Playing Ham Radio at the Top: My Journey to Becoming W2RE
I’m not going to bore you with how I became a ham. This is about taking my passion for Ham Radio and Amateur Radio and turning it into something much bigger—building multiple income streams and investing in some of the best ham radio real estate money can buy.
This story isn’t just about the hobby—it’s about leaving the 9-to-5, giving up the W2 job, and pursuing a life-changing vision. It’s about transforming Ham Radio from a pastime into a powerful career and lifestyle.
The journey wasn’t easy. It all started with my first company, Hudson Valley Towers, and over the years it grew into 20+ income streams, all stemming from my one hobby: Ham Radio.
If you’re passionate about Amateur Radio and looking to take your hobby to the next level—whether it’s remote stations, DX chasing, or building antennas—this is proof that Ham Radio can change your life, not just your weekends.
Ray W2RE in front of the Hudson Valley Towers Trailer
This story starts in 2008. Ray W2RE, pictured above, had already been a ham for 20 years—but his next big journey was just beginning. 🚀
It started simply: every weekend, Ray was out building stations for hams… for FREE. Yes, you read that right—installing towers and helping others without charging a dime.
His wife, Lori, finally said, “Every weekend you’re away, I’m home with the kids. I don’t mind if you’re being paid, but doing this for free ends now—or we end!” 💬
And she was right! Lesson #1 who you marry may be the most important decision of your life. ❤️ I will go over 10 lessons in this journey.
Taking her advice, Ray started Hudson Valley Towers. But he couldn’t do it alone—he brought in Lee WW2DX, and together they launched a venture that was just the beginning of something much bigger.
Stay tuned… this is only the start of the adventure! ⚡
With momentum on our side, Ray W2RE and Lee WW2DX launched Hudson Valley Towers Inc. 🚀 This wasn’t going to be a weekend ham operator building towers off the books. Towers near homes require insurance, and to be properly insured, you need a legitimate, incorporated business—paying taxes and playing by the rules. 🏗️💼
Too many hams get burned hiring unlicensed or uninsured builders. That’s a huge risk. From 2008–2012, Hudson Valley Towers completed 75 installs, all on weekends, while Ray still worked full-time at Pepsi and Lee had his IT career.
Because we did it legitimately, we landed three game-changing gigs: Homeland Security in Watertown, NY, a NASA project with weather instruments and networking, and Boeing with positioning equipment. ✨
All three came through Ham Radio connections. Lesson #2: Play by the rules—it pays off big! ✅
Break #1: Landing a NASA Contract 🚀
Before we launched the biggest business of them all (more on that later), we scored a major win—working hand-in-hand with NASA. Ray W2RE and Lee WW2DX deployed a NASA tower at the W2/Summit site, equipped with expensive weather instruments designed to speed up airline traffic at major airports. ✈️🌤️
Summit, with its 2,200' hilltop, was the perfect testing ground. We had solar power, wireless antennas, and all data flowing directly to NASA in 2011. What a project! This experience became the seed of something much bigger. 🌱
Unfortunately, the NASA job fell through after budget cuts under the Obama administration. It felt like a door closing—but in reality, it was the start of a new opportunity. Sometimes one door closes, and another opens—and ours did. 🔑
Lori KB2HZI watching WW2DX operate WPX contest in 2011
With the NASA project wrapped up, it was back to the W2/Summit QTH in the Catskills 🏔️. Ray W2RE, Lee WW2DX, and Ray’s wife, Lori, would make the 210-mile round trip to operate from the new mountaintop QTH Ray purchased in 2010. This station wasn’t just a place to play—it was the seed of the next big venture. 🌱
But before we dive into that, let’s showcase this incredible station. And that YL in the photo? She’s like no other in Ham Radio—not only operating but climbing towers and building antennas herself! 🧗♀️⚡
Stay tuned—her story is one of the most inspiring parts of this Amateur Radio journey.
This is W2/Summit - World renown QTH in Amateur Radio
All honestly, who you marry will shape your life ❤️. As I write this, my wife Lori is now a grandmother, and works 60 hours a week as a nurse 🏥—yet she still found time in 2010 to help build the W2/Summit QTH. Most of this mountaintop station was built with her hands and dedication. Here are a few photos from the build showcasing her incredible help. 📸
This is where it all started—right here at this mountainside QTH that I bought with my lifesavings. After purchasing this vacation house, I had only $1,000 left in savings 💸. Big risk, equal big reward!
Lesson #3: You have to take risks in life ⚡. Don’t play it safe—sometimes the biggest leaps lead to the greatest rewards!
With the incredible help of Lori, we built 4 towers and 25 antennas over the fall of 2010 🏗️✨. Yes, just my wife and I! Lee WW2DX came up to help a bit, and Jim WT4Q wired the shack with 240V for two amplifiers ⚡.
Keep in mind, this was still a passion project—just Ham Radio fun on the weekends, operating and contesting 🧭📡. But in the back of my mind, I had bigger plans. This is where the story gets truly interesting…
From these humble beginnings at the W2/Summit QTH, we were laying the foundation for something far larger in Amateur Radio, tower building, and mountaintop station operations. 🌄
Here’s a milestone moment: the very first QSO Remote ever from Summit, NY—and we recorded it! 🎙️ While traveling back and forth to the W2/Summit QTH (originally just called the Summit QTH, later branded W2/Summit), Lee WW2DX and I brainstormed nonstop about remoting the station in 2011–2012 💡.
We settled on the Icom 706 with RRC (RemoteRig). This was the early days of remote Ham Radio—very few even knew the concept, and even fewer had success. But for us, it was just a proof of concept. 📡
And here’s the kicker: this was the seed of something much bigger. From this experiment in remote Amateur Radio operations, the foundation was laid for a new era in mountaintop station technology and remote Ham Radio innovation 🌄⚡.
W2/Summit QTH with Ray W2RE on tower - photo taken in 2012!
With the first remote test a complete success ✅ and this AWESOME QTH, the brainstorming began! 💡 This was the very start of something big—a project that would excite and inspire the Ham Radio purists in the hobby. 🧭📡
From this moment, the vision grew: remote operations, mountaintop stations, and innovations that would push the boundaries of what Amateur Radio could do. The seeds planted here were about to change the game! 🌄⚡
After brainstorming the idea of creating a remote Ham Radio service, we consulted with a few trusted advisors. They recommended we reach out to attorneys specializing in FCC regulations to obtain a formal opinion letter—and that’s exactly what we did.
We were deliberate in our choice: we didn’t hire random attorneys. Instead, we retained two of the most respected legal minds in Amateur Radio, including a retired FCC attorney, to provide a definitive “yes” or “no.”
It took about a month to receive their response. Was it the answer we had hoped for? The anticipation was high, but this step was critical in ensuring our Remote Ham Radio service was fully compliant and professionally vetted.
And just like that, Remote Ham Radio was born! 🚀 I won’t go into every detail, but this marked the true beginning. We had the green light ✅—the formal opinion letter stayed private, but it gave us the confidence that everything was safe and fully compliant.
From there, we opened the door to the very first pay-to-play Ham Radio service, and it’s been one heck of a ride ever since! 🧭📡
And the best part? This is just the beginning of the journey. From humble experiments to professional remote operations, the story of Remote Ham Radio is one of vision, innovation, and the love of Amateur Radio.
With RemoteHamRadio born in 2012 🚀, I’ll someday share the full story—but this is just one chapter in a much bigger journey. From the start of Hudson Valley Towers in 2008 to where we are today with 20+ income streams 💼💡, it’s been a ride full of lessons, risks, and growth.
While the Remote Ham Radio story may inspire, the next steps are equally important: the risks we took ⚡ and the haters we faced 😤. Every challenge pushed us further and shaped the path to building a legitimate, game-changing Amateur Radio service.
This is the story of passion, persistence, and turning a hobby into something much bigger 🌄📡.
My last day working for Pepsi, I took a photo of my truck for memories. August 23, 2013.
This was the biggest risk of them all ⚡—leaving the full-time W2 job with insurance and a pension. It wasn’t just a career move; it was a leap into the unknown, betting everything on passion, vision, and Ham Radio. 🧭📡
With RemoteHamRadio thriving 🚀 and a few stations already on the network, I quickly realized we couldn’t scale without expanding—specifically, building more sites. That’s when I made the bold decision to quit my full-time job, after 30 years with a pension on the horizon. ⚡
It was high risk, but I knew it was necessary if I wanted something better. The Ham Radio community was watching, and I had to make an impact! 🧭📡
This leap wasn’t just about business—it was about vision, passion, and taking action to turn a hobby into something far bigger.
Keep in mind, we closed down Hudson Valley Towers in 2012 to fully focus on RemoteHamRadio 🧭📡. It was a must—there was no way we could keep building towers on weekends for clients while also growing RHR.
So when I quit Pepsi in 2013, between 2013 and 2015, I made $0 income 💸—I didn’t even pay Social Security taxes. I left a secure union job for uncertainty, but I just knew I had to do this. ⚡
It was high risk, but this leap allowed us to focus entirely on scaling Remote Ham Radio, expanding our network, and creating something truly transformative for the Amateur Radio community. 🌄
In 2014, we hired Rockwell WW1X to develop the RHR software and brought on Bobby KC2UPN a few years later. This was the team to build RHR!
We knew very quickly that Rockwell was a talented developer 💻. Lee and I offered him shares in RemoteHamRadio—a true partnership in the business. Thirteen years later, we’re still all together, building something extraordinary.
This is the console every RemoteHamRadio user interacts with 📡—by far the best remote Ham Radio software on the planet. It’s the core of our business, alongside the MEGA stations we’ve built. 🏗️✨
But with all we’ve accomplished at RHR, it was time to pivot to the next big move in 2017. The journey continues, and the vision keeps expanding—this is just the beginning of the next chapter in Amateur Radio innovation. 🌄⚡
In 2017, I teamed up with my son Bobby KC2UPN, who was 23 at the time, to create a new tower business called Radio Echo Comm—a spin-off from Hudson Valley Towers 🏗️.
This venture quickly became a very lucrative business, especially as RemoteHamRadio was growing in popularity 📡. Combining our expertise in Ham Radio tower construction with the booming demand for remote station access, we tapped into a niche that continues to expand. 💼✨
It’s proof that with vision, family collaboration, and Amateur Radio innovation, even a passion project can become a thriving business. 🌄⚡
With RemoteHamRadio thriving 🚀 and my son Bobby now working full-time alongside me, we were ready to take the business to the next level. The RHR team made our first real estate purchase—a major milestone and just the beginning. 🏡
We bought 63 acres on the Bay of Fundy in Eastport, ME 🌊. This site has won many contests and is now one of the premier stations on the RemoteHamRadio network 📡. I’d love to share every detail, but that’s a story for another blog. For now, this is how we expanded from one site to another, growing our footprint and capabilities.
Lesson #4: Take profits and reinvest them 💼. Profits come later, but innovation comes now ⚡
As remote operations grew in popularity and the RemoteHamRadio business took off 🚀, some of our customers began looking for Ham Radio sites themselves. That’s how I came across W1/Jonesport, a beautiful 22.5-acre peninsula of open blueberry fields 🌿.
A client from California passed on it, thinking it wasn’t close enough to the ocean 🌊. I asked, “Are you sure?” He said yes—so I bought it for myself, planning to build a SO2R contesting site. Things got complicated when K1LZ got involved as a partner. Our visions didn’t align—he focused on contesting, I focused on remote operations 📡. Eventually, I offered him the site or a buyout; he chose the buyout.
Lesson #5: Don’t assume things will work out ⚡. Not every serious buyer or potential partner will fit your vision. I’ve learned I work best when I’m in charge, and partnerships, especially financial ones, often complicate things.
This is the QTH in Jonesport! 🏞️ Sitting on a peninsula at the highest point ASL, it’s an incredible location that truly delivers. While we don’t contest there anymore, its primary use is now to serve our RemoteHamRadio customers 📡.
From this peninsula to others across the network, it’s a perfect example of how we combine location, technology, and Ham Radio innovation to provide the best remote Amateur Radio experience. 🌄⚡
Lesson #6: Even well-laid plans change ⚡
I bought W1/Jonesport planning my own SO2R station, but things change. Life changes. At the same time I was building these stations, grandkids were being born, and priorities shifted 👶❤️. Don’t assume your plans will always fall into place—you have to pivot.
At one point, I was offered $1M from a solar company for a 30-year lease on this property 💸. I turned it down. This property is worth far more than money to me—it’s part of the vision, the legacy, and the journey of RemoteHamRadio 📡🏞️.
And this is where the story continues, building the next chapter in Amateur Radio innovation. 🌄✨
Around the same time we developed W1/Jonesport, we purchased 7.7 acres on a mountaintop in the Catskills, calling it W2/Jefferson 🏔️. This is where we installed the H-Frame for Moonbounce 🌙📡.
We keep buying real estate—and this one was an absolute steal! Thanks to Zillow alerts, I saw the listing immediately, called the agent, was at the property within two hours, and signed the contract 🏃♂️💨.
This QTH is another incredible asset and revenue stream, proving that strategic real estate purchases can fuel growth for RemoteHamRadio. The theme is clear: keep investing in real estate 💼✨.
Lesson #7: Have things automated ⚡. If I hadn’t set up alerts on Zillow, we would have never secured this amazing property. Automation creates opportunity. 🌄
In 2024, we built the RHR W4/Wilkesboro on a 100-acre mountaintop in North Carolina 🏔️📡—and trust me, this QTH is an absolute beast! 💪
Here’s a video of this incredible station 🎥. It’s not just another world-class Ham Radio site, it’s also another revenue stream—proof that when you keep buying real estate, you keep expanding opportunities.
That’s the game: use real estate to fuel growth and keep scaling the dream 🚀.
W4/Wilkesboro is born with 100’ Tower and GXP Antennas!
MAINE NEW QTH
Location is everything and this one is perfect!
In 2024, we continued expanding our real estate portfolio, this time in Maine (undisclosed) 🏞️. This property is 35 acres of blueberry fields with a 360-degree drop-off at 600’ ASL and the Atlantic Ocean nearby 🌊.
It’s yet to be developed, but we’ve owned it for a 20 months, and when the time is right, it will become another MEGA site for RemoteHamRadio 📡.
From all the properties we own, I truly believe this one might be the best of them all 🌟. It’s a perfect combination of location, potential, and Amateur Radio innovation—another step in building the ultimate QTH. 🏔️⚡
You’re probably wondering, how does W2RE have 20+ income streams in Ham Radio? 🤔 If you add up all the real estate holdings, the two tower businesses, RemoteHamRadio, and now HamRadio 24-7, that’s maybe 10 income sources—and you’d be right. ✅
But the biggest income stream might surprise you… it’s MEDIA 🎥📡.
We created HamRadio 24-7 , the brand because, as you can tell from this writing, it’s Ham Radio around the clock 🕒. With RHR running 24/7 for 13 years and the media generating income while I sleep 😴, we can now explore the remaining 10 income sources that make this entire ecosystem thrive.
From Amateur Radio innovation to mountaintop stations and remote operations, this is how passion turns into multiple, sustainable revenue streams. 🌄⚡
Lesson #8: Let the world know you exist 🌎✨
Too many people are afraid to share their business and open themselves up to opportunities. They worry about what others will think. Ray W2RE doesn’t care—if you dislike him, that’s on you. His goal is simple: let the world know he exists and that he has products and services you might want 📡💼.
Ray’s social media presence is straightforward—show the world everything we do. With 10 million views a month across platforms and growing rapidly 🚀, he can educate and create business opportunities like no other. His intent was never to monetize or chase affiliate deals; opportunities like Amazon affiliation or manufacturer partnerships came naturally from the quality of his content.
Is media big? Yes—bigger than you think 📺. It’s so impactful that Ray even hired a full-time employee to assist with media. Many of his 10+ income streams flow through media, some create a few hundred dollars a month to others thousands 💰.
We built this in July 2025 for Santos NK2R! Its all part of the journey!
Lesson #9: Build dreams for others 🌟
The ultimate goal of being in business is to help your clients achieve their goals. Guide them through the process, solve their pain points, and deliver results they can be proud of 🧭💼.
Here’s a tower we just built in the Catskill Mountains for one of our clients 🏔️📡. This is how you achieve greatness—build it right and show the world how you did it in 9 days!.
Trust me, in 2025, this is the best way to grow your business: focus on creating value, helping others succeed, and letting your work speak for itself. 🌄✨
Also, you have to be good at evaluating talent and be willing to teach others. I’m doing that now with both Nik from VC Towers and Bobby, who just launched his first product to the Amateur Radio community—the DX-Launcher 🚀📡.
Lesson #10: Build a legacy 🌟
Ray W2RE went from driving a Pepsi truck 60 hours a week 🚚 to achieving complete freedom, creating 26 income sources, 20 of them through Ham Radio 📡. How? By being genuine, helping others, and building one business after another 💼✨.
Your legacy is hard to build, and I don’t know exactly what people will think of me—but one thing is certain: this journey has been remarkable. 🌄
And the best part? It’s just beginning. The work, the innovation, and the passion continue to grow, shaping a legacy in Amateur Radio and beyond that will last for generations. ⚡
On the NK2R Tower. What a view!
This is how Ray W2RE made it to the top in Ham Radio! 🏔️📡 From Shop Steward to entrepreneur, Ray turned his hobby into 20+ income streams 💼✨. At 60 years old 🎉, he’s fit, passionate, and still building a legacy. His journey shows the power of taking chances, helping others, and using Remote Ham Radio to innovate and inspire 🚀.
There’s way more to this story 🌄. If you were inspired by this journey, please follow this blog. For more, visit his social media pages below and check out his personal Ham Radio page at W2RE.com 📡✨.
