Andre K6AH

Andre has been a ham since 1969 and aside from his current call, K6AH, has held WN6AQZ, WA6AQZ, KE6UQ.  He also held, VK3DSH, while on several extended business stints in Australia.

Andre retired in January 2017 from Abbott Laboratories where he was an IT Quality and Regulatory Compliance Consultant.  He holds professional certifications in project management (PMP), IT business processes (ITIL), and Quality Improvement (CAPA).  He’s been an IT director/manager or IT project manager over most of his career.

Andre began his work with mesh technology as the project manager for Broadband-Hamnet's v1.01 release, its first Ubiquiti porting project.  He left that group to launch the AREDN Project with Conrad, KG6JEI.  Now the AREDN “project manager” he finds this open-source, volunteer-based effort very different from his former paid-work role.  “I’ve learned you can’t expect volunteers to be burdened with formalized procedures."  "You need to step back and let them do what they want to do.”  So, to that end, Andre sees his role as more of a facilitator, personality arbitrator/coach, and project evangelist, than project manager.   He summarizes his role by saying, “I’m just lucky to be able to influence the project's direction from time to time.”  But he finds the project personally rewarding and is “…thrilled at how far the team has been able to take this technology.”  “It’s a talented group that’s running on all cylinders... everyone contributes.”  The AREDN Project is a terrific blend of his hobby and professional expertise. 

He spends a fair bit of time presenting the project at national and international conferences, as well as ARRL Section conventions and other regional ham gatherings.  Other AREDN-tangential projects he’s involved in include, the implementation of an AREDN-based mesh “backbone” network throughout San Diego County, SAREDN (Southwest-AREDN); a California-statewide project to federate similar efforts up and down the west coast; and using AREDN technology through the local Red Cross Disaster Service Communications Team.

Andre enjoys HF mobile, where he’s logged over 150 countries.  As a member of the Southern California Contest Club (SCCC), he also enjoys the ARRL VHF/UHF contests and has contributed to its winning ARRL's Affiliated Club Gavel Competition the past several years.  In 2013 he personally took 1st Place-Overall in the ARRL June VHF Contest, Rover Class.

Andre lives in Carlsbad, CA.