Biography:

Mel Larson graduated from the University of MN in Engineering in 1960. He worked at IBM Rochester from 1962 to 2002 in the Product Testing Laboratory. His obtained his first Amateur radio license in High School in 1954.  He served six years in MN National Guard as an Intermediate Speed (18 WPM Morse Code) Operator. He held Extra Class operator KC0P since 1982, and been a Class Instructor for 20 years. He was a Volunteer Examiner for FCC licenses for 20 years, and Published two technical papers, the first in 1996 "A Study of UHF Radio Propagation Tropospheric Enhancements covering 17 months of Observations." This became an Invited Paper Presentation at UHF Forum, Dayton, OH Hamvention 1997 with all expenses paid!.  The second was published in 2017 as "Effects of the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse on HF Radio Propagation at Mid Day".  He designed an experiment to study 7 MHz propagation from Rochester, MN to Kansas City, KS using the reporting robot of the Reverse Beacon Network to three significant digits by an SDR.