[Premium-Rx] Your new co-moderator

[John]

Happy New Year and a big Hello to the list!!

John Collins here.  As Greg has announced, I succumbed to his and Jan's threats and accepted the position of co-moderator for the Premium-RX List, effective today, January 1, 2006.  Since I joined the Premium-RX  list in 2000, I have been impressed with the very fine platform that Greg and Jan have created, and with the very fine membership the list has attracted.  This list has been a wonderful place for me to seek information and to offer the same.  Premium-RX, IMHO, is unusual in that it is free of the traditional issues that plague so many other lists, be it clashing egos, pontificating know-it-alls, or social vandals;  rarely, if ever, does the list require a nudge from a moderator to get back on target.  Don't worry,  I have no intention of attempting any sweeping changes or enacting anything that might interfere with the membership's special qualities.  It is my aim to facilitate the operation of this list in service to the membership, and to preserve the unique attributes that so directly contribute to Premium-RX's success.

By way of introduction:   I am in the drawn-out process of semi-retiring from a 35 year career in Broadcast Television and Radio Engineering, during which I have had some truly exciting experiences.  I have been blessed with the rare gift of working my hobby, and have managed to come out of that career still enjoying myself.  I have been an active SWL for 40 years, and an active ham operator for about ten years in the 1980's.  My radio collection used to center on R390's and R392's with external ssb converters;  my "decoders" consisted of a bank of Model 15 TTY machines and a discrete CW decoder, the details of which are long since forgotten.  My interests have matured into an approximate 50/50 mix between technical projects and operating:  I enjoy indepth analysis and optimization of Premium Receivers and equally indepth monitoring, analysis, decode, and logging in the Harvester Sigint database.  In my career, I have the opprtunity to dive the classiest dumpsters in the west, including CBS and NBC in New York City, Tektronix, Grass Valley Group, and HP.  From the dumpsters comes an endless supply of racks, hardware, and parts.  From the corporate disposal departments come fully operational, yet obsolete, scopes, spectrum analyzers, and varied test equipment.  As a result of this exposure, I run HP 8568B spectrum analyzers, and similar,  as tuning aids and signal analyzers.  My Premium Receiver stable is filled with Watkins Johnson 8940B and 8618B, Cubic R3030(A), Racal 6790/GM, and Rockwell HF2050.  An intrusive list of multicouplers, patch panels, RF proc subsystems, and audio gear ties all the stuff together.  Signals are analyzed using HP and Tektronix test gear, and digital utilities are decoded with Universal M8000, Skysweeper, and (being evaluated) Monteria Centurion and Analyzer Elite software.

I am currently living in a trailer with my wife and two giant German Shepherds while we build our new home.  We found a great location with 40 acres of antenna farming (I hear I may have to allow some other activities), and quiet ambient RF... a dream location!!  I even get to build a dedicated radio room, complete with shielding and zero-potential ground screens!!  What a wife!!

I have the pleasure of approving my first official new member this evening, so i must close this note.  It is a great pleasure to have this opportunity to give back to the hobby, and to this group in particular.

sincerely

John Collins
Tenmile, Oregon
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