There is a corollary in the ham radio hobby about the "other" hobbies that ham's seem to participate in. Among the most popular are (in no particular order):
Model railroading
Photography
Amateur Astronomy
Shortwave listening (SWL)
Computers
Over they years in this hobby I have encountered many hams who regularly engage in one or more these five side-hobbies and I always find that we have some common ground as I like all of them!!!! Unfortunately none of them are cheap.
Photography, in particular, is my 2nd hobby. I have been a photographer since age 8, when a cousin gave me a Baby Brownie camera at a family gathering. During junior high and high school I was year book photographer for the Palouse high school. I started shooting a Baby Brownie, moved to a Kodak Hawkeye, graduated to a Crown Graphic with a hand held light meter, and finally when I arrived in Japan in 1968, found a local camera company call Nippon Kogaku and I have been shooting with Nikon cameras ever since.
True story: My barracks room mate was Jay Merton Verrill III, a crypto maintenance man who liked shooting super 8 movies. We hit it off and when I was offered a ticket to the 1968 Bob Hope Show at Camp Zama, Japan, I was loaned a Nikon F, a couple of lenses, and a whole bunch of 35mm bulk loaded film by Jay's co-worker, Jack Wallace (AKA: Wally). That one outing with a Nikon F was the clincher. I loved the "F" and ended up owning two of them and seven (7) Nikkor lenses. Life was good....very good. While stationed in Japan in the late 1970s I entered and won base, command and Air Force level photo competitions!
During my divorce in 1981, I was forced to sell my beloved Nikons in order to raise money to pay off some bills that my ex-wife managed to accrue without my knowledge. That left me using a large Mamiya Super 23 press camera (used 120/220 roll film) and was not the best camera for the type of photography I engaged in.
I married Patricia (KB3MCT) in July of 1981 in England where we were both stationed. During that time I managed to procure a Russian Zorki 4K 35mm roll film camera, their knock off of a Leica IIIC. It was an amazing camera for the money and, some warts aside, was a good little 35mm camera. No light meter but by that time (especially after graduating from the School of Modern Photography) I was able to "read light" very effectively so a light meter was really not a necessity.
Christmas of 1986 found us re-stationed to Langley AFB, VA (near Hampton Roads). For Christmas that year Patti completely surprised me with a new Nikon FG and a couple of lenses! I was back in the Nikon Fold. I still have that little camera and it works great, considering it is over 30 years old. I have taken a lot of really good images with that little Nikon box, even winning several local competitions with the prints.
In 2006 my daughter, Maja, a graduate with a major in photography from Marywood College, loaned me her Nikon D-70 digital. I had promised myself that I would never go digital. That lasted for a grand total of 3 days after Maja dropped off her camera. My D-70S was on order along with an 18-200mm zoom with vibration reduction (VR). That lens seldom leaves the camera body! It's a "do-it-all lens" that, although very expensive, is a great lens that yields terrific images.
I used the D-70S until about 2 years ago when I found a Nikon D-90 on ebay for a decent price. I contacted the seller and we exchanged several emails and I felt confident it was a good upgrade. Although slightly larger than the D-70, the D-90 offered matrix metering which the D-70 didn't. The upgrade in bodies was well worth the expense.
Now I have come full circle with the purchase of a used Nikon F4 and three auto focus (AF) lenses. The F4 platform is a film camera, not a digital one. According to articles I've read there is an upsurge in going "retro" and breaking out the old film cameras, especially in Japan.
Opinion time:
One of the things I absolutely deplore about digital photography is the simple fact that virtually anyone can turn out very technically correct and, in most cases, well composed images at the press of a button. There is no "art" involved, as with dark room work. Take that digital image and roll it into Photo Shop or Lightroom, and you can do all sorts of computer manipulation that cannot be done in the dark room. That's just not fair nor is it in keeping with the "art" of photography. Where is the "art" in punching a keyboard?
All the previous history of my photography involvement leads up to my good friend, Michael Boatright, KO4WX, a expert photographer who also indulges in the ham radio hobby. I first Mike during a trip to Tampa in 2000 to be part of the birth of KC, my grand child. He met me in the Atlanta terminal, took me into the Delta Crown Club and we talked QRP and he gave me some info on a project that he'd been working on. Later, after we decided to move to the metro Atlanta area I became involved with the North Georgia QRP Club (NoGA) and Mike was a member. We discussed QRP, photography and ended up trading gear: my Mamiya Super 23 for his Ten-Tec Argonaut 509 station.
Over the next several years Mike withdrew from actively participating in ham radio and NoGA, channeling his efforts into his photography. The best portrait ever taken of me was shot by Mike at my new shack in Dacula. The guy is an absolute genius with a camera. If he can make me look good....imagine what he can do for you!! He has since opened his own studio in Dacater, GA and hosts regular open house events open to the public. To see his work, go to: http://www.michaelboatright.com/galleries.php. You will be impressed.
I'd be interested to those who read this blog giving me feedback as to their favorite hobbies.
All for now.
Vy 73 es "say cheese!"
Rich K7SZ
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Thats What Friends Are For
I've repeatedly said that the one thing I really love about this radio hobby are the people you meet and the friends you make. This is especially true in the niche areas of the hobby like QRP.
We QRPers are linked by the challenge of doing more with less. Not only is it a challenge to pursue ham radio at the 5 watt (or less) level, it is a character building exercise. Add homebrew equipment into the mix and you have a facet of the hobby that is a great place to be.
In order to become a successful QRP operator your operating habits have to be honed and your knowledge of antennas, propagation and station engineering have to be top notch. This is where our fellow QRPers come into the picture.
No one in this hobby has all the answers. We can all learn no matter our experience level or the overall time in the hobby. As a collective body QRPers are an open and sharing group. In the spirit of ham radio we gladly share our knowledge and provide help and guidance for our fellow low power operators.
On rare occasions one meets some really astounding people in this hobby. In my instance two of those people are Paul Stroud, AA4XX, and Fran Slavinski, K3BX, formerly KA3WTF. I have known the two of them for well over 25 years, starting with their attempts to shatter the miles-per-watt record on 40 meters in mid-1990s. At the end of a two year period Paul and Fran had proven it was possible to communicate over several hundred miles with microwatts on an HF band that was crowded with high power ham radio operators along with massive shortwave broadcast stations! This saga is outlined in my QRP books for the ARRL. Suffice it to say that these two QRPers are legendary in the annals of low power operations.
Recently I had been offered a chance to procure a Ten-Tec Argonaut II (Model 535) in exchange for my Kenwood TS-130V station. I jumped at the offer as it dove tailed nicely with my plans to downsize my station. The deal was struck and I now had a very nice digital Argonaut.
I took the new rig home, fired it up and started tuning around the bands. All went well until I tired to go above 15M (21 MHz). The rig would display the frequency but no receive and no transmit. I finally decided that it was the synthesizer that was coming unlocked above 21 MHz.
I contacted Fran (K3BX) and he advised since that rig had a number of header plugs and cables, it might be prudent to go inside the rig and, one-by-one, pull the cable headers off the pins and apply some DeOxit (an electronic contact cleaner/lube that has been sent from Heaven to alleviate corrosion on electrical contacts and clean up controls) then re-seat the headers several times to spread the DeOxit around. This technique I have used on other rigs, most notably a second hand Yaesu FT-726 VHF/UHF multi-mode transceiver.
I have put this on "hold" due to an unforeseen development. In addition to QSOing Fran, I also contacted Paul, AA4XX, for his advice or to see if his Argo II had exhibited similar problems and what he did to resolve them.
At this point in our conversation Paul said he hadn't had any similar problems but his display back light had failed (a common theme with the Argo II) so he'd placed it on the shelf and hadn't used it for several years. He was looking to off-load it, would I care to have another Argo II?
Say what?!?!?!
Long story short: Paul sent me his Argo II in exchange for the shipping costs! It works just fine except for the back light. This gift was totally unexpected. Thank you, my friend, it will be front and center in my shack.
I have located a replacement back light which will be the subject of another blog entry. As for the other Argo II, it will be put back into full service and find a new home.
My thanks to Paul and Fran for a long and fruitful friendship. This is what good friends are for.
All for now. I gotta go make an appearance on HF during the 2018 CQ DX WW CW test. Using the new Argo II of course.
Vy 73
Rich K7SZ
We QRPers are linked by the challenge of doing more with less. Not only is it a challenge to pursue ham radio at the 5 watt (or less) level, it is a character building exercise. Add homebrew equipment into the mix and you have a facet of the hobby that is a great place to be.
In order to become a successful QRP operator your operating habits have to be honed and your knowledge of antennas, propagation and station engineering have to be top notch. This is where our fellow QRPers come into the picture.
No one in this hobby has all the answers. We can all learn no matter our experience level or the overall time in the hobby. As a collective body QRPers are an open and sharing group. In the spirit of ham radio we gladly share our knowledge and provide help and guidance for our fellow low power operators.
On rare occasions one meets some really astounding people in this hobby. In my instance two of those people are Paul Stroud, AA4XX, and Fran Slavinski, K3BX, formerly KA3WTF. I have known the two of them for well over 25 years, starting with their attempts to shatter the miles-per-watt record on 40 meters in mid-1990s. At the end of a two year period Paul and Fran had proven it was possible to communicate over several hundred miles with microwatts on an HF band that was crowded with high power ham radio operators along with massive shortwave broadcast stations! This saga is outlined in my QRP books for the ARRL. Suffice it to say that these two QRPers are legendary in the annals of low power operations.
Recently I had been offered a chance to procure a Ten-Tec Argonaut II (Model 535) in exchange for my Kenwood TS-130V station. I jumped at the offer as it dove tailed nicely with my plans to downsize my station. The deal was struck and I now had a very nice digital Argonaut.
I took the new rig home, fired it up and started tuning around the bands. All went well until I tired to go above 15M (21 MHz). The rig would display the frequency but no receive and no transmit. I finally decided that it was the synthesizer that was coming unlocked above 21 MHz.
I contacted Fran (K3BX) and he advised since that rig had a number of header plugs and cables, it might be prudent to go inside the rig and, one-by-one, pull the cable headers off the pins and apply some DeOxit (an electronic contact cleaner/lube that has been sent from Heaven to alleviate corrosion on electrical contacts and clean up controls) then re-seat the headers several times to spread the DeOxit around. This technique I have used on other rigs, most notably a second hand Yaesu FT-726 VHF/UHF multi-mode transceiver.
I have put this on "hold" due to an unforeseen development. In addition to QSOing Fran, I also contacted Paul, AA4XX, for his advice or to see if his Argo II had exhibited similar problems and what he did to resolve them.
At this point in our conversation Paul said he hadn't had any similar problems but his display back light had failed (a common theme with the Argo II) so he'd placed it on the shelf and hadn't used it for several years. He was looking to off-load it, would I care to have another Argo II?
Say what?!?!?!
Long story short: Paul sent me his Argo II in exchange for the shipping costs! It works just fine except for the back light. This gift was totally unexpected. Thank you, my friend, it will be front and center in my shack.
I have located a replacement back light which will be the subject of another blog entry. As for the other Argo II, it will be put back into full service and find a new home.
My thanks to Paul and Fran for a long and fruitful friendship. This is what good friends are for.
All for now. I gotta go make an appearance on HF during the 2018 CQ DX WW CW test. Using the new Argo II of course.
Vy 73
Rich K7SZ
Thursday, November 15, 2018
When Life Gets in the Way
We plan, we save, we prepare but in the end "LIFE" wins! OK, so what am I up to this time?
This post is about taking some of my own advice and passing along some observations about how "LIFE" gets in the way of the best laid plans of mice, men and K7SZ.
Fact: we don't live forever. What a revelation! Therefore, we need to be realistic about our plans, dreams and schemes. When it comes to ham radio one must evaluate what one needs to play the radio game and be watchful of the amount of time, money and storage space needed to engage in this hobby.
Case in point:
Pat and I had looked forward to moving from the frumpy, cold, unappealing town of Wilkes-Barre, PA (a place seemingly stuck in 1the 1960s) to a warmer, more hospitable climate. We had anticipated the move for several years before immigrating to Georgia. Outside of our daughter, Gwen's, husband's family we knew virtually no one in the area to which we moved in 2008.
We found a nice little three bedroom ranch house in Dacula, GA, about 40 miles ENE of Atlanta and set up housekeeping with the intent of spending the remainder of our lives in this area. Good plan, bad timing with the housing bubble catastrophe that imploded that year. We were financially strapped for several years but dug our way out and finally had our feet on firm financial ground. Yeah team!
After a series of physical challenges (including falling and putting a huge gash in my forehead, breaking two ribs along with my tail bone, and finally my right clavicle) I've had to make some drastic adjustments as to how I went about life (although the gnarly scar on my forehead really looks cool....Hey, I don't have any tattoos, or own a Harley so I really needed that scar!) It quickly became evident that we needed to sell the house and move into a retirement community. Downsizing....that was the name of the game.
This past few weeks Pat finally convinced me to take a critical look at all my ham radio and electronics projects and do some off-loading of my stash of "stuff". While it was agonizing it was also a bit refreshing to unload all that "stuff" and actually be able to see the floor of the shack and the walls of our storage shed!
I guess the point of this blog is to say that while I pontificated in an earlier posting about getting our ham radio affairs in order for that inevitable day we leave this plain of existence, I was not heeding my own words. However, now I am seeing the wisdom of Pat's need to downsize. After all, I am only a man, and everyone knows that men need close, hands-on guidance in the form of a mate. Or, as I am fond of putting it: "I am Pat's Four H project!" (Hey, everyone needs a hobby and I'm hers!)
So, to that end I placed my Drake TR-4 station up for sale, along with the Benton Harbor Lunch Boxes, two Argonaut 509s, a couple of Zenith SW radios, my Novice station, and a lot more "stuff" that I have not used (nor in some cases even seen) in years.
For radio gear currently in the K7SZ shack I have the astounding Elecraft KX2 HF portable rig, a T-T Argonaut II, a fully restored (by W4OP) SBE-34, and a Radio Shack 10 meter SSB/CW rig. I hung on to the two Icom VHF rigs (one in the car and one at the shack) along with a couple of Yaesu HTs. That's it. Talk about downsizing! Man, that was a tough call but very cathartic in the end.
So now you know.....K7SZ's Chief Engineer has things under control (yeah, right)! While I was saddened to see that "stuff" get sold off at a couple of local ham fests, I realized two things: first, one does not need a ton (or two) of "stuff" to participate in the ham radio hobby. Second, you cannot relive your youth (yoot?) It is impossible to try and replicate all the things you lusted for (but couldn't afford to purchase) in the early years of your ham radio life. It's also expensive. Many of us try, but it is futile. It's also expensive. When you combine all the accumulated "stuff" you quickly realize that virtually none of it will ever grace the tables of your shack or living room. Oh, did I mention it is also expensive?
All for now. As a pre-New Years resolution I am going to make a concerted effort to blog more and spend some quality time at the operating bench getting on the air and enjoying the hobby.
Vy 73 es Happy Thanksgiving
Rich K7SZ
Bent Dipole Ranch, Dacula, GA.
This post is about taking some of my own advice and passing along some observations about how "LIFE" gets in the way of the best laid plans of mice, men and K7SZ.
Fact: we don't live forever. What a revelation! Therefore, we need to be realistic about our plans, dreams and schemes. When it comes to ham radio one must evaluate what one needs to play the radio game and be watchful of the amount of time, money and storage space needed to engage in this hobby.
Case in point:
Pat and I had looked forward to moving from the frumpy, cold, unappealing town of Wilkes-Barre, PA (a place seemingly stuck in 1the 1960s) to a warmer, more hospitable climate. We had anticipated the move for several years before immigrating to Georgia. Outside of our daughter, Gwen's, husband's family we knew virtually no one in the area to which we moved in 2008.
We found a nice little three bedroom ranch house in Dacula, GA, about 40 miles ENE of Atlanta and set up housekeeping with the intent of spending the remainder of our lives in this area. Good plan, bad timing with the housing bubble catastrophe that imploded that year. We were financially strapped for several years but dug our way out and finally had our feet on firm financial ground. Yeah team!
After a series of physical challenges (including falling and putting a huge gash in my forehead, breaking two ribs along with my tail bone, and finally my right clavicle) I've had to make some drastic adjustments as to how I went about life (although the gnarly scar on my forehead really looks cool....Hey, I don't have any tattoos, or own a Harley so I really needed that scar!) It quickly became evident that we needed to sell the house and move into a retirement community. Downsizing....that was the name of the game.
This past few weeks Pat finally convinced me to take a critical look at all my ham radio and electronics projects and do some off-loading of my stash of "stuff". While it was agonizing it was also a bit refreshing to unload all that "stuff" and actually be able to see the floor of the shack and the walls of our storage shed!
I guess the point of this blog is to say that while I pontificated in an earlier posting about getting our ham radio affairs in order for that inevitable day we leave this plain of existence, I was not heeding my own words. However, now I am seeing the wisdom of Pat's need to downsize. After all, I am only a man, and everyone knows that men need close, hands-on guidance in the form of a mate. Or, as I am fond of putting it: "I am Pat's Four H project!" (Hey, everyone needs a hobby and I'm hers!)
So, to that end I placed my Drake TR-4 station up for sale, along with the Benton Harbor Lunch Boxes, two Argonaut 509s, a couple of Zenith SW radios, my Novice station, and a lot more "stuff" that I have not used (nor in some cases even seen) in years.
For radio gear currently in the K7SZ shack I have the astounding Elecraft KX2 HF portable rig, a T-T Argonaut II, a fully restored (by W4OP) SBE-34, and a Radio Shack 10 meter SSB/CW rig. I hung on to the two Icom VHF rigs (one in the car and one at the shack) along with a couple of Yaesu HTs. That's it. Talk about downsizing! Man, that was a tough call but very cathartic in the end.
So now you know.....K7SZ's Chief Engineer has things under control (yeah, right)! While I was saddened to see that "stuff" get sold off at a couple of local ham fests, I realized two things: first, one does not need a ton (or two) of "stuff" to participate in the ham radio hobby. Second, you cannot relive your youth (yoot?) It is impossible to try and replicate all the things you lusted for (but couldn't afford to purchase) in the early years of your ham radio life. It's also expensive. Many of us try, but it is futile. It's also expensive. When you combine all the accumulated "stuff" you quickly realize that virtually none of it will ever grace the tables of your shack or living room. Oh, did I mention it is also expensive?
All for now. As a pre-New Years resolution I am going to make a concerted effort to blog more and spend some quality time at the operating bench getting on the air and enjoying the hobby.
Vy 73 es Happy Thanksgiving
Rich K7SZ
Bent Dipole Ranch, Dacula, GA.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Happy Birthday to me!!!
On Wednesday, March 6, 1946, I was born in the St. Ignatius Catholic Hospital in Colfax, Washington. Fifty one years earlier, Yakima Canutt, champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman and action director was born in that same hospital. Yesterday (March 6th) was my 72 birthday! So far it has been a great ride!
It was a very complicated birth for my mother, Ann. Mom was 5' 2" tall and Dad was 6' 7"!! How I EVER came about is still a mystery to me! Suffice it to say that mom had some difficulty while in labor. The doctors were really baffled when I came out of the birth canal clutching a Hallicrafters S-38 (the original model with BFO). No wonder Mom had difficulties and that, dear readers, is why I am an only child!
Obviously, the die was cast....radio was in my life from the very beginning. Having been licensed as a ham in 1963 the last 55 years has been amazing. However, I was involved with shortwave listening (SWLing) and broadcast band DXing since I was about 8 yrs old. Like I said, radio was an integral part of my life very early on.
While many of "the great unwashed" are totally ignorant of ham radio and its place in the current world of technology, I find that when someone asks me about the hobby they think that cell phones and the internet have replaced ham radio. It amazes them when I relate that their precious little "smart" phone is nothing more than a hand held radio. Their internet connections are dependent upon radio in the form of their router and microwave links in order to work. Yeah, all that Buck Rogers technology still relies on good old radio! 'Ya gotta love it!
I am going to take a minute and wax poetic. Tanner Raynes, a good friend of mine, once told me a couple of things about life.
1. "Old age is a gift, enjoy it, you earned it".
2. "Good days and bad days: All days are "good days" when you are surrounded by the ones you love and care for.
Thank you, Tanner.
My birthday present to myself was to procure a brand new, untouched by human hands, Elecraft KX2. OK, the "human hands" thing isn't quite right.....untouched by "normal" human hands is more like it. Why? Because, nobody (and I do mean nobody) at Elecraft is "normal" and I mean that in a VERY good way!
Elecraft is a success story beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Not only is Elecraft a success story about technology it is a success story about how to build a business model and leave the other ham radio manufacturers in the dust! The adjective "innovation" does not even begin to encompass what that company is about!
I have only met Wayne Burcick, N6KR, and Eric Swartz, WA6HHQ, a couple of times. However, looking at the brief history of the company it is abundantly clear that the brain trust at Elecraft is a force of nature. Not only do they design and market cutting edge ham radio technology, their price points on their products are well below similar products offered by the (evil?) Off Shore Empire. The KX2 is only the latest innovation in a long line of products that has set the ham radio hobby on it's ear.
OK, enough praise. Let me tell you about my KX2. It's small. Obviously. It is feature packed.....again, obviously. Finally it is easy to operate without a steep learning curve.
Time for a history lesson. For a little less than 20 years I have been an advocate of the Yaesu FT-817, a truly amazing radio for the early 2000s. Much has changed from then to now. Unfortunately, while Yaesu had the lion's share of the QRP portable market for a long time, they failed to update the 817 and that left them vulnerable to Elecraft's KX3 and KX2 transceivers. Although it is rumored that Yaesu is about to release an upgraded QRP portable rig (the FT-818?) the features that have been leaked to the public show very little impressive technology upgrade. Basically it's the old story of "too little, to late".
Now, before you start condemning me as an Elecraft "sellout" you need to remember I have had four FT-817s over the years and have had a lot invested in three out of the four with 3rd party upgrades like DSP, CW/SSB filters, etc. For me to sell my last, fully loaded, FT-817 (total investment around $1600) was a major turning point in my QRP journey. Unfortunately, here at the K7SZ Bent Dipole Ranch, money is not something that I have in abundance. If I want a substantial upgrade in my ham gear I have to either find some older boatanchor gear, restore and sell them for a profit or sell a piece of gear I have in order to fund the project. This KX2 upgrade (and it is some kinda' fine upgrade!) forced me to sell my tricked out 817 to get enough money to afford the KX2. Am I glad I did? Initially I was really unsure. After all it was a hunk of change (just over $1000). However, after I got into the operation of the KX2 I never looked back! The FT-817 is part of QRP history. The KX2 is the new frontier. Period.
I am not going to bore you with operational details and the minutia of getting to know my KX2. You can find all that on the Internet and You Tube. I will say that I am extremely satisfied with my new radio and look forward to doing some satisfying mobile/portable work from our RV and SOTA (anyway those summits that I can get to with a bad back, two bad knees, and two highly modified feet....while it sucks getting old....I can truthfully say I have earned every ache and pain twofold!)
That's it for this posting. I still have some birthday cake to eat, so I better get to it!
Vy 73 and God Bless.
Rich K7SZ
Bent Dipole Ranch
Dacula, GA
It was a very complicated birth for my mother, Ann. Mom was 5' 2" tall and Dad was 6' 7"!! How I EVER came about is still a mystery to me! Suffice it to say that mom had some difficulty while in labor. The doctors were really baffled when I came out of the birth canal clutching a Hallicrafters S-38 (the original model with BFO). No wonder Mom had difficulties and that, dear readers, is why I am an only child!
Obviously, the die was cast....radio was in my life from the very beginning. Having been licensed as a ham in 1963 the last 55 years has been amazing. However, I was involved with shortwave listening (SWLing) and broadcast band DXing since I was about 8 yrs old. Like I said, radio was an integral part of my life very early on.
While many of "the great unwashed" are totally ignorant of ham radio and its place in the current world of technology, I find that when someone asks me about the hobby they think that cell phones and the internet have replaced ham radio. It amazes them when I relate that their precious little "smart" phone is nothing more than a hand held radio. Their internet connections are dependent upon radio in the form of their router and microwave links in order to work. Yeah, all that Buck Rogers technology still relies on good old radio! 'Ya gotta love it!
I am going to take a minute and wax poetic. Tanner Raynes, a good friend of mine, once told me a couple of things about life.
1. "Old age is a gift, enjoy it, you earned it".
2. "Good days and bad days: All days are "good days" when you are surrounded by the ones you love and care for.
Thank you, Tanner.
My birthday present to myself was to procure a brand new, untouched by human hands, Elecraft KX2. OK, the "human hands" thing isn't quite right.....untouched by "normal" human hands is more like it. Why? Because, nobody (and I do mean nobody) at Elecraft is "normal" and I mean that in a VERY good way!
Elecraft is a success story beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Not only is Elecraft a success story about technology it is a success story about how to build a business model and leave the other ham radio manufacturers in the dust! The adjective "innovation" does not even begin to encompass what that company is about!
I have only met Wayne Burcick, N6KR, and Eric Swartz, WA6HHQ, a couple of times. However, looking at the brief history of the company it is abundantly clear that the brain trust at Elecraft is a force of nature. Not only do they design and market cutting edge ham radio technology, their price points on their products are well below similar products offered by the (evil?) Off Shore Empire. The KX2 is only the latest innovation in a long line of products that has set the ham radio hobby on it's ear.
OK, enough praise. Let me tell you about my KX2. It's small. Obviously. It is feature packed.....again, obviously. Finally it is easy to operate without a steep learning curve.
Time for a history lesson. For a little less than 20 years I have been an advocate of the Yaesu FT-817, a truly amazing radio for the early 2000s. Much has changed from then to now. Unfortunately, while Yaesu had the lion's share of the QRP portable market for a long time, they failed to update the 817 and that left them vulnerable to Elecraft's KX3 and KX2 transceivers. Although it is rumored that Yaesu is about to release an upgraded QRP portable rig (the FT-818?) the features that have been leaked to the public show very little impressive technology upgrade. Basically it's the old story of "too little, to late".
Now, before you start condemning me as an Elecraft "sellout" you need to remember I have had four FT-817s over the years and have had a lot invested in three out of the four with 3rd party upgrades like DSP, CW/SSB filters, etc. For me to sell my last, fully loaded, FT-817 (total investment around $1600) was a major turning point in my QRP journey. Unfortunately, here at the K7SZ Bent Dipole Ranch, money is not something that I have in abundance. If I want a substantial upgrade in my ham gear I have to either find some older boatanchor gear, restore and sell them for a profit or sell a piece of gear I have in order to fund the project. This KX2 upgrade (and it is some kinda' fine upgrade!) forced me to sell my tricked out 817 to get enough money to afford the KX2. Am I glad I did? Initially I was really unsure. After all it was a hunk of change (just over $1000). However, after I got into the operation of the KX2 I never looked back! The FT-817 is part of QRP history. The KX2 is the new frontier. Period.
I am not going to bore you with operational details and the minutia of getting to know my KX2. You can find all that on the Internet and You Tube. I will say that I am extremely satisfied with my new radio and look forward to doing some satisfying mobile/portable work from our RV and SOTA (anyway those summits that I can get to with a bad back, two bad knees, and two highly modified feet....while it sucks getting old....I can truthfully say I have earned every ache and pain twofold!)
That's it for this posting. I still have some birthday cake to eat, so I better get to it!
Vy 73 and God Bless.
Rich K7SZ
Bent Dipole Ranch
Dacula, GA
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
HW-30 & Auto Antenna Tuning Units
We left our hero, K7SZ, searching for a clean (as in unmodified) front panel for his newly acquired Heathkit HW-30 2M AM "Benton Harbor Lunchbox". Luckily he was able to find one on e-bay for about $45 including shipping. Now, back to K7SZ at the Bent Dipole Ranch, in beautiful almost rural Dacula, GA.
The recently procured e-bay find of the HW-30 should be here in about two days. Yippee! The seller was unable to tell me if the radio functioned or not as there was no power cord available. Therefore, this rig is sort of a "pig in a polk". Since I am only after the pristine front panel, I really don't care if it works. Worst case, it doesn't and I use the carcass as a source of spare parts. With these 40-60 year old radios it never hurts to have a parts rig to cannibalize for parts that no longer are available.
The only thing I am lacking now, to complete this restoration is the crystal (high impedance) microphone that Heathkit sold with these kits. I have several Hi-Z mics so I still can get on the air using one of them in place of the stock mic. However, I would love to procure the actual mic that came as part of the original kit just to complete the restoration.
The hunt goes on! Stay tuned.
Automatic Antenna Tuning Units (Auto ATUs): Over the last 15-17 years I have used several LDG models and an Elecraft T-1. I currently am using the T-1 and I have to say I really don't like it all that much. Nothing against the folks at Elecraft....I just prefer one of the older LDG Z-11 QRP tuners from the past.
Luckily I found someone who wanted my T-1 and it will be going out USPS tomorrow morning. Thankfully, a ham in Virginia has an original LDG Z-11 QRP tuner he is willing to sell me for $40 plus s/h. Cheap at twice the price (and I do mean that literally).
So why the step back in time on the tuner? Simply put the Z-11 QRP ATU has almost the same form factor as the FT-817. My first 817 was married to a Z-11 QRP ATU and it worked great. Back around 2001 or so a company called Mountain Ops sold a soft case that would fit the 817 and the Z-11 together in a nice compact bundle. Unfortunately the Mountain Ops folks are no longer in business so I cannot duplicate the original packaging for ARES/RACES/SOTA/Portable ops. Additionally the Z-11 has switches on the front panel that allow you to over ride the computer selected L/C ratios done while in the automatic mode. This can be handy in certain circumstances. This is where a good field strength meter and external SWR bridge come in. Just because the Z-11 "likes" a particular L/C ratio does not mean that you are putting out the most wattage. This doesn't happen often, but it does happen. By using the L-C switches on the front of the Z-11 I can nudge one or both of these functions and get a bit more RF out to the antenna.
Once I procure the Z-11 I will be reorganizing my small ":Go- Bag" backpack and hopefully get the overall weight of the pack down to a reasonable level. While the T-1 is smaller and lighter than the Z-11 I'm not comfortable with the push/hush-hold functions of the ATU. With the Z-11 life is much simpler.
OK, that is it for now.
Vy 73 Rich K7SZ
The recently procured e-bay find of the HW-30 should be here in about two days. Yippee! The seller was unable to tell me if the radio functioned or not as there was no power cord available. Therefore, this rig is sort of a "pig in a polk". Since I am only after the pristine front panel, I really don't care if it works. Worst case, it doesn't and I use the carcass as a source of spare parts. With these 40-60 year old radios it never hurts to have a parts rig to cannibalize for parts that no longer are available.
The only thing I am lacking now, to complete this restoration is the crystal (high impedance) microphone that Heathkit sold with these kits. I have several Hi-Z mics so I still can get on the air using one of them in place of the stock mic. However, I would love to procure the actual mic that came as part of the original kit just to complete the restoration.
The hunt goes on! Stay tuned.
Automatic Antenna Tuning Units (Auto ATUs): Over the last 15-17 years I have used several LDG models and an Elecraft T-1. I currently am using the T-1 and I have to say I really don't like it all that much. Nothing against the folks at Elecraft....I just prefer one of the older LDG Z-11 QRP tuners from the past.
Luckily I found someone who wanted my T-1 and it will be going out USPS tomorrow morning. Thankfully, a ham in Virginia has an original LDG Z-11 QRP tuner he is willing to sell me for $40 plus s/h. Cheap at twice the price (and I do mean that literally).
So why the step back in time on the tuner? Simply put the Z-11 QRP ATU has almost the same form factor as the FT-817. My first 817 was married to a Z-11 QRP ATU and it worked great. Back around 2001 or so a company called Mountain Ops sold a soft case that would fit the 817 and the Z-11 together in a nice compact bundle. Unfortunately the Mountain Ops folks are no longer in business so I cannot duplicate the original packaging for ARES/RACES/SOTA/Portable ops. Additionally the Z-11 has switches on the front panel that allow you to over ride the computer selected L/C ratios done while in the automatic mode. This can be handy in certain circumstances. This is where a good field strength meter and external SWR bridge come in. Just because the Z-11 "likes" a particular L/C ratio does not mean that you are putting out the most wattage. This doesn't happen often, but it does happen. By using the L-C switches on the front of the Z-11 I can nudge one or both of these functions and get a bit more RF out to the antenna.
Once I procure the Z-11 I will be reorganizing my small ":Go- Bag" backpack and hopefully get the overall weight of the pack down to a reasonable level. While the T-1 is smaller and lighter than the Z-11 I'm not comfortable with the push/hush-hold functions of the ATU. With the Z-11 life is much simpler.
OK, that is it for now.
Vy 73 Rich K7SZ
Friday, August 18, 2017
Electronic Make Over
One of the great aspects of the radio hobby is the ability to preserve history by restoring "antique" radio gear, in particular communications gear of the past. Having been the hobby for well over 50 years I have seen, owned, traded, and restored a ton (literally) of radio gear. Over the years I have developed an affection (my wife, Pat, KB3MCT, calls it an obsessive addiction) for specific gear.
Some of my favorites are the Hallicrafters twins: SX-117/HT-45 RX/TX, Ten-Tec PM series and the analog Argonaut series (505, 509, 515), Heathkit HW-101, SB-series (SB-301/401 RX/TX & SB-102 XCVR), HW-7 & 8 QRP rigs, HW-19, 29, 39 Benton Harbor "Lunchboxes", Drake 2B RX, TR-4, R-4/T-4 RX/TX, and finally the Icom "bookshelf" VHF rigs (202, 215, 402 & 502 transceivers). Don't get me started on the CB rigs or the military comm gear I love!
Unfortunately I do not have the space to restore and display a lot of gear. However, I still love to restore gear, the smaller the better! With that being said my latest efforts are to restore a Heathkit HW-30 2 Meter AM (QRP) rig from the 1960s. I grew up in eastern Washington (state) and we had a local TV station on channel 2. Therefore, not wanting to cause any TVI with a 6M rig I chose the HW-30 as my first VHF rig. It was a great little kit and it followed me to college where it occupied a position of honor in my dorm room. There were a bunch of us in the electronics engineering program that got on 2M AM for a couple of years. Ah, yes, the "bad old days"!! Actually the were pretty darn good days, looking back on things.
On the Yahoo Heathkit Group I came across Emil, WD4SCZ, who wanted to sell a working HW-30 without a case for $15. In the end I traded him an autographed copy of my QRP book for the rig and reimbursed him for the shipping. When the FedEx truck dropped off the box, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my "new" rig had been recapped and came furnished with a crystal for the low end of 2M.
The "Lunchbox's" front panel had been hacked. Somewhere along the line a previous owner had added a crystal socket and DPDT toggle switch to change between the internal stock crystal socket and the front panel mounted crystal socket, making QSYing fairly easy. There is also a hole in the front panel for modification that was apparently removed in the past. Overall cosmetic condition was fair to good. All the original knobs were pristine and front panel finish and lettering was great. The chassis needed some cleaning and the front panel needed replacing to bring the rig back to where I wanted it. Where to get a "clean" front panel and a case.
The case was easy. Terry, N3GTE, came up with a case for a Heathkit CB-1, which is basically the same cabinet used for the entire "Lunchbox" line. It arrived a day before the radio, so I was ready to put the two together. The fit was great! The front panel poses a problem. Not many unmodified/clean "Lunchbox" front panels exist. The obvious solution is to find a HW-30 that has a good front panel and cannibalize it.
I have my eye on a couple of HW "Lunchbox" rigs on e-bay and etsy. Prices are a bit high for what the rigs are, but the law of supply and demand dictates price. My ultimate goal is to get all four "Lunchboxes" restored and on the air. An additional spin-off goal is to stir some interest within the local ham clubs to get folks on VHF AM and have some fun while experiencing the halcyon days of 1960s ham radio.
As the restoration progresses I will be posting progress along with pictures on this blog.
In the mean time, stay tuned.
Vy 73 and good DX!
Rich K7SZ
Some of my favorites are the Hallicrafters twins: SX-117/HT-45 RX/TX, Ten-Tec PM series and the analog Argonaut series (505, 509, 515), Heathkit HW-101, SB-series (SB-301/401 RX/TX & SB-102 XCVR), HW-7 & 8 QRP rigs, HW-19, 29, 39 Benton Harbor "Lunchboxes", Drake 2B RX, TR-4, R-4/T-4 RX/TX, and finally the Icom "bookshelf" VHF rigs (202, 215, 402 & 502 transceivers). Don't get me started on the CB rigs or the military comm gear I love!
Unfortunately I do not have the space to restore and display a lot of gear. However, I still love to restore gear, the smaller the better! With that being said my latest efforts are to restore a Heathkit HW-30 2 Meter AM (QRP) rig from the 1960s. I grew up in eastern Washington (state) and we had a local TV station on channel 2. Therefore, not wanting to cause any TVI with a 6M rig I chose the HW-30 as my first VHF rig. It was a great little kit and it followed me to college where it occupied a position of honor in my dorm room. There were a bunch of us in the electronics engineering program that got on 2M AM for a couple of years. Ah, yes, the "bad old days"!! Actually the were pretty darn good days, looking back on things.
On the Yahoo Heathkit Group I came across Emil, WD4SCZ, who wanted to sell a working HW-30 without a case for $15. In the end I traded him an autographed copy of my QRP book for the rig and reimbursed him for the shipping. When the FedEx truck dropped off the box, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my "new" rig had been recapped and came furnished with a crystal for the low end of 2M.
The "Lunchbox's" front panel had been hacked. Somewhere along the line a previous owner had added a crystal socket and DPDT toggle switch to change between the internal stock crystal socket and the front panel mounted crystal socket, making QSYing fairly easy. There is also a hole in the front panel for modification that was apparently removed in the past. Overall cosmetic condition was fair to good. All the original knobs were pristine and front panel finish and lettering was great. The chassis needed some cleaning and the front panel needed replacing to bring the rig back to where I wanted it. Where to get a "clean" front panel and a case.
The case was easy. Terry, N3GTE, came up with a case for a Heathkit CB-1, which is basically the same cabinet used for the entire "Lunchbox" line. It arrived a day before the radio, so I was ready to put the two together. The fit was great! The front panel poses a problem. Not many unmodified/clean "Lunchbox" front panels exist. The obvious solution is to find a HW-30 that has a good front panel and cannibalize it.
I have my eye on a couple of HW "Lunchbox" rigs on e-bay and etsy. Prices are a bit high for what the rigs are, but the law of supply and demand dictates price. My ultimate goal is to get all four "Lunchboxes" restored and on the air. An additional spin-off goal is to stir some interest within the local ham clubs to get folks on VHF AM and have some fun while experiencing the halcyon days of 1960s ham radio.
As the restoration progresses I will be posting progress along with pictures on this blog.
In the mean time, stay tuned.
Vy 73 and good DX!
Rich K7SZ
Friday, July 28, 2017
Need vs. Want
What a GREAT topic! Several of my good ham radio friends and I have discussed this topic on occasion. After some serious debate we all agree that there is no such word as "need" in the ham radio vocabulary. "Want", however, is VERY prominent in the ham radio lexicon.
Now I'm going to step to the edge of the abyss. Aside from a radio(s) required to get on the air (along with the associated accessories like antennas, coax, key/mic, etc) a ham "needs" nothing! Seriously, how many radios can you use at one time (EmComm aside)?
Technician class hams have it pretty easy.....give them a dual band handheld transceiver (HT) and they can live quite happily on the V/UHF bands. OK, OK...add a dual band mobile/base rig and they will be a happy camper.
However, General and Extra class hams have a "need" for a lot more gear, or so they think. True if your interests lye in HF operation, you'll certainly "need" an HF transceiver, or, going old school, a transmitter and matching receiver. Then there is the problem of antennas, since your HF rig won't load up well on your 2 meter omni! Wires are good....beams are better. Beam? Add a tower, extra coaxial cable, rotator, rotator cable, guy wires, ground anchors.....the "needs" are almost endless.
Then, of course, comes the specialized modes of operation: packet, digital modes, satellites, contesting, DXing....once again, the "needs" are almost endless.
Face it......this ham radio hobby we enjoy is a money pit on steroids! Aside from the basics to enter the hobby at your level of license, you don't really "need" much more. However, we can certainly talk ourselves (and our significant others) into shelling out big bucks for a hobby that, on the surface, seems quite introverted. Hmmmmm....sounds like food for my doctoral thesis.
OK, let's face it, all us hams like to accumulate all sorts of "stuff" relating to the hobby. In my case, having started in the hobby in the early 1960s when vacuum tubes and AM were kings of the bands, I like collecting and restoring the older tube gear. Generally called "boatanchors" by those of us who enjoy them, these relics of the earlier days of our ham hobby are special. For one thing, restoring these older rigs helps to keep the history of ham radio alive. Additionally, there is something magical about watching the warm glow of the vacuum tubes when we fire up the station. Using boatanchors you will get some outstanding audio reports, especially if you work AM on a regular basis. And finally being young when many of us entered the hobby we didn't have a bundle of cash to buy a Collins, Drake, Hallicrafters, or high end Heathkit. To that end, many of us old PHARTS are, in effect, reliving our "yoot". OBTW: PHARTS is an acronym for Pennington Heath Amateur Receiving and Transmitting Society....no, really it is!
In my case I had a borrowed EF Johnson Viking Adventurer and a Heathkit HR-10 receiver (which I built). That was my Novice station for a year. When I upgraded I traded the Adventurer for a Knightkit T-60, which earned me a "pink QSL" from the FCC field office in California for working 80, 40, and 20 meters simultaneously! Needless to say I was petrified. It all worked out and George Comstock, W7CJ, my mentor in all things ham radio, helped me find and repair the problems in the T-60. Eventually I off-loaded that transmitter for a Heathkit DX-40 which was a great little rig on AM and CW!
In college we started a ham club station which consisted of a Hallicrafters SX-117, which I fell in love with. The transmitter was a homebrew beast consisting of four 811s modulated by four 811s. It was huge. It had to be because it was part of our class grade to combine our talents and produce a working AM transmitter for 160, 80 and 40 meters. The following year we retired the beast in favor of a brand new Hallicrafters HT44 transmitter and a matching HT-45 Loudenboomer kilowatt linear amp. We were now in the big league!
I fell in lust with that Hallicrafters pair: SX-117/HT-44. Over the intervening years I procured and restored four (4) of these stations. Unfortunately, I never kept one of them for my shack. Too many other restoration projects. However, there are at least four hams out there in radio-land that had the chance to experience some iconic boatanchors of the 1960s.
Most of us old timers who didn't have the finances to afford upper class gear back in the dawn of our ham careers start out seemingly benign: to recreate our first station. After all the prices on most of the 50+ year old gear from our Novice class past can be procured pennies on the dollar. Of course, there are the exceptions like a Hallicrafters SX-88 receiver (only about 80+ currently exist), Collins "Gold Dust Twins" and others. All I can say is bring your checkbook or some good plastic!
OK, now we have our Novice station all set up and working. It's time to get on the air and enjoy the fruits of our labor. UCK! I never believed that my old HR-10 receiver sounded this bad!!! It's true, friends....the crowded bands of today make using this older simple gear a real chore. Add to that the limitations imposed by a crystal controlled transmitter and its time to obtain a VFO!! Never the less we have reached our goal of accumulating our first station.
Unfortunate most of us we don't stop with our first station. We start in procuring gear that we liked back in the day and soon end up with more equipment than we can possibly restore or use. This is where the ham hobby gets out of hand. I have had the pleasure of seeing several very interesting collections of radio gear. I mean these hams pulled out all the stops and made a significant effort to flesh out their shacks with boatanchor rigs. Buckle your seat belt and go to QRZ.com and look up Andy Howard, WA4KCY, and Bill Wilson, W4BIZ to name just two collectors/restorers). Remembering when you look at the pix, know that this is only about 1/3 of their entire collections!
The point I am trying to make is that when the "collectors bug" bites there is no known cure! Of course it is fun! Not to mention the bragging rights when you restore a classic radio and use it on the air. The main issue that presents itself is where are you going to put all the gear you amassed? Our previous 3750 sq foot house was getting very crowded and not with humans! Suffice it to say I off-loaded a LOT of gear when we moved from PA to GA in 2008. Talk about depressing.
Since the move I have tried, and I do mean REALLY tried, not to start collecting/restoring any boatanchors. However,, I have still managed to acquire two (2) Heathkit SB-series stations (SB-301/SB401 and SB-303/SB-401 with the associated station console, station monitor, and panadaptor), SBE-34 (lovingly restored by Dale Parfitt, W4OP), a National 122 receiver and a EFJ Viking Adventurer transmitter, a Heathkit VF-1 VFO, one HW-8 and two (2) HW-7s, two (2) Ten-Tec Argonaut 509s, and a Wilderness Radio NC-40A. To the uninitiated this collection of radio relics may seem excessive, but believe me when I tell you that my current collection of rigs is about 1/4 of what I had previously and that is without factoring in my military comm gear!!
Having said all this, its time we need to address the 900 pound gorilla in the room: that time in our collective lives when we pass on/become a SK. Yeah, kinda morbid, huh? Well, as my grandfather George said "Nobody gets out of life alive!" Oh, how true. So whatcha gonna do with all that radio gear? Looking forward to the inevitable, might I suggest that you begin by listing all your gear by model/serial number and their current used price. Then contact someone within your local club to act as the executor of your ham gear. Write it all up, give a copy to your selected ham radio executor and the other to you spouse. In this way, you have delegated a fellow ham to help your spouse dispose of your gear with minimal hassle. It's only fair. Remember your spouse will have one less task to be burdened with.
Vy 73 es Gud DX
Rich K7SZ
Now I'm going to step to the edge of the abyss. Aside from a radio(s) required to get on the air (along with the associated accessories like antennas, coax, key/mic, etc) a ham "needs" nothing! Seriously, how many radios can you use at one time (EmComm aside)?
Technician class hams have it pretty easy.....give them a dual band handheld transceiver (HT) and they can live quite happily on the V/UHF bands. OK, OK...add a dual band mobile/base rig and they will be a happy camper.
However, General and Extra class hams have a "need" for a lot more gear, or so they think. True if your interests lye in HF operation, you'll certainly "need" an HF transceiver, or, going old school, a transmitter and matching receiver. Then there is the problem of antennas, since your HF rig won't load up well on your 2 meter omni! Wires are good....beams are better. Beam? Add a tower, extra coaxial cable, rotator, rotator cable, guy wires, ground anchors.....the "needs" are almost endless.
Then, of course, comes the specialized modes of operation: packet, digital modes, satellites, contesting, DXing....once again, the "needs" are almost endless.
Face it......this ham radio hobby we enjoy is a money pit on steroids! Aside from the basics to enter the hobby at your level of license, you don't really "need" much more. However, we can certainly talk ourselves (and our significant others) into shelling out big bucks for a hobby that, on the surface, seems quite introverted. Hmmmmm....sounds like food for my doctoral thesis.
OK, let's face it, all us hams like to accumulate all sorts of "stuff" relating to the hobby. In my case, having started in the hobby in the early 1960s when vacuum tubes and AM were kings of the bands, I like collecting and restoring the older tube gear. Generally called "boatanchors" by those of us who enjoy them, these relics of the earlier days of our ham hobby are special. For one thing, restoring these older rigs helps to keep the history of ham radio alive. Additionally, there is something magical about watching the warm glow of the vacuum tubes when we fire up the station. Using boatanchors you will get some outstanding audio reports, especially if you work AM on a regular basis. And finally being young when many of us entered the hobby we didn't have a bundle of cash to buy a Collins, Drake, Hallicrafters, or high end Heathkit. To that end, many of us old PHARTS are, in effect, reliving our "yoot". OBTW: PHARTS is an acronym for Pennington Heath Amateur Receiving and Transmitting Society....no, really it is!
In my case I had a borrowed EF Johnson Viking Adventurer and a Heathkit HR-10 receiver (which I built). That was my Novice station for a year. When I upgraded I traded the Adventurer for a Knightkit T-60, which earned me a "pink QSL" from the FCC field office in California for working 80, 40, and 20 meters simultaneously! Needless to say I was petrified. It all worked out and George Comstock, W7CJ, my mentor in all things ham radio, helped me find and repair the problems in the T-60. Eventually I off-loaded that transmitter for a Heathkit DX-40 which was a great little rig on AM and CW!
In college we started a ham club station which consisted of a Hallicrafters SX-117, which I fell in love with. The transmitter was a homebrew beast consisting of four 811s modulated by four 811s. It was huge. It had to be because it was part of our class grade to combine our talents and produce a working AM transmitter for 160, 80 and 40 meters. The following year we retired the beast in favor of a brand new Hallicrafters HT44 transmitter and a matching HT-45 Loudenboomer kilowatt linear amp. We were now in the big league!
I fell in lust with that Hallicrafters pair: SX-117/HT-44. Over the intervening years I procured and restored four (4) of these stations. Unfortunately, I never kept one of them for my shack. Too many other restoration projects. However, there are at least four hams out there in radio-land that had the chance to experience some iconic boatanchors of the 1960s.
Most of us old timers who didn't have the finances to afford upper class gear back in the dawn of our ham careers start out seemingly benign: to recreate our first station. After all the prices on most of the 50+ year old gear from our Novice class past can be procured pennies on the dollar. Of course, there are the exceptions like a Hallicrafters SX-88 receiver (only about 80+ currently exist), Collins "Gold Dust Twins" and others. All I can say is bring your checkbook or some good plastic!
OK, now we have our Novice station all set up and working. It's time to get on the air and enjoy the fruits of our labor. UCK! I never believed that my old HR-10 receiver sounded this bad!!! It's true, friends....the crowded bands of today make using this older simple gear a real chore. Add to that the limitations imposed by a crystal controlled transmitter and its time to obtain a VFO!! Never the less we have reached our goal of accumulating our first station.
Unfortunate most of us we don't stop with our first station. We start in procuring gear that we liked back in the day and soon end up with more equipment than we can possibly restore or use. This is where the ham hobby gets out of hand. I have had the pleasure of seeing several very interesting collections of radio gear. I mean these hams pulled out all the stops and made a significant effort to flesh out their shacks with boatanchor rigs. Buckle your seat belt and go to QRZ.com and look up Andy Howard, WA4KCY, and Bill Wilson, W4BIZ to name just two collectors/restorers). Remembering when you look at the pix, know that this is only about 1/3 of their entire collections!
The point I am trying to make is that when the "collectors bug" bites there is no known cure! Of course it is fun! Not to mention the bragging rights when you restore a classic radio and use it on the air. The main issue that presents itself is where are you going to put all the gear you amassed? Our previous 3750 sq foot house was getting very crowded and not with humans! Suffice it to say I off-loaded a LOT of gear when we moved from PA to GA in 2008. Talk about depressing.
Since the move I have tried, and I do mean REALLY tried, not to start collecting/restoring any boatanchors. However,, I have still managed to acquire two (2) Heathkit SB-series stations (SB-301/SB401 and SB-303/SB-401 with the associated station console, station monitor, and panadaptor), SBE-34 (lovingly restored by Dale Parfitt, W4OP), a National 122 receiver and a EFJ Viking Adventurer transmitter, a Heathkit VF-1 VFO, one HW-8 and two (2) HW-7s, two (2) Ten-Tec Argonaut 509s, and a Wilderness Radio NC-40A. To the uninitiated this collection of radio relics may seem excessive, but believe me when I tell you that my current collection of rigs is about 1/4 of what I had previously and that is without factoring in my military comm gear!!
Having said all this, its time we need to address the 900 pound gorilla in the room: that time in our collective lives when we pass on/become a SK. Yeah, kinda morbid, huh? Well, as my grandfather George said "Nobody gets out of life alive!" Oh, how true. So whatcha gonna do with all that radio gear? Looking forward to the inevitable, might I suggest that you begin by listing all your gear by model/serial number and their current used price. Then contact someone within your local club to act as the executor of your ham gear. Write it all up, give a copy to your selected ham radio executor and the other to you spouse. In this way, you have delegated a fellow ham to help your spouse dispose of your gear with minimal hassle. It's only fair. Remember your spouse will have one less task to be burdened with.
Vy 73 es Gud DX
Rich K7SZ
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