found a certain Zen in teaching myself about Ubuntu. I was into competitive locksport for a while. I’m a car guy, handy with a wrench out of necessity and have recently found myself getting into the history of the area as well as the geology that comes with these beautiful Ozark hills. Just like Forrest Gump said, I’m also like a box of chocolates…”
For his home station Brandon runs a Rig Expert ShackmasterPower 600 power supply, along with an MFJ model 934 Tuner/Artificial Ground. For his main radios, Brandon operates a Kenwood TS-830S, Icom IC-7100, and a Yaesu FT-2500M. For mobile operation, he has a Btech UV25x2. He also runs two Baofeng UV21r’s and a Meshtastic Heltec V4 for his handhelds.
His home antennas consist of an 80-20 meter OCFD up approximately 30’, WB5L’S former 2m Cubical Quad on a rotor from W5DSL, a Mosley RV-3W ground mounted vertical for 12m, 15, and 30m thanks to W5AEN, “And my Crown Jewels… my Ham Sticks. Ground mounted with a copper bar and 6 radials, 4 are 14awg and two are longer and 12awg with a Joplin hamfest choke on a three-foot jumper.”
For his mobile antennas, Brandon runs two SignalStuff SignalSticks with SMA to BNC adapters with SignalStrand as well as the SignalStuff mag mount with rubber cover depending on use case.
Brandon, you are another of our younger generation members who is definitely an inspiration to BVRC’s younger hams, and actually all of us. Thanks so much to you and Lanna for being in the BVRC family.
