Meet the Support Team
PreppComm started out as an effort by one person, but was quickly supported by a number of other amateur radio operators. Without that support, PreppComm would never have made it as a company. Some of the support team helped with providing funding for components and equipment during the R&D stage, which took nearly three years. Others helped develop some of the key concepts behind the initial product, the DMX-40. Some contributed technical skills and labor. Some did a combination of these. But it is a true statement that PreppComm came into being because of the selfless sacrifice of these individuals. They all loved the concept of the product, and stood behind the development during all or most of the three year period from initial conception to first prototypes and initial production.
The names below are in alphabetical order, as it is extremely difficult to arrange them any other way, as each was important in different ways at different times during the development process.
Richard Anderson, KE3IJ: I discovered Richard via his published website articles on the DC-80 receiver. While I was well versed in digital and analog circuitry and programming, I was not so knowledgable around receiver or transmitter designs. I was very interested in his DC-80 receiver design, and we borrowed the “front end” for our initial design. Later, as I learned more, we upgraded it to include a integrated component that increased the sensitivity significantly, but we worked with Rick on a new design of the bandpass filter at the front end of the receiver. He is also involved in the improved filter design that we will be using in a future generation of our products, currently under development. It was through Rick that I got started using circuit simulation to test my RF circuit designs. Thank you, Rick! As of this writing, Rick is still active with PreppComm.
David M Burt, AB3PC: Besides an unusual level of generosity and friendship, David was always a great supporter and encourager. He was my “toroid” guy — winding by hand lots of toroids for our early runs of transceivers. Few people were willing to do that, but David offered to do it, and did a great job. I truly miss David. He lost his battle with cancer in 2020, to our great sorrow. Thank you, David! You were always there for me.
Gary Dingman, KG7CSD: Gary and I were both officers of the local amateur radio club during the early development years, and we got to know each other pretty well. Gary has helped us in numerous ways, and has worked on testing the DMX-40 in the field, as well as working with me in development and testing of the Super No-Tune 40M End-Fed Antenna and the Antenna Setup Ket Kit we provide in the Go Bag. Gary currently builds our antennas for us. Gary has also been generous, and supported our efforts in numerous ways. Thank you, Gary! As of this writing, Gary is still active with PreppComm.
John Downey, N2LEQ: John has been a very enthusiastic supporter of the idea of a Morse code transceiver. He even built a prototype PCB of a portion of the circuit for me to test. His generosity was outstanding, and he also was responsible for getting me into 3D printing by buying the company a 3D printer. While we did not end up using it for production, it was very helpful during the development of the initial box (which was replaced with a much improved case under pressure for a better result from several of the support team), but also the development of the lid — a rather late addition to the product. Thank you, John!
Mark Ford, KA7LAS: Mark came alongside the project at a later date, and was a very early adopter. He spread the news of the DMX-40 before it was even named the DMX-40! I believe he had a CTX-HF3 and later a RTS Commander, both forerunners to the DMX-40. He took it to Arizona with his RV and where he demonstrated it to various people at a Hamfest. Mark gave us a lot of excellent feedback from that experience, which resulted in many of the great features and improvements taken for granted today. Thank you, Mark!
Ray Miles, K7LNA: Ray has been a supporter from early on, more from a distance due to his busy schedule working on various contracts, and away working for Microsoft for a while. He has always lent me a broader view of the amateur radio world, as he is either aware or involved in much more variety of amateur radio than I have been. That has been very helpful, and will increasingly become more helpful as we develop follow-on products in the future. Ray assisted in the early prototypes by hand assembly of surface-mounted PCB’s, which at that point was the only available way we could afford to do SMD work. Ray had a lot of experience and tools for SMD, which we benefitted from. His knowledge in that area really helped us as we moved from thru-hole to SMD. Thank you, Ray! As of this writing, Ray is still active with PreppComm, and increasingly active with the development of the next product line.
Doug Orman, KE0KAX: Doug has been a faithful financial supporter of PreppComm from the beginning, and was the first in the support team to actually place orders for a production model of the DMX-40 — even before we announced special deals for supporters! We arranged for him to get the special deal when he purchased a GO Bag at a later time. Thank you, Doug!
Warren Weber, N7WEB: Warren has been a supporter from the beginning, and has been instrumental in getting me to “see the light” about a number of issues. One of them was a better cabinet design. Warren had many good ideas for improving the original ideas, and at this point, several years later, I really don’t remember the details, but I think it was Warren that suggested to skip the knobs and switches and LED’s and use keyboard commands, and make it small. And that is why the DMX-40 is so small! I also remember his stalwart support and his generosity. He was also helpful in spreading the word about the project in the early days, to gain more attention, and worked with us through some difficult decisions. Thank you, Warren!