Jarvis Island Operators
Todd Bendtsen, VE5MX
My interest in radio started as a preteen listening to far off AM stations at night. From there, a SW radio that also covered the amateur bands provided the spark that introduced me to both the shortwave broadcast bands, as well as amateur radio. The SW broadcasters eventually became routine, and I found myself spending more time listening to the ham bands. The father of one of my close friends was a ham and visits to his shack cemented my interest in ham radio.
My first experience with radio sport would come in the form of Field Day 1984; it would take another 6 years before I earned my license in the spring of 1990 and the contest bug bit me hard right away. From the beginning I have had the privilege of operating multi ops with many great operators and have been lucky enough to have hams open their station to me as a guest operator. Just about every weekend will find me operating in just about any contest that may be on, whether it’s a state QSO Party or one of the biggies. As my friend Bill Till, VE5FN (SK), told me often “There’s no such thing as a bad contest, some are just better than others”.
I am active in all modes, but my preference is still CW contesting. I am also an avid antenna builder and have been working on growing an antenna farm near the city of Weyburn, SK.