She who must be obeyed has granted me a position in the master bedroom in an alcove, primarily so that the blight that is my radio station will not offend the guests (and her sensibilities). She does allow two verticals to mar the landscape of our yard. So I’m fortunate to have such an understanding and tolerant spouse.
Elecraft K3/P3, Begali Graciella, Winkeyer, and IKEA furniture.
My rig is an Elecraft K3/10 purchased in late 2008. In late 2011 I added the KPA100 100 watt internal amplifier after working QRP DXCC. The K3 also has a built in antenna tuner and an external antenna/data connection port. The roofing filters are 8-pole 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2.7 kHz. I added the Elecraft P3 Panadapter at Christmas 2010. It is the subject of one of my blog entries. More recently, July 2012, I added the KRX3 second receiver. I love how this rig can be updated from a QRP rig to a full blown contest rig.
My low band antenna is a Butternut HF2V 32 foot vertical for 80, 40, and 30 meters. I have a number of radials planted in the lawn but the antenna is in a side yard within about 8 feet of the house. So I know the pattern is not that good, but it works fine within the constraints of my home. I also have a Cushcraft MA6V 20 meter, 17 meter, 15 meter, 12 meter, 10 meter, and 6 meter vertical mounted on top of a 20 foot mast against the back fence. It works very well. I use a Moxon 15 meter beam on a temporary basis around contests. I built it from plans in QST.
I use a Begali Graciella key, which is way better than my CW skills. My logging software is DX Lab Suite and N1MM for contests. I added a Winkeyer in February 2011. Since earning QRP DXCC and the CQ DX Award with QRP endorsement, I generally operate at 100 watts. I have just collected cards and LoTW confirmations for DXCC and CQ DX Awards at 200 countries, all CW. Just recently I started to work with RTTY. I’m really enjoying getting back to this mode — last on in the early 1980′s at KB8CE using a Teletype Model 19, homebrew demodulator with CRT, with a World Radio Labs Galaxy 5. It’s clearly a new world in this mode!
I’ve posted a video tour of my station and a video overview of my Moxon beam. Click on the images above to view them. Both videos have been seen on Ham Nation. I believe that I’ve just broken the world record for the number of links embedded into a five paragraph narrative…
If you’re a ham radio operator, I hope to work you someday soon. If I have worked you, thanks for your patience with my CW skills. Thanks also for digging my signal out of the QRN and QRM.
