Quoted (stolen) from K3DSM's website at http://www.g-c-o.com/genem/k3dsm.htm

While at Valparaiso, Indiana, Gene felt quite at home. There were many hams as students. There was also a
ham club and station at the school (W9SAL). This area (the Chicago suburbs) was the birthplace of 2 meter FM.
Motorola had an outlet store only miles from the school. Gene quickly obtained equipment and he became active
on both 6 and 2 meter FM. One of his favorite activities, while there, was fox hunting on 146.52, which took
place every Friday night. Everyone had built their own homebuilt DF loops. Gene used the school ham station on
HF to keep in touch with his many ham friends at home. He remembers talking to Freddie, W3PHL many times from
W9SAL. The school station was very active on 2 meter FM as well. He also built an auto-patch as one of his
school projects, operating between 146.94 and 52.525 MHZ with Motorola 30D stacked units. The autopatch used
dual pulsing tones to dial, since touchtone and its equipment were not available. While there, in his second
year, he also became a part-time Special Deputy Sheriff for Porter County, starting as a radio dispatcher and
later attending evening police school. He also found time for roller skating, which became a regular Friday
night activity. He was also chief transmitter engineer as well as a DJ. for WVTI, the school carrier current
radio station. Gene graduated from Valparaiso Technical Institute in Indiana in 1965. He has an Associate 
Degree in Electronic Engineering.