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Larry Van Horn, a native of San Antonio, Texas, got his start in the radio listening hobby in 1964. His parents gave him his first shortwave receiver, a Hallicrafters S-120 tube type shortwave radio, for Christmas that year.

In 1971 he joined the U.S. Navy and served on a variety of U.S. naval warships and in the naval aviation community until his retirement in 1993. He retired in New Orleans with the rank of Chief Petty Officer.

He was first licensed as an amateur radio operator in 1973 with the call sign WH6INU. Later, Larry upgraded to General Class and spent his early ham days operating out of the world famous KH6SP ham shack in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, chasing DX and contesting.

A licensed Extra Class ham, holding the call sign N5FPW, Larry enjoys operating QRP (low power), using CW and digital modes, contesting and chasing DX. Other aspects of the radio hobby that he enjoys include monitoring military communications (throughout the radio spectrum), federal government monitoring, chasing HF utility communications, satellite monitoring, and AM, FM and TV broadcast DXing.

Larry worked for the famed Grove Enterprises in Brasstown, North Carolina, the publisher of Monitoring Times magazine, for 20 years until the business closed in December 2013. His job on the MT staff was the magazines assistant / technical editor and staff journalist. He wrote for Monitoring Times magazine as a freelance writer and full-time staffer for over 30 years until the publication closed down. He was also the creator and managing editor of Satellite Times magazine, another Grove Enterprises publication that was published for over five years.

He has written dozens of radio equipment reviews and several monthly columns in the pages of Monitoring Times including the Signals from Space, Utility World, Fed Files, Milcom, First Look Equipment Reviews and Whats New columns.

Over the years Larry has also pinned nine radio hobby books (some with multiple editions), dozens of magazine features, and numerous technical articles for a wide variety of communications publications and radio hobby club newsletters.

What most people do not know about Larry is his other hobby besides radio -- genealogy. He has been a family historian for the last 35 years and is currently researching more than 200 family surnames and documented over 36,000 ancestors and descendants in compiling his family genealogy. This includes ancestors who served during in the Colonial Wars, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican American War, Civil War, World War I/II, and four members of his family who served as Texas Rangers.

Larry currently resides in Brasstown, North Carolina, with his wife Gayle W4GVH. They have a son, Loyd W4LVH, who is married and lives in Mandeville, Louisiana, with his wife Megan.

Larry is the co-founder and president of the Teak Publishing Company based in western North Carolina.