The handle here is William.
I am a ham radio operator based in Madison, WI.
I operate an Icom 7100 in my car, which gives me access to “all bands”, 80 meter through 70 centimeter except 1.25 meter. I use a [Signal Stalk](https://signalstuff.com/products/nmo-quarter/) antenna on the roof while mobile, and when parked I can deploy either a 17’ whip or an appropriate Hamstick. I swapped the 7100 into the car over the Icom 208H, so I can have a little nicer interface while commuting to and from school, and so I can [activate POTA](https://pota.app/#/profile/N9KCE) more often without having to pack up a radio.
The 7100 used to be my QTH shack-in-a-box, and has been replaced by my Icom 208H and 2200H, sitting loose on my electronics bench in the utility room right now. It’s not a glorious shack, but it’s proven a suitable operating position for the thunderstorm season, allowing me to monitor ARES on VHF and SKYWARN on UHF at the same time with dedicated continuous watch.
I still haven’t bought a name-brand Japanese HT yet – just so expensive compared to the Chinese models with no real benefits for VHF FM repeater work. The current carry is a Tidradio H3 running nicSure’s replacement firmware, adorned of course with a Signalstick.
The PACE plan system is expressed as an order of communication precedence list: primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency. The first is usually the best, more reliable, most used, fastest, and highest bandwidth of the options. The last is usually the most time-consuming, costly, and inconvenient.
The easiest way to contact me is to [email me](mailto:wjlafrance@gmail.com).
You can also contact me on [Signal](https://signal.org/). My username is ‘n9kce.73’.
Text (SMS, RCS, iMessage) to my cell phone is another primary form of communication if you have my number.
I regularly check into the [Dane/Iowa County ARES](https://kb9orn.org) net, Wednesday at 8pm, on 147.150 MHz. I also often monitor this repeater, especially when I’m in the car.
NOTE: During the Fall 2026 semester, mid-August to mid-December, I’ll be in class during the Dane ARES net. You can try to contact me during my commute, anywhere on the [FM-38](https://fm38.org/) linked repeater network, Monday and Wednesday between 5:15 - 5:45pm and 10:15 - 10:45pm.
I occasionally check my [Winlink email](mailto:n9kce@winlink.org). I check it more frequently if other communications are unavailable. I have mobile VHF Winlink capability. Unless you’re emailing from within Winlink, I need to allowlist your email address before you’ll be able to reach me. If the internet is up, you should probably send me a normal email.
I do not have APRS or LoRa capability at this time.
During an emergency I will likely be at my Madison QTH, or the Dane County Emergency Operation Center.
Depending on the nature of the emergency, I will be scanning some or all of these frequencies:
‡ Like most southern Wisconsin repeaters, all of these repeaters use a PL of 123.0 Hz.
QSL cards and other physical communications can be directed to: William N9KCE, PO Box 132, Oregon WI 53575-0132.
Last updated Thursday, August 27th, 2026.