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WB5NHL Ham Home Page

This the home page for the ham activities of this oldcyberdude. I started as an SWL in the early sixties with a Hallicrafters S-120 receiver. With this receiver and a long wire antenna I learned there was quite an exciting world of forign broadcast. Here are several QSL cards from that time (My SWL cards). I have been a ham since I was 16 years old. My first station was like many in the mid-sixties; a Hammarlund HQ-110C and a Heathkit DX-60B. As a novice the transmitter was crystal controlled, a requirement for novices back then. When I got my General license I added a Knight VFO to the transmitter.

This was my only station until I graduated college and served in the Army. While stationed at Ft. Huachuca I upgraded to a Yaesu FT-101. This remained my primary rig until just recently. Here are some of my QSL cards from almost 30 years ago. While at Ft. Huachuca I experimented with many different antennas. I left the service and lived in Dallas Tx. for several years. It was at this time that I really had a "shack". At this location I operated from a seperate building in the backyard and setup a 70 ft tower with Mosley TA-33jr.

With a change in employment and a growing family I left Dallas and entered a long period of very limited ham activity. The recent growth in PSK31 along with becoming an "empty nester" has prompted my renewed interest in hamming. Below you see my current station.

My Station

The station consists of a Kenwood TS-570DG transceiver. I use an MFJ-949E tuner when operating antennas beyond the tuning range of the Kenwood (not very often). An old Kenwood TM-221A 2 meter transceiver monitors some local VHF repeaters. The computer is an 650 Mhz AMD Athlon machine that serves very well for PSK31 and logging duties. The station is connected full time to the internet via a DSL connection.

I live in an antenna restricted townhouse community. Thus, it has taken some creativity to become an active ham again. While I won't be able to compete any time soon with "big gun" of 700 watts driving a 75 ft tribander with some research and creativity townhouse can accomodate ham activities. I have provided several pages on this site to my experiences and alternatives for indoor attic antennas. See My Resticted Space Antennas.

I am a member of the Quarter Century Wireless Club (Member #31218). With my recent interest in PSK31 and QRP I have joined the Amateur Radio Club International (Member #10887) and the 070 club (Member #143). I have also participated in some PSK contests since 2001. Here is my logbook