HF Activities

I  purchased my first HF radio in 2007. It was a Trio TS-820s, a solid state/valve hybrid radio from the early eighties. I was impressed with its performance and it can be worked on by the owner without the need for special test equipment. Owning an old radio like this is a bit like running a classic car. It may not have all the bells and whistles of the latest models and does require regular maintenance. I decided to replace it with a slightly newer Yaesu FT757 GX and passed the old rig onto another ham. This second radio served me well for a few years but was starting to show its age . Eventually, it gave up completely and was beyond my capabilities to repair, so in 2023 I puchased a used Icom IC718 at a hamfest. This radio has full CAT capabilities and is my current HF rig. 

My antenna is a Rybakov. This simple but versatile antenna provides all band coverage above 10MHz via an ATU. Frequency coverage can be extended to the lower bands by adding more wire to the radiating element as described by WB3GCK on his web site.