KF0CCI.net

YouTube

Brookings Rail
RC256
RC128
RC110
RC335

Subsidiary Pages

Brookings Rail Webpage
Non-Directional Beacons

Links

KF0CCI on QRZ.com
KF0CCI/3 on QRZ.com
BRRC Webpage
W0BXO on QRZ.com

HTML Tests

Random, shortlived HTML projects that I have created over the last few years.

Apple Model No. Lookup
Intel Processor Game
Fire Alarm Simulator
International Signal Flags
Intel Processor Search
Techman Snake
Old KF0CCI.net Pages

Site Info

Last Updated: 3/30/25

Hosted on an Ubuntu machine. Internet connection rated at 120 Mbps up and 20 Mbps down.

About George

I am George, a 19 year-old ham radio operator presently living in Brookings, SD. I was born at a very young age and since then, I have been interested in electricity. As I grew up, I developed interest and knowledge in electrical wiring, electronics, computers, and later ham radio. In 2022, I started filming trains and became a railfan. In 2024, I began to enter the hobby of working on cars, particularly Saturns. Starting that summer, I began working at a John Deere dealership and I am currently working on getting a degree in diesel technology.

Over the last few years, I have created several YouTube channels with the purpose of sharing my hobby projects with the world. This website isn't necessarily for my YouTube channels; it's more of just a personal website. It mostly contains stuff about the KF0CCI station and related radio projects. It also has info about and links to other things I do.

Resume

  • Born in Allegany County, Maryland
  • Secretary of the Brookings Radio Research Club since 2023; member since 2021
  • Graduated from Brookings High School in 2024
  • Employee at a John Deere dealership since 2024
  • Certified technician under section 609 (mobile A/C systems) since 2025
  • Contact: [email protected]


    YouTube Channels

    RC128

    The first channel I created was Romeo Cat 128, on January 7th, 2019. I created it when I was 13. My original plan was to do tech videos and occasionally Minecraft videos. At the time, I just uploaded random day-to-day happenings. After the creation of my second channel, I lost interest in the upkeep of this channel. From mid-2020 to mid-2023, I only posted a few random clips.

    Throughout 2023, I started to take interest in small engines, and later working on my family's Saturns. By early 2024, my friend and I had bought our first project cars. I thought about creating another new channel, but I decided that I should renew the life of this channel and put my Saturn content here. To this day, that is still the main focus of RC128. I also post interesting diesel engine things I see at work on occasion.

    RC256

    Originally Romeo Cat Computers, it was created on June 18th, 2019. As explained in my 5 Years on YouTube video, I wanted to create a separate place for tech related videos. This channel is the largest and highest production quality channel of mine. It features videos about electronics, electrical wiring, radio transmitter circuits, computer programming, and retro computers. I have no particular order or schedule for these types of videos. I upload whatever, whenever I work on something.

    RC110

    I created this channel on April 17th, 2020 to make fire alarm test content. Due to having other hobbies and other YouTube channels, I didn't end up getting into fire alarms as much as I was originally intending. Despite this, I keep this channel around so I can upload random fire alarm stuff as I come across it. This channel was originally called Romeo Cat Fire Alarms

    RC335

    I created this channel July 21st, 2021 while in California. I made this channel so I could upload recordings of NOAA weather stations and non-directional beacons, among other things. It was originally called Radio Station Libarary, and I later renamed it to George's NDB's. This year, I renamed it to RC335 in order to match the new naming system. It came to my attention that there is another YouTube channel with this name, so I may changed it again in the future. I upload very infrequently nowadays.

    Brookings Rail

    I became a railfan in 2022, and so I created this channel on January 30th, 2022. At first, I only uploaded short clips of trains passing through Brookings, but later started getting out and seeing other railroads. Since late-2022, I have made videos about my experiences as well as information videos. This is currently my second largest and most popular channel.


    Saturn of Brookings

    Saturn of Brookings (SOB) is an unofficial name I have given my automotive operations that have been going on since the beginning of 2024. My family has had two 1999 Saturn SL's in our household for more than 20 years. This is what lead me to be interested in Saturns in particular. Besides this, my main focus is on cars from the 90's and early 2000's. I also help out friends and family in preforming maintenance on more modern vehicles.

    I got a good friend of mine into Saturns as well, which further developed the Saturn of Brookings concept. It was discovered that Facebook Marketplace hosts many listings of cheap vehicles, and so we started buying our first project cars. Since then, I have overseen many S-series Saturns from all three generations. Several of these projects have had videos made about them on my RC128 YouTube channel.


    Vehicles That Have Passed Through SOB

    Name Type Description
    Blue Saturn 1999 SL2 Dad bought brand new in August of 1998 from Saturn of Frederick, MD. This has been his main vehicle up until the last two years. Its engine burns a lot of oil and it was discovered that the frame has rotted out due to rust.
    Green Saturn 1999 SL1 Grandma bought used in 2003. Documentation indicates that it was originally sold at Saturn of Massapequa, NY. Due to my grandma being the primary driver, it is low miles and does not suffer from rust. It is my daily driver that I usually put a few hundred miles on every week.
    Marion Saturn 2002 SL2 This was the car that started Saturn of Brookings. My friend bought it for $600 from a guy in Marion, SD. Its main issue was that the transmission's valve body was full of bad solenoids. After they were replaced, the Marion Saturn turned out to be a very solid and reliable vehicle, despite having 212k miles. He bought it on 2/3/24 and sold it on 4/13/24.
    Cliff Saturn 2000 SL2 This was my first project Saturn. I bought it from a homeless guy in Sioux Falls on 2/27/24. It had 166K miles and was in horrible condition. Most notably was the blown head gasket. Throughout 2024, I slowly fixed everything I could. It frequently went in and out of revenue service. When it was working, I took it on a few road trips and it held up great. I likely gave it a few more years from ending up in a junkyard and a lot of fundamental Saturn knowledge was gained while working on it. It was sold 9/16/24.
    The Ion 2006 Ion 2 Coupe My friend's second Saturn. He got it at a good price from a nice old lady in northwest Iowa. It spent a lot of time in Texas before she moved north. It had about 190k miles and very few problems. This car did not have a video made about it as I did not have a whole lot of involvement.
    Dawson Saturn 2002 SC2 My friend's third Saturn. He got it in Dawson, MN just after he sold the Ion. It was a gravel road car, so little rust. It had some of the power upgrades, but not much else. He traded it for another car in November 2024. This also did not have a video made about it.
    Black Saturn 1994 SC2 In September 2024, I jumped at an $800 first gen being sold in Watertown. It had a loud exhaust and smelled like a Super 8, but otherwise worked fine. I spent the later part of the year fixing various problems. The failed odometer reads 183k miles. I wanted to sell it, and tried a few times, but I have decided I will keep it long term. This is the first and only first gen Saturn to come through SOB.

    Videos

  • Green Saturn: Junkyard Finds for the Green Saturn
  • Marion Saturn: We Flipped a $600 Saturn with Bad Transmission
  • General: I Brough Four Saturns to a Car Show
  • Cliff Saturn: The Cliff Saturn
  • Black Saturn: I Bought a 1994 SC2 - '94 SC2 Restoration Pt. 1
  • Green Saturn: Saturn ABS/TRAC System At Its Finest
  • Black Saturn: Making the Coupe Even Better - '94 SC2 Restoration Pt. 2


  • KF0CCI Home Station

    KF0CCI license

    • 13 Oct 2020 - Took technician test in Sioux Falls, SD and passed with a 31/35
    • 21 Oct 2020 - Entered into FCC database as KF0CCI
    • 09 Mar 2021 - Took general test in Sioux Falls, SD and passed with a 30/35
    • 04 Jun 2022 - Took amateur extra test in Huron, SD and passed

    Desk Equipment

    • Icom 706 - Main HF transceiver. 100 watts on all HF bands with some 2m cabalility.
    • Kenwood TM-742A - No longer on radio desk
    • Kenwood PS-30 - 30 amp PSU for all 12 volt equipment
    • Motorola Radius - Two channels: RCP&E railroad and local NOAA WX station
    • MFJ Versa Tuner II - Tunes and acts as a coax switch for the antennas. Model MFJ-941E.
    • Computer - No longer on desk. I now use a laptop.

    Antennas

    • Cushcraft A3S - 3-element beam placed atop my 45ft tower. Gives good 10m / 15m / 20m.
    • eBay End Fed - Does 40m / 20m / 15m / 10m. Poor recieve. Facing east-west.
    • 2m Jpole - Mounted on a temporary wooden arm. Currently waiting for it to fall off.

    Capabilities

    • 40m / 20m / 15m / 10m Phone & CW
    • 12m Phone & CW using the tuner on the end fed

    KF0CCI/3 Maryland Station

    About once a year, I go to visit my grandma in Ijamsville, MD. I usually take my HF radio with me and I operate using the call sign KF0CCI/3. Because of this, I log my contacts in the /3 QRZ logbook rather than my main one. Operating times and dates can be found on the QRZ page.

    My radio setup there is not standardized, as it's usually whatever I can fit on the plane with me. I typically bring my Icom 706 and 40-10m end-fed. Because I can't lug my massive Kenwood PSU, I use an old ATX computer power supply that I leave in Maryland. This whole setup usually isn't very good, but I have made good DX on it many times.


    QSL Cards

    I am an avid QSL card collector. My card box likely has near 300 cards from around the globe. I, of course, have my own KF0CCI card that has been sent out in the hundreds. Below are the two generations of the KF0CCI card. During the KF0CCI/3 opeations this year, I just wrote a /3 onto the regular card, but I may design a special card for my Maryland operations. Likewise, I plan to create some amateur radio beacons in the coming months, and I will make available an SWL card that can be requested.

    This article will have more added to in the future


    WV6QFM / WA6QFM Station

    My grandpa was a ham radio operator during the 1960's. He got his license around the same age I did when he was in highschool. At the time, he lived in Calexico, CA, a small town up against the U.S.-Mexican border. In 1961, he took his test by mail to obtain a conditional license, which gave him the call sign WV6QFM. He later upgraded to Novice and got WA6QFM. He operated using a Heathkit radio and some sort of bamboo antenna. By 1966, he had gone to Berkeley to become an electrical engineer. He renewed his license for another 5-year period, but by then, he didn't have time to be on the radio, which was back at his parent's house. He later met my grandma and his government job brought him to the D.C. area. WA6QFM expired in 1971.

    Unfortunately, he passed away in 2016 when I was only about eight years old. He did get me interested in electronics at a very young age, although he wasn't the reason I found ham radio. If he were alive today, I would definitely have made him get a new license and put a big tower in my grandma's yard.

    In Memory of Loren Linholm
    1945 - 2016

    CCI50 AM Radio

    Current Status: Shut Down

    In May of 2021, I created a part 15 compliant 1950's music station. The transmitter was a "Talking House" that output 100mW onto a 10ft long piece of wire. It transmitted on 1610 kHz. Usable range was 2-3 city blocks, but the signal could be heard up to 0.5 miles away. Audio was provided by an old laptop.

    I ran CCI50 for a few days straight, then on short occasion throughout the summer. After that, I stopped using the transmitter, but it remained installed until I rearranged my radio desk mid 2023. This article is here not only for historical purposes, but also in case I decide to bring it back. After all, I still have the equipment.

    In this old radio desk photo, the transmitter is the widest box on the bottom of the center pyramid.

    Announcement played every five songs:


    George's Computer Download

    George's Computer is a game I created in 2022 using x86 assembly. I made a video about the game shortly after I finished coding it, and I offer the download here. The game is designed to run on nearly all IBM-compatable x86-based systems.

    Download George's Computer

    There are three files in the ZIP archive. kernel.BIN is the main game. If you want to run it in MS-DOS, just rename this file to a .EXE file. However, the game was originally intended to be bootable, so the bootloader has been included. Further instruction can be found in instructions.TXT.


    KF0CCI Fox Hunt 2022

    Instructions

    Object
    Radio Amateurs of Brooking find a fox in town and report the listed code to KF0CCI. Certificates will be given to the first and second people to find it.

    Equipment
    A Baofeng UV5R will be placed in an ammo can. A simplex repeater controller will be connected to the radio to provide a Morse code signal transmitting KF0CCI/FOX every two minutes. The can will be locked with a pad lock and the codes will be printed on the outside.

    Frequencies
    The fox will be transmitting a Morse signal (FM) on 146.565 MHz. Upon discovery of the fox, the radio amateur will report the code to KF0CCI on the Brookings 94 repeater (146.94 MHz, offset -0.6, PL 110.9 Hz). KF0CCI will be connected via EchoLink. If for some reason KF0CCI does not reply on the repeater, he will always have a handheld listening on 146.45 MHz simplex. This method may not be reliable because of his Baofeng's poor receive.

    Time and Date
    The projected date for this event is Saturday July 16th, 2022. The fox will be placed in its location on early Saturday morning. The fox hunt officially starts at 10:00am CST and will end at 5:00pm CST.

    Special Codes
    Each radio amateur who finds the fox will report a different code to KF0CCI. The first person to find it will use the first code, second will use the second code, and so on. This method is used to provide an extra layer of verification.

    Rewards
    The first and second radio amateurs to locate the fox will receive a certificate. The hunt will continue after this and all others who find it will be written down in order. The full list of call signs will be posted on the Brookings Fox Hunt website.

    Website
    http://fox.kf0cci.net or can be found in the navigation bar on kf0cci.net

    The website will contain these instructions and other information. Winners and results from other fox hunts will be preserved here. A list of all who found the fox will be put on the site. Pictures are encouraged and can be sent to [email protected] to be put on the website.

    Results

    Tony, KD0DSH, was the first and only person to find the fox only about an hour after the event started. Participation is expected to increase in the future, due to this being the first one. A 2023 fox hunt will occur in the summer.