My Ham Radio Equipment

I own two sets of equipment: An HF base station with a multi-band vertical antenna, and a VHF mobile radio whose mag mount antenna permits operation indoors as well as in the car.

This picture above was taken at our family's cabin in western Wisconsin. The radio is a Kenwood model 820 (circa early '80s, I believe). The black box on top is a power supply for the power/SWR meter to its right. If you squint really hard you can make out the telegraph key just behind the microphone. It's on a block of wood, which is the brown item. The pink sheets are pieces of scrap paper. I was operating during Field Day that year, and needed lots of scrap paper.

This antenna is a ground-mounted Butternut 6V (six-band vertical). Fully extended, it is 26' tall. A true vertical antenna, it requires ground radials. I laid down nearly 120 while I was installing the antenna. I suspect a number have broken over the years, but I should still have around 100 working for me.

This arrangement allows me to work a number of HF (shortwave) bands without expending a lot of money or disrupting the natural beauty around our cabin. I realize that without a directional antenna or amplifier, I won't be able to compete with the "big guns," but that's OK. I never have a problem finding someone to chat with.

I generally get good reports, although a lot depends on sun spot activity. As you may know, we're coming out of the most recent sun spot lull, with the next peak expected to arrive in a few years. Until then band conditions will steadily improve, making this a good time to be on the air.

This antenna is designed to operate on 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 15m, and 10m. My radio is an older model and does not cover the 30m band.

With band conditions being quieter, I've spent a lot of time on 40m and 20m. As conditions improve I'll start monitoring 15m and 10m more. The 10m band, in particular, is really "hot" during the sun spot cycles. During the past cycle, 2000-2001, I shortened the antenna about six inches to maximize its effectiveness on 15m and 10m. Consequently, it became useless for 80m--had a bandwidth of about 50 kHz anyway--so I wasn't out anything. I didn't operate much on 80m as it was.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the Butternut, though it has a couple design quirks. The wire used for the 15m band is way up the antenna, requiring me to take down the antenna to adjust that part. Also, the antenna exhibits rather high SWR on 20m causing a drop in output on that band. I could lower that a bit with some adjusting (called tuning), but that would throw off performance on the 40m band. So I leave it as is.

Completing the arrangement is about 160' of RG-8U coax.

For mobile operations I use a Radio Shack HTX-252 2m radio. A very basic model, it offers only standard voice operation. (No code or other modes you find on more advanced radios.) Its two power levels, 10W and 25W, are sufficient for hitting repeaters in most areas of the country. I use a 5/8 wave mag mount antenna mounted on the trunk.

To operate from inside the apartment--in essence, base operation--I had to buy a power supply. I also found a piece of sheet metal to act as a ground plane for the antenna. (The car body serves that purpose during mobile operations.) It's a nifty operation, and allows me to chat with folks in the Milwaukee area via local repeaters.

What arrangement is best for you? Only you can determine that. Ask other amateur radio operators to show you their shacks, and ask for their advice. Putting together your ham radio station is a lot fun with the reward--making contacts over the air--the icing on the cake.

P.S. I have another lens about the amateur radio service, including background on the hobby and tips on how to help out during a charity event. I encourage you to take a look if you haven't already.
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In addition to amateur radio, I like to spend time outdoors biking, hiking, hanging out at the cabin....just about anything related to being outside of the four walls. I own Supreme Communications, LLC, a marketing communications firm located in suburban Milwaukee. You are welcome to join me on LinkedIn and Twitter. Additional columns may be found at EzineArticles.com.

This short column falls under the heading of, "ARRGGHH!!"

I like to chat on the air when I'm away from home, so I packed my H-T (handheld) for several trips. One was to New Zealand, which entailed about 18 hours of flying time between two airlines. As I think about it now, it was pretty amazing that the radio survived the flight unscathed.

I say "amazing" because my luck ran out during a trip to California years later. As I had done previously, I packed the H-T in a rolled up t-shirt stuffed among other clothing in the suitcase. Naturally I thought it would be OK.

As I was unpacking upon arrival, I turned on the radio. Lo and behold, it didn't work. It occurred to me then that my meager attempt at protecting the H-T wasn't enough. All that jostling around--most likely thanks to baggage handlers--caused something to break internally. Great.

Adding insult to injury, when I got back I realized that I still had the original box for the radio. Yep, a nice box with roughly inch-thick Styrofoam insulation inside. You could ship raw eggs across the country in that darn thing. Here I was trying to protect electronic gear with rolled up clothing.

Moral of the story? Search around for a solid and cushioned box for your gear if you plan to pack it in your checked luggage. Odds are you still have the original box. Ham radio ops are known for being pack rats. Look around.

If it's small enough (like an H-T), consider packing in your carry-on piece. You can control how that item is carried about. You'll still want to wrap it in something, but at least that piece of luggage won't get tossed around like a sack of potatoes.

Take care of your ham radio equipment when you fly, and it'll be available for you when you arrive at your destination.

P.S. I have another lens about the amateur radio service, including background on the hobby and tips on how to help out during a charity event. I encourage you to take a look if you haven't already.
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In addition to amateur radio, I like to spend time outdoors biking, hiking, hanging out at the cabin....just about anything related to being outside of the four walls. I own Supreme Communications, LLC, a marketing communications firm located in suburban Milwaukee. You are welcome to join me on LinkedIn and Twitter. Additional columns may be found at EzineArticles.com.