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Welcome to K4SO.com. I have tried to thank the many who have helped me along the way. 73, Mark

1-5-2026 - Thanks to all who worked me (often again) as I participated in the 2025 DX Marathon Challenge (formerly the CQ DX Marathon in 2024).

The goal of the Challenge portion is to work as many countries and zones on all HF bands excluding 160, 60 and 6m. I spent some time on all three "bands with 6s" at first, not fully aware of the rules. As a result, it was a pretty good DX year on 6m with 98 countries worked (many reworked, of course), 90 on 160m and 161 on 60m, but to no avail for the Challenge. When all else fails, read the directions.

My raw score for 2025 is 2,268 (313 countries overall regardless of band), up from 1,278 in 2024, when I didn't actively pursue this operating event. At the moment, that's second place worldwide. We'll see how it stands up after adjudication with the results to be announced in early April 2026 (Results are in as of 4/14/2026. See below) .

I really do appreciate all the QSOs on multiple bands. Although most were FT8, the CW and SSB contacts were especially important. - SO

6m Stats 8/3/2026

DXCC - 167 W, 166 C

Latest 6m country(ies) - EX9QT (7-29-2026)

HZ1DG, HZ1SK (7-28-2026)

6m WAZ-#196 (7/2022) 32 zones (6/2026)

GRIDS - 1,274 W, 1,204 C

FFMA - 471 W, 470 C

Latest FFMA grid(s) - (11 in 2026)

CN98 - W7WKR, CN70 - KO6HTT

CN72 - K7AGE, (1st Q65 QSO for me!), DN88 - K0MHZ

(Many grids from the "old days" and not confirmed via QSL cards, so reworking continues. Some OMs from those are SK, sadly. Similar difficulty with DXCC Challenge. Finally reached 3,000.with E51EME)

Dancing baloney (l and r) is a tribute to animators, old and new.

The drawing of the HW-101 is a birthday present from our 13-year-old granddaughter, Natalie. She asked, "What is your favorite radio? (in my shack)", and I chose the '101, as it is reminds me of the one I built in 1972—my first new rig. Little did I know that that I'd enjoy this hobby for another half century+.

>>>>:::<<<<

DXCC Challenge (Current) - 3,044 C

DXCC Challenge (Total) - 3,073 W incl. deleted

DXCC Challenge (FT8 only*) - 2,675 W 2,602 C

>>>>:::<<<<

5BWAZ (40/band) #2279

160m WAZ (37) #634

>>>>:::<<<<

*My record keeping, not an actual award

Shown below are FT8 WAS & DXCC totals

by band (160-6)

You need some volts and amps for QRO!

FFMA Grids G = cmfd. Y = unconfirmed. R = unworked

Click PLAY for a short bio created from text on my QRZ.com page by NotebookLM (late 2025) AI. These are completely synthesized voices on this "podcast" (that's not me talking to the interviewer) and lots of details brought in that are not contained in my written information on QRZ to explain things. There are a few blatant errors and it makes me sound like a saint. That's the first one. But pretty impressive as they fill in details to make things more clear to non-hams.

K4SO Bio from QRZ_v2_interview style.mp3

Mark C. Killmon

First licensed as WN3PHG in Delaware in 1970.

Now in Amissville, VA

after 24 years in Nokesville, VA.

Info. and pictures to add to our on-the-air QSO

56 years on the air, and it's still like this --->

Radio_dancing.mp4

AMATEUR RADIO STATION

_ . _ . . . . _ . . . _ _ _

Please consider using LoTW. Click here to search Clublog for our QSO

Actual license plates including all but my Novice callsign.

WN/WA3PHG - 1st call 1970/1971

WA3PHG/4 - Chowan College dorm room 1973/1974

KA4EKO 2x3 - new QTH 1977

KD4NI 2x2 - new rules for Advanced class 1981

AA4HE 2x2 - Extra in '84 (KD4NI '84) 1985

KX3Q 2x1 - new QTH later 1985 (ditched HE)

K4SO 1x2 - vanity call 1996-?

Ever wonder what a soaring bird sees?

This is the view looking west from my house at 400 feet AGL.

The next "mountain" visible is Battle Mountain, 2.4 miles away, & first hop for our 5GHz Internet service.

Behind that is the first ridgeline of the Blue Ridge Mountains. You can see why they bear that name.

No birds were harmed in the production of this photo.

(Thanks to Scott, K4SFT, for this shot from his Mavic-2 Pro drone.)

Primary Station(s)

Elecraft K6 (2 x K3 :-)

• Elecraft K3 #2861

• Elecraft K3 #6359

• P3 on #2861

• LP-Pan & EMU 0204s

w/NaP3 (1 per K3)

• IC-706MKIIG (VHF/UHF)

• Elecraft KPA1500

• ETO Alpha 89

• Commander HF-2500

• WX0B SixPak driven

by WA4MCM Kits

decoders on each K3

• Ameritron RCS-8V

• WA4MCM kits RAAS-8a

• WX0B SixPak control

box with homebrew

switch for Beverage RX

antennas + relay

control for remote use

and combining bevs

• YCCC SO2R Controller

• ICE 419 bandpass filter

• Dunestar 600

bandpass filter

• W6PQL sequencer for

432 preamp

• SignaLink USBs for K3

and IC-706MKIIG

• 2 HyGain Rotator boxes

with Idiom Press PC

interfaces used with

PSTRotatorAZ on LAN

• Homebrew reversible L

Tuner

• Nye Viking MB IV

(HB upgraded balun)

• LDG AT-200Pro tuner

• WA4MCM kits GM-102s

• Kenwood SW--2000s

• Drake W-4s

• P3 with TX monitor,

wattmeter and SVGA

• Dell Precision 3620 (i7)

• HP 800 G1 (i7)

Where am I on Digital?

What have I worked on FT8? FIRST FT8 QSO ON 7/10/2017 - 300th COUNTRY on 11/6/2023

(drag to scroll on small vertical screens)

STATES CONFIRMED

FT8 only

Last state for 11-band WAS - 6m, AK, 11-1-2024, KL7J. Thanks Les!

*60m for fun only. Not part of ARRL WAS program. Band ruined by new slot incorporating Channel 3, QRP only. TNX ARRL.

I guess I need to build a 2m EME station if I want to complete 2m WAS.

COUNTRIES WORKED & CONFIRMED

FT8 only

FT8 DXCC Challenge 2,602 C

FT8 DXCC Challenge 2,676 W

*60M for fun only. New 60m alloc. not fun. Not in Challenge.

FT8 DXCC Challenge not part of ARRL DXCC program.

2026 Es on TMB (6m) DXCC, VUCC, FFMA grids, INCLUDING A (LIKELY) ONCE IN A LIFETIME DX QSO to BY!

6-9–11-2026: A longtime wanted QSO with Kuwait is finally in the log. 9K2GS. I have seen Abdallah periodically many times over the last several years, and he confirmed our complete QSO the following day. Little did I know that I would work 9K2OD the following day! Imagine working Kuwait for grids. My neighbors, K1HTV, Rich, and W3IP, Mike, also worked 9K2GR for an additional grid (I worked him also for grid #3 in Kuwait on 7/15). On 6-10, I also worked SV5DKL, who I have been chasing for many years. EU1KY was worked for the third new country during this 2-day dawn to dark opening. K1HTV reported a EU opening at 2:30am local time on the 10th! After a slow start to summer Es, things were looking up. In between the DX, 26 new grids have been confirmed, including 2 new ones for FFMA. A year had elapsed since that occurred.

New countries are new countries. Not exactly a profound observation, but even working the U.N. in NYC adds to the DXCC total. And that one took many years because of noise at their station, as far as I can tell. You need to work them all, once. That said, the ones you chase a long time are memorable and welcome, but the unlikely at all and/or likely "once in a lifetime" QSOs hold an even more special place.

On 6-11-2023, at 22:37-23:11, The Magic Band opened up with SSSP to Japan for approximately ½ hour. At one point during that period, I had a full Band Activity window of callers from Japan. I even had a "pileup" in the JTAlert chat window! It was a memorable operating experience, based on the sheer number of stations and signal strengths.

On November 1, 2024, the most exotic QSO I'd had on 6m was made with VU3WEW. It was a brief opening, and after waiting through an intervening QSO after I first saw him, I completed the QSO with no repeats. On FT8, the longest 15 seconds in ham radio is waiting for the RR73 after reports have been exchanged, indicating that you're in the partner's log. I've always contended that the longest three minutes in ham radio is the warmup time for my 3CX800-based amplifiers, but on that day, the longest two minutes in ham radio was the interval between the first decode and the "in the log" moments of that QSO.

6-11-2026: It was a rather quiet morning 6m, three years to the day after the wild ½ hour run into Japan mentioned above (and described in detail, with some screenshots below). I'd closed the station at 0500z with a welcome new FFMA grid (DN44) worked after midnight after numerous attempts. My current signal path for 6m from the rig requires that the KPA1500 to be on, so I don't monitor the band overnight. When I got on at 1105z, I heard locals calling EX9QT (more about him later in the season) and quickly switched to JTDX. Within a few minutes, there was only one caller I could hear and I never decoded him. What this portended only became clear an hour later. At 1154z, I saw W3IP and W4MW calling Yan, BG0DLA! China on 6m! Really!? YES! W4MW was giving him a -13. Seeing my neighbor, K1HTV, Rich calling him, I decided to get in the queue at 1156z and began calling him, decoding him on the next cycle at -17. Mike completed his QSO at 1201z, and I continued to call, next seeing him at 1204z, replying to KX4R. He next replied to W8HC. I did not copy the conclusion to that QSO, but, after the new "longest ___ minutes in ham radio" interval, he answered me at 12:06:30z with a -14 report! I replied with a -13 report to him, and waited the eternity of the 13-second next transmission plus two- second decode to see "K4SO BG0DLA RR73." I sent a 73, and thought of CAPCOMM's Charlie Duke, "Roger Tranquility, We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot." Me, "Yan, TU OM. I'm breathing again." Minutes later, the confirmation appeared on LoTW! And, yes, I sent for a paper QSL for this one.

7-20-2026: After the QSO with BG0DLA, preceded with 9K2GS two days prior in June, I found myself mostly chasing grids (including several good EU openings) for VUCC and western US openings for FFMA, and I naturally wondered what might be left in this season. Between 6-11 and 7-20, I worked 28 new grids, but they are harder to find above 1,150, my confirmed total at the time. Then, after an approximately one hour opening starting around 01:24z to Japan, the stage was set for later that same day., starting at 21:41Z and lasting until 23:26Z, I experienced the longest, largest JA opening to date. My goal was to chase quality (grids) over quantity, having experienced significant JA openings in the past (and not knowing this would be the largest). When the totals were tallied, I had worked 41 stations in 10 new grids, with 216 unique JAs appearing in the ALL. TXT file. During that opening, I also copied HL3GOB and DS4EOI. Working either of them is the next major goal in that direction! SSSP (Summer Solstice Short Path), a combination of Sporadic-E hops connecting into a chordal-type hop is always exciting.

7-24-2026: The DXCC fun wasn't over yet. Having missed an opening to the Middle East during our mid-morning hours on 7/19, I was afraid I'd missed my chance for A7 and HZ yet again. Later that same week, I was able to work A71XX, as shown below. After the CQ, he clearly received many calls. I'm glad I kept my call active on his screen. Once called, we completed with once through the hoops. Thanks Mohamed!

7-28-2026: As they used to say on the Ginsu knife commercials, "But wait, there's more!" The other DXCC entity I had missed on the 19th along with A71CT was HZ1SK. I'd covered the loss with A71, but figured it was unlikely I'd see HZ again. As it turns out, after a late night with the beam west, as I resumed the next morning, with a minute, HZ1DG popped up working Jack, W3KX! He disappeared for 3 minutes before he emerged from the noise and gave me a -18. I replied with a R-24 report, he replied with a -03, and I replied 3 times with a -26 before he came up to a -15 and we finally completed. Then I worked HZ1SK about 40 minutes later! Both took repeats to complete but were worth the effort.

7-29-2026: TMB continued to deliver new ones for the 2026 season. At 1142Z I saw the Maryland locals calling EX9QT. I had seen him being called early in the month by the Maryland DXers, including a +17 report sent by W3UR! Bernie really gets the DX, perhaps by all the RF plating in his antenna from the massive W3LPL antenna farm right next door. :-) Around 7/13-15, I saw him being called again, but never a whiff here. He was again being chased on the 24th and the 28th with nothing seen here but callers. The closest was in FN20. On the 28th, the local Maryland 6m DXers were on his trail again, with a couple making the trip. At 1248Z on the 29th, I saw fellow local DXers, in order of geographic proximity, K1HTV, W3IP, K3SX and K1RZ calling him. One cycle later i saw him at -22 calling CQ and I began calling for a couple minutes, hoping QSB would swing my (our) way. Crickets. Locals continued to call and you never know whether they are copying or just hoping, as we all do for the exotic entities. It wasn't until 1250Z that I saw him again, at -16. I called 3 more times as he CQ'd in my face, After 6 calls, at 125430Z he answered with a -15! I responded with a -04, and he with an RR73 (at -03). After my 73, I saw him once more at 1265Z calling CQ twice, and then gone. Email contact informed me that Sergey would send a QSL card when he returns to his home in the fall. He is not on LoTW. :-( But he was cordial and responsive and I'll send him a card and postage, and gladly pay for the card checker to do his thing.

8-5-2026: I got two day turnaround on my DXCC application for 6m, bringing me to 166 confirmed. I applied for my VUCC 1,200 grid sticker today, claiming 29 more of the 72 new grids confirmed (91 worked) this season so far. It's been a good FFMA season too, with eleven new grids confirmed (470 total confirmed), another worked, and one more on the horizon in the next two weeks.

Hope springs eternal on TMB, but it's getting late in the Es season. Frank, W3LPL posted this in his daily forecast on 8-3: "The decline of the northern hemisphere sporadic-E season began this week, with more sporadic, less frequent, shorter duration and less predictable long distance 10 and 6 meter propagation until the sporadic-E season reaches its normal end by about mid-August."😭 The fall conditions over the last couple years have been outstanding into the Pacific region, after 20 years of silence at my QTH. We'll see what TMB may have in store for us, aside from solar panel noise, electric fence clicks, and white noise between openings.

QSO with BG0DLA. His signal is clearly visible at 1899 Hz.

LoTW confirmation shortly after my QSO with BG0DLA! The final courtesy of a QSO is confirmation on LoTW.

A71XX after a 4 minute wait. Worse than wating for 3CX800s to warm up. FInished in one cycle. Whew!

HZ1DG after a back a forth with QSB. This was more than a week after locals had worked him on a Sunday morning.

And one more, for good luck. HZ1SK, the specific station I missed on July 19. This was the year for the Middle East DX!

EX9QT first glimpse. BIC time, for sure.

EX9QT in the log! That was another one at the end of the string, going east!

Each calendar year, the goal of DX Marathon is to work 1.) the 40 CQ Zones and 2.) 346 CQWW DX Contest entities comprised of the 340 DXCC list, plus 5 additional entities on the WAE (Worked All Europe) list (GM/Shetland, IT/Sicily, TA1/European Turkey, 4U1VIC, JW/Bear Is.) and the Italian islands of Lampedusa (IG9) & Pantelleria (IH9), in CQ Zone 33 off the coast of North Africa listed as “African Italy." on any band from 160-6m. There are also single band, low power, and "template" categories.

The DX Marathon Challenge (which was my focus in 2025) uses the same list, but is limited to 80-10m but including 30m, 17m, and 12m. The goal is to work as many of the 3,088 band slots and band zones as possible in a calendar year.

Congratulations to Giuseppe, IT9FTP for his #1 finish, with 2276 points!

Many thanks to the Araucaria DX Group for this plaque.

2025 DX Marathon Challenge A GRUELING, FUN, ONE YEAR RACE FOR COUNTRIES, ZONES AND BAND SLOTS

4-14-2026: The results are in. My thanks to the 1,147 unique calls in my log resulting in 2,258 band/zone slots in the 2025 DX Marathon Challenge and my congratulation to Giuseppe, IT9FTP, who took the #1 spot. Thanks also to WC3W, President and Program Director and his team. Special mention goes to Sebastian Delmont, KI2D, for his outstanding work on the attractive and highly refined online submission tool. And finally, many thanks to the Araucaria DX Group for sponsoring the #1 and Runner Up plaques.

With the help of good conditions, lots of intel from a variety of sources (local and global) and a modest station that can mostly "turn on a dime," I ended up as global runner up the DX Marathon Challenge for 2025. A brief description of this program is in order and there are excellent resources and a helpful FAQ on the website, www.dxmarathon.com.

The primary goal of the DX Marathon is similar to the ARRL's DXCC program but also includes the 40 CQ zones in the totals. But the counter resets each year, and the goal is to work all 40 zones and as many DXCC entities plus a few additional CQ entities as established by the CQWW contests (see above captions). The DX Marathon Challenge expands the program to include the bands from 80-10m, including the WARC bands, but not 60m. There are also single band categories for 160, 60 and 6m. The DX Marathon has been operating since 2006 (modern era with the Marathon Challenge added in 2024, so it has just completed its second year.

W3LPL, Frank, has encouraged members of PVRC to participate in the Marathon, and also the Challenge, which was expanded in scope in 2025. I went back and forth about a serious effort in 2025, and by February, I was committed for the duration. Through no one's fault but my own, (I was confused by the single band categories), I began my efforts including 160, 60 and 6m. That resulted in some respectable totals for a single year, but did nothing but divert me from the included bands for the Marathon Challenge. A course correction somewhere around April or so deemphasized the "bands with 6s" but since I enjoy DXing on all three, especially 6m, totals on them also grew slowly throughout the year.

My description of my station is being able to "mostly turn on a dime," with an amplifier with 5 second delay to full readiness, including an integral tuner and SO2R switching that allows my two K3s to access any of my antennas. Using DXLab Suite's DXKeeper and Commander rig control along with Spotcollector, I can point and click to grab stations from the spotting networks and having automated antenna switching and enough isolation to be able to operate on two different bands. None of this is anything special in most modern contest/DXing stations, but "getting there early" has big benefits, just like in s&p contesting, when you have a station like mine, not capable of simply busting the ensuing pileups.

But, none of those capabilities matter, if you don't know who's new (for the year) and what band they are on. Thanks to two local, outstanding multi-band skimmer setups at K1HTV, (Rich, my neighbor two miles east), and K1RA, Andy, (Rich's son who lives ten miles away in the town of Warrenton), plus the DX Cluster system and alerts from friends, I had a good map of conditions and needed stations. Rich has outstanding antennas too, so he hears some stations that I cannot, and Andy has a quieter QTH, but is a little less likely to spot something I can't hear. Working the spotted stations is another matter, of course. This spotting was also supplemented by my entries in HamAlert (which monitors the DX Cluster, RBN, PSKReporter, SOTA, POTA and WWFF). I also kept it loaded with current and upcoming DXpeditions, as well as entries built by having HamAlert examine my log on Clublog. This alerted me, on my cellphone, when a needed station appeared. The alerts brought me to the shack, or since I use Splashtop to remotely operate my station on FT4/8 modes (including antenna selection and rotator control), allowed me to work some stations when offsite. The first few months were especially fun, since there were lots of new entities, zones, and band slots to work every day.

However, the second half of the year-long effort was grueling, with fewer and fewer new ones still unworked and by around August, I was committed to a nearly daily schedule of 6am local to 1am the following day to catch EU sunrise and local sunrise. As the days shortened, I got a little more sleep. :-) Not to overanalyze things (no pie or bar charts here), I note that I had hit 300 countries and zones on September 1st (313 claimed 4 months later at the end of the event), and 2,000 band slots and zones on September 4th. It took four more months for the next 258 (claimed) band slots. This is based on DXLabs DXKeeper progress report. Of the 2,268 total, 267 were CW, 130 SSB, and the balance were DIGITAL. I think there is overlap with DIGITAL favored by the submission tool, since I see many more overlapping QSOs that were made on CW or SSB as well as DIGITAL. These is just my observations, which gives me a small sense of the adjudication process by the DX Marathon team to get things right, down the single point gaps between winners and losers, over the entire pool of entrants!

I had already decided to take a rest in 2026, but who knows how I may feel in 2027? -SO

No Man's Land on The Magic Band SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR (AND IT ONLY TOOK 10 YEARS)

6-5-2025: On my father-in-law's 96th birthday, I got a present.

6m has a number of propagation modes and their unpredictability is what is so alluring. OTOH, the fact that a routine location can be too far for groundwave, and too close for skywave is truly maddening. That is, when the location is New York City and the station is the United Nations building, which counts as a separate DXCC entity.

Stations near NYC can easily work 4U1UN. But often signal reports ar lopsided, based on what I can only surmise is significant baseband noise, since the station is in The Big Apple. I often crab about noise in my mostly rural setting, but I'm sure it's nothing like what the ops at the U.N. face. I suppose that technically, I've been chasing a QSO for 6m DXCC credit with the U.N. since I got on the band in August of 1999. but I was too busy working most anyone I could, learning about this new thing (to me), called gridsquares. This provided a more granular, large variety of "new ones" to chase. By November, I'd worked my first DX, and by December, I had worked my first AK station. My first Pacific DX was VP6BR in April 2000, Little did I know that with the exception of KH6, and V73, I wouldn't work anything really far west until 2018 (Japan) and finally VK (2022). There were a few Caribbean DX stations worked and a couple of Europeans, but DXing didn't start to roll until late 2000. with SA, and EU in "significant" numbers. By summer of 2000, and especially 2001, I experienced this thing called E skip, which kept the grids rolling in each late spring/summer. By the fall of 2001, we had F2, and there were Europeans in abundance multiple days in November and December. January of 2002 provided lots of DX fireworks to Europe. All of this to say that there were so many new DXCC countries to work, that working a station in New York City as a DXCC entity wasn't even on the radar. It became evident pretty quickly that this was a unique challenge.

In 2020, I made a QSO, with 4U1UN, with signal reports exchanged, and me sending RR73, but no wrap-up 73 cycle from them. I called for a while to start over, but there was no response. Many of my radio friends know of my long, unfruitful pursuit and they provided an extra layer of alerting and details beyond the online reporting. Today's contact could have easily not happened if my neighbor, Rich (K1HTV), didn't text me via JTAlert and let me know he'd just made a QSO. Being only two miles away from me generally means our band conditions are very similar, but his stacked, phased 7 el. yagis give him advantages over my single 7 el. LFA. When I saw 4U1UN at +00 and later +02, I knew it was worth a shot. "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take", a quote often attributed to Wayne Gretzky is true, no matter who first coined it. After a couple calls, and after he worked N4JT, I received a response, with a -12 report. I replied with a +00 report, then came the best or worst 15 seconds in FT8 operating. Either they repeat your report, meaning they didn't copy you, or worse yet move on to someone else, or, you get the RR73 report that means you're in the log.

After 10 years of chasing, in one minute, the contact is completed.

Waterfall showing 4U1UN on the left. Not much activity on the band. This signal level turned out to cross the threshold and allow me to make this much wanted QSO.

How much electricity I used or time spent calling 4U1UN anytime they were above -10 signal is not shown in my log. But it's more than a couple kW I suspect, and more than a few hours, off and on, over the last 10 years. Station improvements, persistence, the operator(s) at the other end and the help of others at my end eventually resulted in a QSO. But, once again, The Magic Band showed its magic.

Cycle 25 6m F2 11-1-2024 SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING OLD

11-2-2024: The maximum phase of Cycle 25 was officially announced by NASA and NOAA in a teleconference on October 15. The peak will be identified in coming months. After a relatively poor Es season (certainly unproductive for me), we began to look for the long-awaited F2 propagation, which I have only experienced in the early 2000s. Cycle 24 was essentially devoid of 6m F2, as I recall. W3LPL, who sends a daily propagation update to the PVRC email reflector, started his 11-1-2024 email forecast with this: "Some of the best HF and 6m F2 propagation of Cycle 25 is likely to continue for the next week". One thing is for sure, it sure started for me on November 1st. As I write this on 11-2, we just experienced a packed band of European stations on FT8, with some activity on CW as well. FT4 was also active, with conditions easily supporting that mode as well.

Back to November 1st. I was monitoring the band for Lance, W7GJ, who activated ZD9GJ on 6m EME and terrestrial paths in mid-September. He was worked by local 6m DXers, K1HTV, K3SX and W3IP while I was out of town, and I was hoping for a last shot as he was detained from departing at least 2 or maybe 3 weeks beyond his original schedule. That didn't happen, but what came next was equally exciting. The "something new" as noted in the subhead above. AC4TO was working Adi, VU3WEW! Better than that, I was actually copying him! (see #1 below). He called CQ and I scrambled to find a clear frequency and began calling, figuring that the initial CQ and two following decodes of his QSO with Ken, AC4TO, might be the end of it. After several calls (limited control over colors in dark mode with JTDX, sorry for the white text with a yellow background), he emerged with a -8 signal, calling CQ. Could it be possible he'd actually hear me? The answer is a resounding "yes," and I worked one of my most unexpected DX QSOs on 6m since I first began operating on The Magic Band (TMB) in late 1999. My neighbor Rich, K1HTV, was next in line to work him from this area, before Adi faded out. I did not keep my BIC, and Rich, K1HTV, copied 4S7AB shortly thereafter, until local QRM captured the AGC of his K3 and pushed Kamal into the noise. The QSO with Adi was posted to LoTW almost immediately by both of us, and that confirmation will be applied when ARRL catches up after the LoTW difficulties from this last July. From QRZ, Adi is running a 3 el. yagi and has an Expert 1.3KFA with a Hermes-Lite 2 and IC-7300. I'm unsure of the radio used, but I am guessing it was the SDR. I was running an InnovAntennas 7 el. LFA at 63 ft. with a K3 driving my homebrew pair of 4CX250Bs at 400w.

As if the day didn't have enough excitement already, this was also the end of my quest for WAS on 160-6m, all on FT8. This includes 60m, which I know is not an "awards" band. I had completed everything but AK on 6m to fill in my own tally of 11-band W.A.S., starting with 20 states in 2017, the first partial year when FT8 was introduced. My QSO with NV on June 15, 2024 was my 49th state on 6m. Although I had watched for AK as part of the chase since 2017, I knew that conditions would need to improve to work it again on TMB. After working Les, KL7J numerous times on various bands and modes since 2009, I found that he was on the JTAlert chat most times when was operating FT8. I enjoyed several extended text chats as we operated, and began to reach out when I saw him spotted on 6m, just in case he was hearing the Mid-Atlantic states. When KL7HBK first appeared in our area, around 18:11Z, I was not in the shack, and my ALL.TXT file shows I only began to copy him at 18:31Z. My antenna was still aimed at 20 degrees to India, so he was likely readable somewhat earlier. Les was first called at 18:35Z by locals, only to be followed by KL7SB, KL1JP, and AL7LO. When I finally returned to the shack around 20:40Z and realized what I was missing, I turned the antenna, and found Les, but changing band conditions with significant QSB. I texted him, telling him I'd probably lost my chance, but he encouraged me to try anyway, so I began calling at 20:47Z without success, and began again at 21:04Z. Five minutes later, we completed our QSO as shown below (#4 and #5). A subsequent check showed that I worked Les, on all eleven bands on either FT4 or FT8. Thanks for going along for the long haul Les!

11-6-2024 Less than a week later, after a couple of very active days with long, busy EU openings, I was able to work another new country that I've seen spotted for months. New England has several very committed and highly capable 6m DXers. They spot things early in the openings (and early in the morning), that many days, don't ever make their way down the coast to me. I've had Patrice, 3B8FA, in my HamAlert 6m wanted list for a long while. I've worked him on 30, -10m, but had never copied him on TMB. When my chance came, I finally copied him for one cycle at 16:06Z and by 16:08:30Z, I was also able to copy Mike, 3B8HK, initially weaker than Patrice, but eventually becoming louder (at my QTH), When I began calling at 16:12Z, I chose Mike, thinking perhaps there might be fewer callers. As the minutes passed, Patrice was a bit stronger, but I left things as they were, and at 16:19Z, when he answered me with a -14 report, he was -23! He stayed with me for three cycles, and my last report to him was a -14, followed by a 73. Looking back, I see that Patrice had gotten much louder, CQing without callers! But I was in QSO with Mike and thanks to his persistence, I have another very special QSO in the log. (see below).

11-9-2024 Just 3 days later, still more great propagation ends in a special QSO to the Pacific once again. As Patrice called CQ AF, Nick, VK9DX appeared on the band. My log contains QSOs with Nick on 80m, and two Qs on 10m, including one on RTTY. But this is the most unexpected. After 24 years on the band, the last two have finally been productive working DX in the Pacific. Thanks Nick!

First glimpse of VU3WEW, as he worked AC4TO.

2. CQ from Adi, finishing QSO with AC4TO, I begin calling, and Adi appears CQing with -8 signal.

3. Adi answers me, peaking at -3! I respond with my report and hold my breath, until he completes with 73 at -8 signal. Staring at the verification box before logging, I'm thankful that my chair has armrests to keep me from falling out of it. :-)

4. KL7J worked for 50th state on 6m FT8, completing 160-6m FT8 W.A.S. First 20 6m states date back to 2017.

5. JTAlert texts as we wrapped up the W.A.S. Glad Les encouraged me to keep trying.

We are here (2024).

Top images show visible light. Dec. 2019 (l) and May 2024 (r).

Lower images show UV from Cycle 23, but the differences show a similar contrast.

11-6-2024 In QSO with 3B8HK, with 3B8FA CQing

RX Frequency window view of my QSO with Mike.

11-9-2924

RX Frequency Window view of my QSO with VK9DX (above)

(Below) Hasty screen capture of QSO, mostly covered by logging confirmation box. In da log!

Cycle 25 6m Es and Oblique TEP SOUTH COOK ISLANDS IN AND OUT, THEN IN THE LOG!

Prelude: While we wait for F2 propagation, as noted in the account below from last October, there's always hope for something special in the seasonal Es. Last year provided real fireworks, and after the Es season, put Pacific DX in my log I never expected. But it was a long dry spell in late 2023 and more than half way through 2024. DX is my prime interest, but 6m grid chasing, and FFMA in particular really fills in the gaps, and has its own "charm."Brief, "spotlight," "flashlight," and seemingly "laser"-sized spots on our side of the path are all part of the game, be it for grids or DX. It's part of the "magic" of TMB. The watching, waiting and working usually begins in early May, gets rolling in June and July, and August can also be productive. 2022 provided 117 new grids, many of them from DX QSOs, and 2023 yielded 80. New DXCC countries total for 2022 was 7, with 11 in 2023, both great years. As of June 16, I had ZERO new DXCC entities worked in 2024, and under a dozen new domestic and foreign grids.

First callers, then copy: I saw WB9Z completing a QSO with E51EME, Bob (ZL1RS) at 18:30Z on June 12. The following day, at 19:09Z, I saw local 6m DXers calling him too, but most were in MD, and no copy here. At 19:30Z, I saw W3UR give Bob a report, but Bernie did not complete the QSO. with K3MM also calling with a -16 report. The propagation moved west and still calls from locals went unanswered. On the 14th, I saw him for the first time at 19:17Z and began calling. He responded with a-04 report but my R-26 went unanswered. The MD crew were giving him big reports and at 19:38Z, I received him weakly once more, called, but then he was gone. On the 16th, I copied one CQ at -3, but calling for several minutes produced no results.

Paydirt! June 17, 2024: With all the waiting and watching, time for working. At 20:23Z I had my first decode cycle of E51EME at -9! After he finished with K2DRN, Frank, W3LPL worked him and he was up to +4, and I began calling as soon as I copied him. I worked him after Frank with Bob at +3, receiving a -04, and my QSO was followed by my neighbor Rich, K1HTV, working him too, for a West Amissville 6m DXers (FM18ap) BAM BOOM.

Bob emailed that he had sent a QSL card, but that there were delays getting a new LoTW certificate to enable LoTW confirmations. He speculated that the 7-week outage of LoTW created a backlog and told me he'd confirm as soon as he could. With a few days, I received the confirmation. His beautiful QSO arrived July 30. A memorable wrap-up to a very memorable contact with a great operator! TNX Bob es GUD DX.

October Skies on The Magic Band THREE DAYS TO REMEMBER IN LATE OCTOBER 2023 ON 6 METERS

October 20-22, 2023 We've all been waiting for Cycle 25's SFI to climb high enough for F2 propagation. But sometimes a combination of propagation modes and the proper placement of Es patches makes some real magic occur. For all that's known about how 6m works, based on experience, data, experience, and realtime spotting data (these days), the unpredictable behavior can be the most exciting and rewarding.

October 20: 3B9FR - In March of this year, I copied 3B9FR, on Rodriguez Island, for a few single cycles as he was being called by W3UR and a couple of Spanish stations. Just to copy him was pretty thrilling. But as things developed throughout the year, that was the last time I copied Robert despite multiple spots since March. Hold that thought. It comes back around. (see #1 below for March SWLing).

On October 19, 3B9FR was spotted by NE1B, which raised hopes, but that's a long way from Virginia. On the 20th, we hit paydirt here. At 14:53Z I saw locals, N2QT and W3IP calling Robert. Although "local," I heard nothing but callers. Mark, N2QT, is 113 miles away to the SW, but Mike, W3IP's remote station on Mount Weather, W3IP, is only 28 miles away to my NNW. He worked him at 14:58Z. Still nothing decoded here. Nearly an hour later, my ship came in at 15:45Z. Screen capture #2 shows my QSO, and #3 shows the waterfall, with his signal fading away. Last copy was at 15:51Z.

Click on PLAY (triangle) to listen to the AI podcast version of this story, created by Notebook LM in late 2025 from the above text.

October 2023 Six Meter Radio Magic.mp3

March 8 reception of 3B9FR.

My QSO on October 20.

Waterfall of his signal fading away.

Total time of reception, 6 minutes.

October 21-22: FK8HA, FK8CP and E51WL - On March 3, 2023, I copied FK8CP but was unable to work him. On March 6, both FK8CP and FK8HA were copied but again, other areas had the advangage and I was unable to work either. I would never have guessed that in October, I'd get my chance again.

On October 15, I copied FK8CP for one cycle at 01:15Z. Little did I know he'd be booming in at +26 a week later. Just copying him was worth a photo with my cellphone.

On October 21, I worked FK8HA (sri for JTDX Dark Mode, with unreadable colors). We exchanged -05 both ways. That's pretty strong signals. Another long sought DXCC entity in the log! Thanks Patrice.

Then on October 22, the pieces fell into place again and we had an outstanding opening to the Pacific that was local to this area. After a quiet day on the band, one day on from my QSO with FK8HA, I got a phone call from my neighbor Rich, K1HTV, telling me that he'd just worked E51WL on 50.319 on FT4! Could lightning strike again in this same opening? TMB said, "Yes." I quickly ran to the shack and feverishly looked for FT4 in JTDX, the program which I generally favor for 6m. I've gotten so used to WSJT-X AL (alternate layout) that I forgot where the FT4 mode selection was. After some fumbling around, I abandoned it and fired up WSJT-X AL, pressed the prominent FT4 button, and a few calls later, Warwick, E51WL, was in the log! (I have since switched to JTDX AL, also from Uwe, DG2YCB for the more familiar layout ).

Going back to FT8, I found both FK8CP and FK8HA there with outstanding signals, with Remi peaking here at +2. Texts to a few other ops outside the immediate area showed that it was very particular, which is the benefit and the challenge with these openings. You can see me calling FK8CP because of Remi's outstanding signal strength, but he was apparently working hard to complete a sked. or arranged QSO with 6Y5HN, so my QSO with FK8HA stands as my only 6m QSO with New Caledonia.

Thankfully, Warwick, E51WL, returned to FT8 and I was able to work him on that mode. Although and FT4 QSO would suffice for the band, I track FT8 as a separate tally, and this provided one more in the 6m column. You can see all three stations present, albeit with dimished signals by that time.

October brings particular lighting with deciduous trees in bright colors and occasional dark skies with the oblique light on the trees producing a beautiful spectacle. This October's skies brought also brought memorable QSOs worth the wait. Perhaps F2 in Cycle 25 will also bring a few more. CU in the pileups.

March 3 reception of FK8CP.

March 8. FK8CP & FK8HA. No QSO(s).

October 15. FK8CP for one cycle.

October 21 QSO with FK8HA

October 22 QSO with E51WL on FT4

(Right) October 22 E51WL FT4 waterfall & QSL

October 22 FK8CP +28 and FK8HA +16

October 22 QSO with E51WL on FT8.

FK8CP and FK8HA still in there too!

FK8HA QSL

The Original Magic Band (redux) A WILD HALF-HOUR RUN INTO JAPAN ON 6 METERS

June 11, 2023 (22:37Z-23:11Z) Back on June 18, 2020, I observed and documented (below on this webpage), the most impressive JA opening I've seen on 6m. The one pictured below fell short of the peak (27 stations on one cycle in 2020), and was briefer (about 30 minutes vs. 90). But in this case, after calling two JA stations for new grids, I was inundated with callers, as many as 23 in a single cycle. I did my best to work them this time, albeit in the midst of the ARRL June VHF QSO Party in which I was only dabbling. I did not work them for credit in the contest, as it was pretty obvious I was just "in the right place" again, and at the right time.

As a JTAlert user, I have a "chat" window available and open, and I even had a pileup on that. I did grab a few screen shots and also a cellphone picture or two, but was trying to maximize working stations, as clearly they wanted to work me. My strategy was to respond to the loudest stations just to try and insure the quickest contacts, but I did work at least one station running 200 watts (but a respectable 6 el. LFA).

My KPA1500 was on FANS 3, which held it at 58-60C for continuous operation for the opening. Output was 1350 watts. The last 150 (to 1500) are just heat and electricity use without perceptible signal increase.

When things finally tailed off, I had 24 stations in the log, 2 new grids, and had made some grid/state/DXCC chasers happy.

Like hitting a good golf shot (I have limited experience, just at the driving range), or even a winning backhand in tennis, these openings are what keep me coming back to TMB (The Magic Band). CU on TMB, when the Es patches and chordal hops (ducting) are in just the right place(s).

Below: Beginning of opening, peak callers, ending of opening, JTAlert Chat.

First glimpse of 3D2AG

One cycle -2

Completed QSO!

Antoine make it

official on ON4KST

Antoine requests grid

after I thanked him,

then congratulates me!

Cycle 25 delivers a special 6m QSO from the Pacific

ANOTHER LONG HOPED-FOR DX QSO IN THE LOG!

May 9, 2023 - Having just posted the little blurb below about working Dave, ZL1AKW back in February, I also noted the almost daily spots of Antoine (Tony), 3D2AG and me never hearing a peep. Today, I heard more than a peep! A phone call from neighbor and fellow Amissville DXer, Rich, K1HTV, reported that he'd just worked Antoine. I hurried down the the shack, nearly certain that I'd missed that one little needed Es patch, but hopeful. That was 22:48Z. Within a minute, I observed Mark, N2QT (about 113 miles away) and Wray, AB4SF (about 106 miles away, but further east) in the midst of QSOs with him. Then at 22:54Z, I copied Antoine for the first time ever, at -02, calling CQ! I responded and called until the watchdog timer ran out, switching from TX1 (with grid) to TX2 (no grid), hoping he'd surface from the QSB. Nine nervous minutes after I stopped calling, he did surface, with a -8 signal! Three calls later, he was -4 and on the next cycle, he answered me. The QSO included no repeats, and he was in the log!

After a screen shot or two, I realized that he was online on Hamspots.net (I completely forgot to get on ON4KST), and as I thanked him, he requested my grid, which I gladly provided, explaining why I didn't send it in the first place. Then he congratulated me. Ha! What a gentleman. It was my 22nd QSO with him, the first of which was in 2000. The topband QSO was very special, and the others were appreciated, but this one is the best so far. Thanks again Antoine for your dedication to The Magic Band, in particular, which has provided such a special QSO to so many, as well as your activity on so many HF bands.

Ol' Sol enables another special 6m QSO

WINTER Es PRODUCES A LONG HOPED-FOR DX QSO!

February 27, 2023 - With VK4WTN (and VK4MA) worked in the fall of 2022, and my only previous Pacific DX being HI (on several occasions) and VP6BR in 2000, I was hopeful that I'd eventually work a ZL. A 7 el. LFA, K3s (Dave's), K3 (mine) and a kW at each end of the circuit sealed the deal.

I certainly didn't expect it in February, but The Magic Band worked its magic once again. Since then, I've watched 3D2AG spotted on the west coast and into TX and FL for the last 2.5 months, but never a peep at my QTH. Let's hope for a great Es season and even some F2!

Mailman brings a special 6m QSL

CONFIRMATION OF A VERY GOOD Es SEASON OF DXing

October 13, 2022 - Worth the wait. Given the once-a-month mail service on ZD7, St. Helena Island, I knew the QSL for my last new country of the 2022 6M season might take a while. Added to that, Gilbert experienced some PC trouble, which was resolved, and was kind enough to confirm that I was in his log and keep me posted on progress over the summer.

Along with the separate 6M QSL card, I requested and received cards for 6 additional contacts on HF which took care of three bands and a new mode (digital), on HF. Many thanks Gilbert and GUD DX OM.

The QSOdometer rolls over 100K 9-13-2022

After 52 years & 15 days on the air, HZ1TT becomes the 100,000th QSO in my DXLab Suite (DXKeeper) computer log. (110,000 on 10-29-2023.)

Although this milestone is not technically my 100,000th QSO, since my computer log begins in 1978 and omits many QSOs, it was still fun to watch this number roll over.

There are 12 ARRL paper logbooks and several logs in 3-ring binders in my possession whose contents are not fully present. Direct computer logging was restricted to contests early on, starting around 1984 using CT (on floppies!) and laptop PCs borrowed from work for contest weekends. Contest logs remained outside my "day-to-day" log for many years, only poured back in when I decided to harvest zones, states and band countries that were in those logs. To those were added the award-relevant QSOs from my paper logs for awards tracking. This approach omits many pleasurable DX and stateside QSOs, as once logging was no longer mandatory, I stopped logging most stateside QSOs, except longer ragchews and special events stations.

Of special note on this occasion is QSO #1 with my childhood friend Mark, WN3OYA on August 29, 1970. My call was WN3PHG at the time. We lived 6 houses apart on opposite sides of the street, and shared this hobby for several years as well as rooming together for 2 years in college. Although my paper log shows a few unsuccessful unanswered calls (it used to be necessary to log all transmissions, even attempted calls and CQs), Mark and I had a typical Johnny Novice QSO for the day, including the exchange of RST, name and QTH, all of which were well known as the signal traveled less than 1,000 feet. As I looked through the paper logs, I also found my first SSB QSOs as a newly minted General class ham, WA3PHG, with my Elmer, Joe Schorah, WA3KZX. That contact is logged with the "Called By" as X/3, meaning I was portable 3. Not yet owning a SSB transceiver, that QSO must have been from Mark's QTH (WA3OYA at that point). About 15 minutes later, I returned home and fired up my DX-40 novice transmitter up on AM on 3.983 (one of a couple of crystals I had for the phone band) and worked Joe and Mark from home. Within days, I had purchased Joe's HW-100 and was on SSB from my shack.

Funny how "milestones" often take you back to beginnings. As Cunard Lines used to say, "Getting there is half the fun." In this case, I'd say it's most of the fun. With all those stated exceptions, 100,000 QSOs becomes much more symbolic than specifically significant, but it is a reminder of over five decades of on-the-air activity that I still enjoy almost daily.

After 24 years on The Magic Band -

Es patches right where I need 'em

July 19, 2022 - Summertime and seasonal Es DXing on 6m is both challenging and rewarding.

The challenge starts with putting together a station capable of taking advantage of openings. Then, if you can, you improve it over the years with a better _____. Maybe you fill in a few blanks, like a better transceiver, preamp, amplifier (if you use one), antenna (very important) and/or feedline. Better means different things. A better transceiver may help you hear, but you need to be heard. A better amplifier might only make you an alligator. A better antenna may have as much (or more) to do with height above ground than elements and their spacing and boom length. The antenna also helps both hearing and being heard, as does the feedline.

Next, you wait. And watch. And listen. If you're lucky, someone else you know is listening too during the times you're not listening. While you're waiting and listening in the Mid-Atlantic states in what is roughly summertime, at unpredictable specific times, tons of ionized metallic meteoroid dust is shaped into patches by vertical wind shears and tidal zonal winds and one or more of them are in just the right places, and you work something that may be present for a minute, 5 minutes, or even an hour or longer.¹

The reward was about to arrive.

Such was the case for me, after 24 years on 6m (with varying levels of activity and station capability), that the phone rang at 23:15Z and my neighbor Rich, K1HTV, asked, "Do you need VK on 6m?" "Yes!," I exclaimed and took off down the stairs to the shack. I had been monitoring the band for most of the day, and had just gone upstairs without arming the usual alarm mechanisms. After working JA in 2018, described elsewhere on this website, VK was my next target, apart from HL after a single FT8 decode on two separate days over the last couple years. My previous longest Pacific DX was V73AT in 2001 on SSB, but that was F2 propagation.

There they were! VK4WTN and VK4MA on FT8 at -08. All the work to put up a new antenna last season (with the indispensable help of my non-ham friend Jake), feedline upgrades, and the addition of a KPA1500 for no warmup full QRO came down to this opportunity. I called each station alternately as QSB took their signals from -10 to -14 and by 23:17Z, Wayne, VK4WTN, was in the log! Much like the occasion of my first JA QSO on 6m, I decided to try for an "insurance" contact and continued to call VK4MA until his signal had built to -05, at 23:44Z he was also in the log.

I found Wayne was on JTAlert text, and thanked him for the QSO after logging him. I didn't expect a reply, but he did reply and seemed as genuinely excited by the opening as I was. We exchanged some details over the next couple days, including screen shots and station specifics. He was running a 7 el. YU7EF yagi at 10m with 100w but talking about stacking as a way to keep the boom of his yagi(s) within the confines of his yard. As most of us do, he was already thinking about the next round of station improvements until the next time the background noise gives way to signals as we wait, and watch, and listen.

___________________

¹Frank Donovan, W3LPL, in a presentation to the Fairlawn ARC, June 29, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch=4FGbizh4rU0&t=52s&ab_channel=FairlawnARC.org at minute 10:10.

His slide references https://reasearchgate.com/publication/227207773_A Tutorial Review on Sporadic E Layers

50+ years on, Five WAZ awards: 5BWAZ, 160 (37 zones), & Digital

6m WAZ #196 (8-2022), & RTTY WAZ #327 (7-2024)

THESE JOIN MY ARRL DXCC AWARDS: #1 (2007), 5B (1991, initial. Plus 160, 30, 17, 12 and 6m), Mixed (not shown),

SSB, & CW Honor Roll

Thanks to LoTW, application for my WAZ awards was easy and convenient.

Kudos to John Bergman, former CQ WAZ Awards Manager.

Also, kudos to Jose Castillo, N4BAA, new CQ WAZ Awards Manager for new options and "sudden service!" (6m WAZ, RTTY WAZ)

6m WAZ #196 - With the 2022 season adding 3 new zones (17, 30 & 36), I qualified for the 6m WAZ basic award (25 zones) with one zone to spare. Update 7-2024: 3 new zones in 2023 - 37, 38, and 39 brings total to 29.

RTTY WAZ #327 - Poking around after LoTW operation was restored in June 2024, I found I had WAZ on RTTY. A longtime fan of RTTY, I decided to get this award too.

5 Band WAZ - (a little hard to see, compared to the large, red WAZs on the other certificates). Last zone was 19, RM0F, worked on CW, Feb. 6, 2021.

160 WAZ - Initial certificate is 34 zones, and 3 additional have been confirmed for 37. I'm still missing 23, 24 and 26 and it may be a long time before I work those with my middling 160m antennas. A good goal though!

WAZ Digital - I applied for this as a confirmation of the worldwide activity on FT8 on a variety of bands. I have worked 40 on RTTY only, but did not apply for that award.

New WAZ options - N4BAA, Jose, is now the WAZ Awards Manager. He was extremely helpful with the submission and has introduced an electronic version of the certificate (fast!) while retaining the option for the beautiful calligraphed version (longer turnaround and $19 option.) Also, there are two levels of plaques available, a beautiful two-tone wood one and an etched acrylic over a black base (stunning.)

FT4 Footnote - 40M WAS HARD TO RESIST ANOTHER CLEAN SHEET CHALLENGE

The FT8 frequencies are often so crowded that I have trouble finding a spot to squeeze in. I've headed to less crowded bands, all the while willing to battle a crowded one for entirely new entities. So, looking for a little breathing space, on 5-3-2019 I got on 40M FT4. The WAS goal came later, probably around September, based on a cluster of U.S. stations worked on 9-1-2019. The "rapid fire" characteristic of FT4 (to a sloth, a turtle is a warp-speed traveler), drew me into dabbling with it, so I decided to set a modest goal—WAS on 40M (a 50-year favorite band, especially for the 24 years I had a 2 element yagi at 110 feet).

May 10, 2020, after a year on FT4, I got up a little earlier than usual, to be rewarded with state #50 from Chip, KH6AP. As always, it takes two to tango. Thanks Chip!

P.S. It's Mother's Day as I write this, and my wife of 44 years and mother of our two grown sons has been to every state in the contiguous United States as well as HI (In 2005, we spent a week in Maui.). But her WAS will only be completed with a visit to AK. Someday? Maybe my WAS on 6M will be also.

6M Station Upgrades GIVING THE MAGIC BAND A LITTLE HELP

Spring 2022 The converted BTI shown and described below performed solidly in 2021 during the summer Es season, despite a few exciting moments (like when the parasitic suppressor went off like a Roman candle! But, with the power supply not ideal for a 4-1000A limiting its full potential and my desire to have an instant-on, no-tune, remote-capable amplifier for HF (and 6m), I went shopping for an SSPA.

Knowing my interest, a ham friend offered me two options, and I decided on the Elecraft KPA1500, based on the exceptional performance of my K3 since 2009 and my newer K3 in use since early 2021. With the maximum weight of 20 lbs. (RF deck) and split power supply architecture, it seemed the better choice for what will hopefully fill the amplification needs here for the duration of my time in ham radio. This model has had some time to mature since its introduction, and mine is SN937, built in June 2021. It's an ideal companion to my newer-of-the-two K3s, and follows like a dog on a leash. A moderately big dog to be sure. But well behaved. No loud barking in the shack, just fan noise. Perfectly silent QSK on CW is a joy and the internal QRO tuner is very fast, and once trained across the band, is ready and waiting when transmitting begins.

With several months of primarily HF use, including many hours of RTTY at full power, I'm convinced that this was the right choice for me. 2022's Es season was mostly TEP in May, but things will heat up in June, and hopefully a couple new band countries will be in the log with the KPA1500/7 el. LFA combo.

New countries confirmed in the 2022 season with KPA1500: 7 (8-1-2022) ER, TA, TT8, UN, VK, ZA, ZD7. New grids confirmed in 2022 with KPA1500: 117 (11-07-2022).

New countries confirmed in 2023: 11 (11-30-2023) ZL, VP8, CP, 3D2, D2, FJ, 3B9, FK8, E51(N Cook), 7Q6,V5. New grids confirmed in 2023: 80. Early Es and DX in Jan/Feb/Mar/Jun and Es & TEP in Oct. and Nov.

New countries confirmed in 2024: 4 (11-9-2024) E51EME, (S Cook), VU. 3B8, VK9 (Norfolk Isl.) New grids confirmed in 2024: 57

New countries confirmed in 2025: 4 (11-14-2025) TX9A, 4U1UN (Finally!), C5R & ZL7DX (Worked just minutes apart). New grids confirmed in the 2025 calendar year: 63 (12-3-2025). (KPA1500 back online. So far, so good. Issue may have been nominal ratings on Polyphaser. Went to new style at their recommendation, given upper range of freq. and duty cycle for digital.)

New countries confirmed in 2026: 8 (7-28-2026) KP5/NP3VI. EU1KY, SV5DKL, 9K2GS (+9K2GR and 9K2OD), BG0DLA, A71XX, HZ1DG and HZ1SK, EX9QT. New grids worked in the 2026 calendar year: 91. Confirmed: 71 (8-4-2026).

Spring 2021 After 20 years of the same 6M antenna and amplifier, I improved both with the hope of catching the next elusive layer of stations I've heard but have been unable to work. My homebrew pair of 4CX250Bs with an overkill power supply (leftover from a homebrew 160M 4-1000 amp) and M2 6M5X 5 el. yagi, which netted 131 countries, 764 gridsquares, and 6M WAS have been real workhorses. Detailed interior shots of the amplifier and power supply are on my Amplifiers page on this site, also accessed through the menu at the top of this page. But there have been too many that got away in the last couple seasons. Leaving things unchanged and hoping propagation would make the difference seems like a fool's errand. Although a 60s oldie, the new 6M amplifier is a converted BTI LK-2000, with a 4-1000A for added toughness for digital use vs. the 3-1000Z which was the standard tube. The shot of the antennas below includes the new 6M antenna, an InnovAntennas 7 el. LFA on an 8.9M boom (longest of the stacked antennas) which is up 63 ft.

After being cautioned by W3LPL about the doubtful ability of the 3-1000Z to survive FT8 for the long-term, I decided on using a 4-1000A instead (with help in the form of two tubes from W3TIM). This tube which served me very well on topband and also 80-10 (used extensively for CW on 40M in the late 80s and early 90s) is tougher in many regards, including its hunger for drive, when configured as grounded grid. My plan is to increase the B+ which should bring a full KW out with the 100W of drive that my K3 provides, a full 3 dB over the previous amplifier. The conversion was done by K3ICH, and I still have plans and the preliminary work done on a Commander HF-2500HD chassis for 6M. In the meantime, I'll CU in the pileups, in and out, hopefully. GL to us all as Cycle 25 awakens with the possibility of F2 skip and the seasonal Es brings new successes on the Magic Band.

2021 Season totals with 4-1000A amplifier: 105 new grids, 2 new countries, 4O and 7X.

Same plate dissipation rating, but big differences in internal structure and external structure too.

InnovAntennas LK-2HD, 7-element LFA (loop fed array) is visible just above the A3S tribander. The LFA features a square boom, Stauff-type element clamps and all stainless steel hardware and hose clamps for the sleeved elements. The element-to-boom clamps are affixed by bolts into captive hardware pressed into the boom as supplied. A rope truss assists with boom sag, and the square boom assures cross-boom horizontal element alignment. (Most of us have played with U-bolts for element mounting on a tubular round boom, and know the alignment challenges and movement over time.) Finally, a 2KW ferrite sleeve balun attached to the loop results in an excellent match and pattern.

Part of the quietness of the antenna results from its excellent pattern and rejection from the back and sides (two sides of the same coin). The boom dwarfs that of my little A3S with the A-743. Thanks to Justin Johnson and the team at IA for all the support!

And now, for something completely different... SSTV FROM THE ISS VIA 2m FM

August 5, 2020. My experience with SSTV is limited to say the least. In the 1970s, SSTV was an exotic mode requiring specialized hardware for decoding and high-persistence phosphor cathode ray tubes. All I knew was that a company called "Robot" made this equipment, and it that it had a price tag higher than I could afford. I never explored Amateur Fast Scan TV, although I was aware of it.

I've played with SSTV in its current forms on HF by using MMSSTV. But by the time I really got involved, sending images via email and chat-based Internet apps had become so much better, faster, and easier that I've pretty much stopped fiddling with it.

So when K3TRM, Frank, shared a photo via Google Hangouts of SSTV images from the ISS that he copied on August 4, I decided to see if I could do the same on the second pass later that day. The fast passes reminded me of my only satellite operations from back in the early 1990s on RS-12. I operated SO2R and using my 4 el. 15M monobander for the uplink rig, and a 3 el. 10M monobander for the downlink rig. It was a crude affair, with Doppler shift compensated for by manual VFO tuning and antenna tracking was done by pressing switches on two Hy-Gain rotator control boxes. It was decidedly NOT the way to do things, but with my good antennas and the ability to do full duplex, I had fun.

For this foray, I downloaded, installed and ran RX-SSTV on a laptop connected to my IC-706MKIIG, aimed my 15 el. C3I K1FO yagi at the midway point of the pass, and came back after lunch to find nothing but a couple captures of noise. Clearly, something was not right. RX-SSTV is a wrapper around the MMSSTV engine, which I have some familiarity with—far more experience with MMTTY as the starting point for RTTY DXing and contesting. But, the sound devices are simply numbered in the setup of RX-SSTV and the laptop has a total of 4 devices, the microphone and speakers in the laptop, the microphone and speakers via the dock, a USB soundcard for announcements of JTAlert alerts, and a virtual cable (VB Audio) leftover from SDR experiments. After sorting out the devices by transmitting SSTV on 20M with my IC-706MKIIG, I baited the "trap" to try and capture images from the early pass on August 5, but alas, apparently Windows 10 renumbered the devices during "sleep" overnight, or I failed to save the settings properly. Again, no pix. :-(

One last pass was available for this special MAI-75 experiment prepared by the Moscow Aviation Institute. Again, I aimed my yagi at the midpoint of the pass, set the squelch, and did not "sleep" the laptop. Returning two hours later after a trip into Warrenton, and time at a playground with my wife and granddaughter. (they played and I mostly watched), I came home to find the images which appear below. A local ham, Travis, W8BT, captured images of nearly identical quality with a Baofeng HT, and an app on his cellphone. I probably over-prepared, but used what's already in the shack (materials of convenience, as my cousin Art, W4ACM, often says when describing his homebrew yagi antennas). This does help answer the oft-asked question by visitors, "Do you need all this stuff to 'do' ham radio?" Well, sometimes I do! Events did also prove the amateur axiom, that (on VHF especially) antenna height is king. In this case, 254 miles of height.

From Winged to Round (WE to RE)

MY JOURNEY FROM 1959 TO 1970 IN COLLINS-LAND

I've documented elsewhere on this site my acquisition of a Collins S/Line in 2008 from its original owner, including a fair amount of paperwork. It was in outstanding condition overall, with the exception of a hole drilled in the receiver's front panel for a RTTY BFO crystal switch. Later, as I used the station, I bumped into the inherent limitations of the S-1/Line, despite a few mods I made. They were, of course, Winged Emblem (WE) radios and accessories. I moved then to a 32S-3 and 75S-3, with the receiver needing some more extensive restoration (PTO rebuild) than the refurbishment I had done on previous units. But, it's a beauty that l miss now that it's gone (the new owner dubbed it a "doll," and enjoyed it so much that I'm glad it found such an appreciative owner). Both of those units appear further down this homepage, but are also WE models. The two Round Emblem (RE) Collins rigs I had were my 30L-1, which came to me from Air America via a yard-sale (You can't make this stuff up.), and the 312B-5 that is attached to my WE KWM-2A. Rather than enumerate all of them in a tedious progression, I'll cut to the chase.

With each successive update, I hoped to arrive at a full RE station in very good condition. Not concours perfection (despite the appeal) but an above average, fully operational, nice-to-look-at example of this classic American lineup. When an S/Line from a local ham's estate became available, I was able to acquire it, add some elbow grease and solder smoke, and cherry pick parts to end up with the Round Emblem station pictured below.

In honor of the occasion, I purchased covers for the KWM-2A and 312B-5, but I'm too cheap to replace the WE covers on the receiver (75S-3B) and transmitter (32S-3). The old S-1 covers remind me of the journey from WE to RE, fit well, and still have plenty of dust catching capability left in them.

My "Collins Corner" desk and shelves with accessories. Technics EQ for gooseneck mounted EV-638, Vibroplex Bug (thanks W2PA), Datong speech processor (blue device on EQ, thanks W4ACM), Hallicrafters HA-1 T.O. Keyer (vacuum tubes), Numechron Tymeter with Call- Ident Timer and Collins tuning knob on top (photo bomb), Heathkit SB-614 monitor scope in TX path only, Ameco preamp (to liven up the receiver) Heathkit SB-620 panadapter (connected to 75S-3B), Spectronics Digital Display DD-1C, Magnum Six RF speech processor (used with S/Line, The KWM-2A has the DX Engineering [the original one] internal speech processor), Bird 43 (thanks Dad) with peak reading board by K4DPK, EV-638 dynamic microphone for KWM-2A, and Vibroplex single-action paddles for the HA-1.

The reveal (from under the dust covers):

Shelf: KWM-2A (1966, WE) factory plug-in relays and Teflon wiring, DX Engineering speech processor (internal), "Vietnam mod" to regulate LV B+ on the PTO tube.

Component replacements and modifications as guided by Collins maven K6XYZ (thanks Dave). 312B-5 (RE) with "Vietnam mod".

516F-2 (no beauty queen, under the desk). It has been recapped and the +275V regulator from Young Kim is installed.

Desktop: The RE Station - 75S-3B (1967, RE) with tap added for SB-620. Re-capped and minor tube swaps for AGC and RF amplifier. 312B-4 (RE), 32S-3 (1966, RE)

with Magnum Six RF speech processor. 30L-1 (1970, RE) with new PS board and four Taylor 572Bs for headroom, not power. 516F-2 (RE, undated) is under the desk.

It is a beauty queen, but I ran out of room for it topside. It also has the Young Kim +275V regulator in it.

>>>>> : : : : <<<<<

This S/Line was previously owned by K3VB, Vincent Braxton, who I had the privilege to know for the last several years of his life.

He was one of the most humble, kind, gracious, and grateful men I have ever known. It's an honor to use this gear.

He is missed by many inside and outside of the hobby. RIP OM.

The Original Magic Band AN AMAZING SWL EVENING INTO JAPAN ON 6 METERS

June 18, 2020 This brief tale is about the most impressive JA opening I've seen on 6M, with a final twist. Not to be outdone by my January experience in the next item down this page, 6M showed its ability to amaze even some of the most seasoned 6M DXers (I'm not including myself in that group) in the Mid-Atlantic region with an evening opening starting at around 22:00 UTC lasting at my QTH until about 23:31 UTC. I successfully worked a couple stations, but decided to just watch the fun. I was fortunate to work three JAs in 2018.

It was wild! I snapped just a couple screenshots with my phone, since at the time of the peak, I was still trying to work folks, not capture high-quality electronic screenshots. The quality is a little sketchy, but you get the idea. Be sure to look for the yellow highlight in the third picture. Well-known superstation owner and builder, contester and DXer, Frank, W3LPL, reported working ~60 JAs during this opening. Unprecedented. (Click on each for a larger view in a new tab.)

There was no "next day repeat" like we had in 2018. My first JA QSOs on 6M were on the second day of a three day event in 2018. 6M is both magical and fickle. No wonder it's so much fun to operate. Have fun on the "Original and Best" (a la Kellogg's) Magic Band.

1. Decoder shows the band bursting open at one minute into opening—17 JAs in a single period.

2. JTAlert shows a peak of 29 JAs during a single cycle.

3. A tantalizing decode, albeit for just one cycle, of HL3GOB! More QRO and a larger antenna may put this one in the log someday! (Aim High :-)

The Other Magic Band A WILD MORNING RUN INTO JAPAN ON TOPBAND

January 6, 2020 Most DXers will affirm the axiom that you need to "be there" at the right time and looking in the right direction (if a truly directional antenna is involved) to work a rare or simply needed entity. Six meters has long been known as the "Magic Band" for its fleeting openings (or sometimes long ones), highly focused propagation, and longer legs to faraway spots than is generally deemed possible. It's a band where you certainly need to be there at the right time and looking in the right direction. It's no wonder that I see many calls on 160M that I recognize from 6M.

Today's operating aids include cluster spotting, unattended receivers posting 20–30K spots a day, and even localized skimmers. Add the attendant alarm options (emails, texts, sounds, etc.), or even a phone call or call on the local repeater by a friend, and you have a pretty good chance to not miss out altogether. This assumes you can do something with that information, of course, and with remote operation of your station a real possibly, (even at the workplace these days), you can take action on that information. So, "there" means in control of the rig, even if not present (some of us operate from a tablet or cell phone, without even getting out of bed.) But sometimes, you just get up early or stay up late, and find out you're "there."

Such was my experience on January 6, when I finished breakfast and headed down to the shack about 15 minutes prior to local sunrise, to see if I could work my first JA on FT8 on topband. I have been fortunate to work JA on topband on CW 17 times over the years, with the first one in 1993. So it's a pretty infrequent thing for me. Here's where the "magic" comes in.

The QRN was low on the NW beverage, which is about 750 feet long, but it terminates out near the road and our power/telephone poles. Years of periodic efforts have not eliminated line noise from that direction, so there's frequently some of that present. I set up the rig to receive on 1.908, turned off Split in JTDX, and manually set split on the K3, with the B VFO on 1.840. I hit tune for a second, and listened on my IC-706 on 1.908 to be sure I was really split. Then, almost immediately, I received a couple of JAs (and a US station who was still working out the whole "side split" thing in FT8). At 12:19:45, I called JA4LKB without success and decided to just CQ, and see what would happen. I was not prepared for what happened next.

At 12:20:40 UTC I called the first CQ. At 12:21:45 (approx. 7 minutes before local sunrise) I called the third CQ, and got my first strike (CQing is radio-based fishing, after all). JA5EXY called me with a -10 report and I responded with a -06 and he was logged at 12:22:49. Then for the next 26 minutes, without another CQ, a string of JAs were worked, with as many as 7 calling me simultaneously. At a full 20 minutes after sunrise, the waterfall faded away, and there were 21 JA stations in the log. Whew! The next day netted 4, and the following day, I stayed out of the way and just watched. As I write this on January 10, there was just one JA copied this morning. Thanks to all who worked me

I managed to capture a few screen shots in the heat of the moment, and one from the iPhone camera to show the window and the waterfall. Sunlight and lit pixels, in the same shot (see below). It never occurred to me to turn on the save function in JTDX to save a .wav file before the torrent began. Maybe next time. Maybe for me, there won't be a next time. That's the magic after all.

The band is beginning to open. I had the bandwidth slightly reduced, since they were all pretty much at 2200 Hz and down. Promising, but I still didn't anticipate what was coming.

Not bad.

Now, there are 3 stations calling me, and 5 potential callers or QSOs.

Things are looking up. The waterfall is getting more crowded and signals are getting louder.

Activity is peaking. 8 new callers as I finish up with

JA1RTX. Several of these callers were worked, but

some moved on to take advantage of the opening.

Even some orange on the waterfall now. Look how orderly the JAs are at maintaining a clear frequency and not calling on top of each other.

Parting shot still showing activity on the waterfall, and a sunlit horizon, well into daylight. This is a topband DXing experience I won't soon forget. Now, SSB! There's always a new challenge, and we like it that way, don't we? CU in the pileups. - SO

Remember SSB and Ragchewing? HAVING NEW FUN WITH A (RELATIVELY) OLD MODE

December 2019 A nearly continuous run of FT8 since summer 2017, SSB and CW DXing and some light contesting have been interrupted by some old fashioned ragchews lately. These were the mainstay of my early operating, once I upgraded from Novice in 1971. Before I had antennas good enough for DXing, and way before I could try to compete in contests, ham radio was about talking with friends on the air. In addition to checking into ECARS, and moving friends off the net frequency, "one-ringers" to save a long distance bill and get friends on the air on a pre-determined frequency, there was just calling CQ and ragchewing.

I've kept a remnant of this with very enjoyable Saturday morning multi-hour ragchews with W2PA and W1JA, using my boatanchor-of-the-day. Lately, they are discussing the latest updates for their ANAN SDRs and some automatic antenna tuner woes, but both have some extremely nice boatanchors and join in the hollow-state fun too. They also have a similar history in length of time on the air, and the teenage years of ragchewing.

A new addition to the shack, a Drake TR-4Cw/RIT has me cruising the bands (mostly 80M and 40M, my 70s favorites) on weekdays and tuning in a good QSO for "background music" as I work at the bench, answering a CQ, or even entering a roundtable or the CANAM net. With the exception of ECARS in my early years of hamming, I'm not usually a net participant. This bunch caught my ear as especially welcoming and they even do CW! The Internet has a part too, with an online logging app called NetLogger. Who knew? Take a listen at 7.153 at 9AM and following to see how it works.

The first step on the TR-4 was a cleanup and as much "restoration" as was practical (it didn't need all that much). This is an aspect of the hobby I have long enjoyed, and this process was shared with a local friend who now has a TR-4C, which he has also brought up to a high standard. A couple bad tubes, and some AC-4 power supply problems slowed me down, as well as new territory in terms of PTO drive mechanisms. The C-Line has quite a different drivetrain (with several variants over its years of production) from my B-Line. Although sharing the concept of two dials moving at different rates with my Collins gear, it's got its own ways. As with most of these projects, there are some moments of wondering if success is just around the corner or somewhere in the distance. But, there is the satisfaction of figuring out the problems and putting the rig on the air.

The latest predictions say band conditions will likely bottom out in April 2020 (+/- 6 months) and Cycle 25 will peak in July 2025 (+/- 8 months). That's plenty of good 80/40M conditions for a daytime or evening ragchew. And, it's a great way to warm up the shack this winter.

The Band is Dead IS IT REALLY? IT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU. HERE'S A DEAD BAND TALE.

August 8, 2019 After a good summer E-skip season on 6M (4 new band countries 5T5PA, 6W1TA, C31CT, and JW7QIA), I was checking for "maybe just one more." Finding no activity, I decided to descend through the upper HF bands, checking for FT8 activity. I was surprised to see one lonely trace on 10M. Coincidentally, the yagis were aimed almost due north, including my little A3S with the 30M kit. That antenna doesn't compare with past arrays, but I've been happily surprised with its performance as "good enough" on 20-10 with 3-6 dB available through QRO. It's also been a delight on 30M, my first rotatable antenna on that band, albeit a trapped, rotary dipole. But, I digress.

The lonely FT8 trace triggered JTAlert to announce "DX!" in its male voice. I use different voices on each of my stations, so I can tell which one has a nibble. I looked at the yellow-colored alert, meaning a new band country, and thought the AP Deep decode was playing games with noise or QRM. But neither were present, just a clean decode, "CQ SA RV0AR NO66." On the next transmit cycle it changed, but not to something entirely different, indicating a bogus decode, but rather "CQ NA RV0AR NO66." Frantically, I pressed the ON button on my old Alpha, knowing I was facing what I call, "the longest three minutes in ham radio," as the filaments warm and the standby condition clears. I began calling at 100 whiskies immediately but Pavel just CQd in my face. However, he didn't answer anyone, and the waterfall continued to increase in intensity. Three minutes later, I added 10 dB to my signal, and after two or three calls, he replied with "R-09" and we even exchanged 73 pleasantries. Within another five to seven minutes, he was gone, As the waterfall slowly dimmed. I sent the screen captures below to him, but did not receive any reply, so I began to fear that I'd worked a pirate. In the meantime, at the suggestion of my neighbor Rich, K1HTV, I dropped a note about the QSO to Tad Cook, K7RA, who writes the weekly Solar Report which appears on the ARRL website. Happily, I received LoTW confirmation of the QSO the next day from Pavel, so it was confirmed as legit. I also received an email from WV7S (ex - KH6XT) who saw the mention in Tad's column. I had worked him 20 years ago on 10M and he recounted some details about his past 10M operating and our past QSO. Another surprise!

The latest predictions are for a 3-cycle lull in propagation, unlike the "usual" 11-year cycles I have experienced. From 1970 when I was first licensed, until Cycle 23 I saw only a gradual decline. Then, Cycle 24 happened. With a Medicare card now in my wallet, I won't live to see those days again if it takes 33 years. So, this may be the type of thing I watch for instead. Amateur radio still retains unpredictability and challenges — lures that first brought me into this hobby. New modes and methods will continue to mine nuggets, even on a "dead" band. GUD DX.

FoxTango8 FRANKE TAYLOR 8

AMATEUR RADIO'S "BRIGHT SHINY THING" IN 2017 — MY MODE OF CHOICE IN 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024

After moving to Amissville in 2011 and finding myself without my 100 foot tower and fairly extensive antenna farm, a startling (for me) statistic emerged. For the following five years, I made a higher percentage of QSOs on CW than any other mode. In 2013, it was 66.48% That was a major shift, in over 40 years of hamming. The reason? Well, I love the K3 as a CW rig, and have found both DX chasing and limited contesting more enjoyable on CW. In that same period I've also had a growing percentage of "data" QSOs, since I've rediscovered RTTY with today's software and radios. That reached 27% in 2016. As 2017 drew to a close, Clublog reports that in 2017, 58% of my QSOs are "data." Although there are some RTTY contacts included, the difference is due to the introduction and my extensive use of FT8. As you can see, nearly 75% of my QSOs in 2018 were "data," again almost exclusively FT8.

There's no doubt that my embracing of FT8 was based on my experience in June of 2017, when I copied 35 unique JAs on JT65 on 6M during an opening that lasted well over an hour. With 400W and a 5 element yagi, coupled with inexperience and general fumbling around, I managed to work none of them. But, despite my ineptitude, it was clear that the 5-minute duration of a JT65 QSO was also a hindrance. Each distinct opening for a given station just didn't last 5 minutes at my station. The ones that did, were with very loud JA stations that had scads of callers, including my neighbor Rich, K1HTV, who has a highly effective 6M station with a K3, solid state KW, and outstanding LFA on a long boom. Add to this Rich's exceptional operating skills, and he managed to work two or three of the JAs during the opening. Afterwards, when we discussed what we'd seen and heard, we pretty much agreed that the length of a QSO on JT65 was a clear deterrent. I saw received signals of -01 to -21, with many in the low teens. Signals were plenty loud enough for a faster mode, where a slight loss of sensitivity would be acceptable.

A bump in CW activity in 2020 and 2021 shows the effect of COVID-19 keeping me close to home, and the lack of new DX activity on FT8. Most of my FT8 activity tends to focus on new countries or at least band countries. With less to chase, there's fewer entries in the log. 6M wakes that up with the seasonal e-skip and grid chasing. Grid chasing was especially fruitful in 2021, with my new antenna providing greater success, as well as a slight power increase with the 4-1000A doing the heavy lifting.

Enter FT8, just a month or so later, in July 2017. Rich made me aware of it, as he passed along details of how to get the tools to "build" a new variant program of WSJT (-X), which included a new, fast mode called FT8. Rich's enthusiasm was infectious, and with the shack coming back together (see below), I guess I was in the mood for something new. The fresh memory of the missed JAs was still a stinger too. I had avoided use of JT65 on HF, favoring RTTY for "digital" but no doubt, the turnaround time for a QSO was part of my choice. The 15-second intervals of FT8 gave it a different feel, and the daily appearance of new DX entities to the mode gave it a "DXpedition-a-day" quality that kept it interesting. The tally sheet started at zero, and even close-by DX stations added to the total. The fact that HF conditions on the high bands were/are really starting to decline, and the spotty nature of Cycle 24, made a weak-signal mode more attractive too.

I'll essentially sidestep the controversies about the "realness" of the use of FT8 on ham radio, but mention a few things that encapsulate my views. I can't copy RTTY by ear, and I don't own a spark transmitter. Time marches on. The FT8 sub-bands occupy one SSB signal's worth of bandwidth (and not Voodoo audio SSB) and I frequently see 36 decodes (the 4 x 9 limit of how I have JTAlert configured). You can't tell people about your grandchildren with FT8. But I didn't do that when I sent "TU 599" to Scarborough Reef in 2007 for my last DXCC entity for #1 HR. (Now I've opened another can of worms. Insert a "real" country instead, if you like). I move my fingers back and forth to send the exchange on CW, I copy the CW in my head, and I press a foot switch and use my vocal cords for SSB DXing. I double click with a mouse and then use my fingers to re- position my transmit frequency split when DXing on FT8. I have spent more time wiring, installing software, and achieving interoperability with FT8 than other modes, all of which contributes to working DX on FT8. It keeps a whole bunch of hams having fun in a tiny slice of the spectrum. The layout of the shack shown below allows for two radios on two bands concurrently, and a SDR to monitor FT8 on a third one. As 2017 closes, I've worked 204 countries, 40 zones, and 50 states, while missing a few rarer ones. .

Love it, hate it, or couldn't care less, FT8 operating tipped the balance at K4SO in 2017, and dominated my day-to-day operating in 2018. We'll see what 2019 brings (227 worked, with 207 confirmed in June, 2018 and 250 confirmed and 264 worked as of October 2019). There's lots of excellent information in print and online if you're interested. NEWS FLASH: FT4, with rates suitable for what most consider "contest worthy," has been introduced, and the first FT4/FT8 contest has been run in late summer 2019. Automation is still the principal objection, and just like contests or DXing in general, you can always just turn the dial, or flip the switch. With such a small bandwidth footprint, it's a small effort to find another place to operate. This is primarily for fun, after all.

CU on the waterfall and the Band Activity window!

P.S. from late May 2018. The FT8DMC (a group of about 5,500 as I write this) offers awards for the fun of it. It's free and you just pour in your log and the submission software sorts out the results, passes them to a "director" of a particular set of awards, and after review, you download the certificate in PDF and/or JPG format. It's all FT8, and the awards are colorful, including DX, IOTA, WAC, WAZ and WAS awards at various levels, with others created just for this group, related to countries and their call districts (Indonesia, Italy, Great Britain, New Zealand) and country groups like the Arab Gulf states,

P.P.S. from early March 2019. DXing gets harder as you go along, in any "flavor" (total, mode-only, single-band, etc.) FT8 has been no exception. Moving from 200 worked countries to 250 took almost a year. I was actually at 250 about two weeks prior to this application/receipt of #0005, but my own bookkeeping was incorrect. I never credited T64LC from last August, so I was reporting 1 less than actual. When I thought I reached 250 with XR0ZRC on March 11, it was actually 251. (Thanks to Rich, K1HTV, for letting me know they were on, running a multi-stream FT8 variant application, but not in Fox/Hound mode, and on a non-standard frequency!). Anyway, don't hold your breath for 300. That may be a LONG time coming. With almost 10,000 members in FT8DMC, I wonder who will be the first to reach that milestone.

UPDATE 11-8-2023. I don't know who #1 is, but I do know who #15 is. Exhale. :-)

You can find all the details at: www.ft8dmc.eu.

Two days later, I successfully worked 4X4DK, an unexpected prize, after copying A45 and 9K2 in the same mid-June time period, but never for more than one or two sequences. I didn't think to grab a screen shot of that one, before restarting the program, when it went into NA VHF Contest mode, and I restarted it. Although I try and get screen captures of significant DXing (to build a case for a QSO, mostly), working it comes first. The QSO with 4X4DK was a "there and gone" propagation event for me, only eclipsed slightly in terms of nearby geography by my July 2021 QSO with OD5ET. I had a partial (all but the RR73 and 73) with OD5KU a year prior but it was not confirmed.

And from mid-June 2018. The goal of working Japan on 6M has been accomplished. After a great opening on June 20, when I was not at home, amazingly, there was also an opening the following evening. I had all but given up, listening at 50.323, and bouncing back to 50.313 occasionally, with many stations calling and working JA to the west and southwest of here. Then at 23:36, JG1TSG responded to my call. He was -03 and gave me a report of -08! A minute later, he was in my log. After 19 years on the band, I had my longest distance QSO ever on 6M. As the opening continued, 16 minutes later, I worked JH2FXK with even stronger signals "for insurance." I decoded as many as 5 others at a time, nowhere near the 35 I copied last June, but this time, I got one in the log. JAs were copied each of the following two evenings. The Magic Band indeed!

First FOX/HOUND FT8 DX

In late June 2018, I added KH1/KH7Z to the list of HF FT8 countries worked, using the DXpedition mode which allows the DXpedition (Fox) to divide his transmissions into as many as 5 concurrent streams to increase throughput. 17M was the first band for an FT8 QSO for me, followed by 20M. The band remained well open past midnight local time (04:00Z) with many mid-west and JA stations forming a "wall" but the second evening of attempts resulted in a QSO. This was the group that had so actively assisted in the development and shakeout of the DXpedition mode in the early part of 2018.

(Re)Starting Over, Again

NO MORE KITCHEN COUNTER OPERATING NEEDED - REAL WALLS AND MORE

So, after a process that took longer than I might have expected, I'm back in the same corner of the basement where I "started over" back in 2010. But, it's a very different place! Part of our basement remodeling included carving out a bit smaller area in the same corner I had occupied, but with some significant amenities, like walls, a suspended ceiling, and short pile industrial type carpet tiles on the floor. Spiders no longer take over the lower-down equipment, and I will not have to wear gloves this winter while operating. The upside of being in the same area is that work to clean up antenna ingress and switching was preserved, and is now in a closet (which still needs bypass doors, so I'm not "done" yet). There is less dance floor space, and two 30-inch wide tables had to be eliminated, but the availability of walls opens up possibilities for shelves. Like a modern city with limited horizontal space, you have to go vertical. (This is a panoramic shot from my phone. Shelves are NOT curved. :-)

A useful by-product of moving the gear out of storage boxes, back into the new shack is that each piece could receive a well-deserved cleaning. The worst of the "dirt" was on the gear that was deployed down here while the sawdust, drywall dust, and other concrete dust (from the uncarpeted floor) settled.

The other significant benefit is a chance to rethink the ergonomics of the operating position. Finally, years after building a YCCC SO2R box, it is now fully operational with the K3 and IC-765, and the antenna switching is right in the middle of the two. All antennas, including my VHF antennas, are selectable from the SixPak, Ameritron RCS-8V, and homebrew VHF antenna switch controls. I still need to add beverage antenna sharing, and a beverage switch to the IC-765, but that's an easy, desktop modification. Also, the PC monitors are on a desktop shelf, providing straight-ahead viewing. With the HF operating focused on FT8 DXing and state chasing since its introduction in the summer of 2017, there's a lot of monitor viewing going on.

The next steps are to bring the second Collins station online, as well as the Drake 4-Line, which needs a Harbach relay retrofit. Oh yeah, then there's the SB-220 I'm converting to 6M, and the vacuum relay switching of the two additional antenna tuners which are yet to make their way in here. (Done) As my wife so wisely observed, "What you really like about ham radio, is that it's never finished." Owned.

Homebrew VHF Selector: Antenna and also RF path through preamps and "brick" amplifiers (D1010, B1016). Also, control for WX0B SixPak SO2R manual antenna relay box, and finally, the control Ameritron RCS-8V, 5-position switch placed halfway to the drain field in front of the property. This switches the 160M T vertical, inverted vees for 80M and 60M, and 40M NW/SE dipole.

2019 Update: Second Collins station in and operational (see photo above), Drake Line has its new relay (problem turned out to be a heater to cathode short in a final) and the Heathkit HW-101 generously given to me over a year ago by W3CB, is working and has been refurbished with new capacitors and a few worthwhile mods) My wife is STILL right. ("What you like about ham radio is it's never finished.")

See you on the bands! - SO

Kitchen Counter DXing & Card Table Contesting

STAYING QRV WHILE THE SHACK WAS DISASSEMBLED FOR REMODELING

March 2017 - Essentially five years after I reflected on "2011-Starting Over" further down this page, I am starting over again. This time, the location is the same, but the corner where my gear was first placed, is now bounded by walls. My station remained as a small island in the basement, right up until the night before the general contractor arrived to begin the remodeling. For the most part, I was QRT for the first three weeks of the studding out process, but as I watched some DXpeditions appearing on the bands, and on the horizon, I got itchy to be able to put a signal on the air. After all, with a little ingenuity to power external antenna switches and the use of barrel connectors, I could still access all my antennas. So, the question became, "Where do I put the gear, and what is the minimum configuration I'll need?" I still wanted some of the support services I've come to use and enjoy, like the spotting network, and computer logging, including an interface to the rig. With dust still flying in the work zone, I didn't want to break out my K3, and risk sawdust, concrete dust, and drywall dust ingestion. That led me to wanting a setup so simple that I could move it all from the emerging shack, upstairs to the kitchen counter.

There was a period that when there was simply too much dust, noise and activity to even consider being in the basement, which pushed me to think about how to get to the antennas, via a coaxial feedline, from somewhere upstairs. Since the kitchen is on the first floor and near snacks and drinks, I decided to try the built in 75 ohm coax outlet for TV use. Our house was built before wireless streaming of TV content, so there are coaxial feeds from the basement to the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms. A few adapters later, and with the use of a small LDG external tuner, I found that my IC-706MKIIG was being heard in some pretty distant spots. I have to admit that some of the simplicity (and no access to QRO), gave me a little more of a thrill when DX returned to my calls. As the hammering, sawing, nail-gunning, and even a couple days of jackhammering for plumbing adjustments in the slab were easily heard directly below me, I enjoyed my new Field Day-style operation from the kitchen counter.

Not wanting to miss all the contests or the wintertime, lowband DXing (always a favorite time for this activity, with the quieter band conditions, and early onset of darkness), I looked for a "portable" way to leave a table in place in the new shack, which by this point had new electrical service (a new sub-panel), walls (which had to be mudded, sanded, and primed) for access to antenna switching along with computer logging and rig control. I made a few Qs in the ARRL VHF Contest, using the new 432 antenna described below, then got RTTY going with the laptop for a couple RTTY contest outings. The 706 allows for the narrow filter (such as it is) when in SSB for AFSK, which makes it a pretty serviceable rig for this use. Finally, when it was time for some CW contest activity, I tested the weight bearing of the card table, unpacking the IC-765 (1990 vintage) but with substantially better CW performance. I used an external keyer and its memories for the ARRL CW, since the exchange doesn't include a serial number. My Super CMOS Keyer (MK I), has no facility for serial numbers, but since the rig itself has no memories, that was still a big help.

At this writing, the shack has paint on the walls, but no flooring or ceiling, but the dust has settled, and a little work in the breaker box has my Alpha 89 available again along with the K3, and my LP-Pan-based panadapter, which has been a most sorely missed accessory. The additional power helped me with three new countries on 160M, 5U5R, EK/RZ3DJ, and MJ5Z, while missing a couple also. Interestingly, I worked MJ5Z in the Russian DX Contest, giving him serial number 1, which resulted in a request for a repeat. His number at the time was 1,265 :-)

The expectation of a more orderly and intentional shack layout than I've had these past five years of "temporary permanent" setup, along with this time of recent nomadic operating has turned out to be a lot of fun.The new space will not allow me to sprawl out into the basement as in the past, but the rest of the basement is being prepared for other, far more useful purposes, and boundaries are very often a real benefit.

Antenna Repair & Upgrade

STUFF BREAKS BUT GIVES A CHANCE FOR UPGRADE

After several months of use of my tower and the antennas it supports, I suffered my first failure. A passing cold front, which sparked thunderstorms, and swirling high winds, gave the tower and antennas a real test. All but one thing passed the test pretty well. The small tribander suffered a little twisting of elements and alignment on the boom, but the casualty was a Cushcraft 719B, provided by Dave, N3DT, which suffered a snapped boom. Being the antenna at the top of the mast, on a conventional, guyed tower, it would have been the most difficult to reach and repair, requiring removing all the antennas and lowering the mast inside the tower, or steps on the mast, which are not feasible on this lightweight mast (plus, I wouldn't climb it, even if it was feasible). The foldover tower allowed me (with the assistance of a friend, and potential new ham) to bring the damaged antenna to ground level for removal and replacement. Once it was down, I could see why it failed; the weakening caused by the element attachment hole, coupled with the weight and "sail" effect of the plastic balun box created the leverage needed to break the boom at the perforation, near the boom to mast plate. I have yet to find the element, which blew away somewhere. It will be interesting to see if it ever surfaces.

The "repair" was a two-step process. Although the 719B was a reasonable antenna for my infrequent use, my relatively poor VHF transceiver for 432, a 706MKIIG, and lack of preamp, left me wanting to improve my 432 antenna. A recently added 100W brick, thanks to a family discount from my cousin Art, W4ACM, improved my transmit signal considerably. But I knew I needed to improve the receive capability. A mast-mounted pre-amp is really needed (since built and added in March 2018 with very good results), even with the 7/8" hardline I use, given its length, but I decided the broken antenna was sufficient impetus to upgrade the antenna first. This benefited both receive and transmit. At my Nokesville QTH, I had used a C3I, 25 element K1FO yagi with great success. It was at 103 ft. and my view to the NE was basically unobstructed. That provided reliable Qs in contests with the big guns in New England, with my 100W and an SSB Electronics preamp. The preamp and antenna were generously provided by K4ENE, when he moved from this area. Knowing the performance of the antenna, and the fact that it had survived at that height for several years, I decided on the Directive Systems & Engineering antenna of essentially the same design. Having met and operated with Terry, W8ZN, the owner of DS&E, I was confident what I would be getting. I was right, and very satisfied. If you'd like to see the build and some details, here's a link: DSEFO432-25 Build at K4SO

The finished antenna has already shown promise, with my test path to Ed, W3EKT, improved over previous tests with the old antenna and low power. There are still geographic obstacles to the northeast, which I can't realistically overcome, but improving the antennas, radios, and related items like a receive preamp, and feedline will take me as far as possible. We're not moving to find an ideal radio QTH, and there's plenty of potential here, even with the limitations. I'll be looking for you in the upcoming fall, winter, and summer VHF contests, on 432, as well as 6 and 2 meters.

- May 2016

160M Season (2015-2016) ALWAYS A CHALLENGE, TOPBAND YIELDS NEW ONES, OTHERS MISSED

Given the limitations of my 160M antennas, it's getting harder and harder to find new, workable entities on topband each "season". Many that I need cross the hemispheres, so my "season" is NOT their season. When it's winter, and quiet here, it's summer, and noisy there. Still, there are surprises. DXpeditions add another dimension to DXing, especially on the lowbands, and topband in particular. Effective antennas are still moderately large, often fragile, and without an operator or two with a passion for low band DXing, these challenges are just too much to overcome. In the middle of all of the logistical, financial, operational, and personal demands on those who plan, go, and operate, it's understandable when the low bands (necessarily) have to take a back seat. I do my best to remember that it's their operation, and if I want to plan, finance and carry out a DXpedition (fat chance), I can prioritize things the way I see fit. Short of that, you fire up the rig, play the game, and see what happens.

So, this past winter (2015-2016), I can easily remember the DXpeditions and perennial lowband DX that I didn't work, and will not elaborate on each. Faithfully active stations not worked (yet again), HL5IVL, DU7ET, and DXpeditions missed (and well received at my QTH), 7P8C, C91B, and most recently FT4JA (three long nights of multi-hour calling, and a few recorded snippets of their signal are all I have to show for it. But that's DX!).

However, there were three high points! The first two were related. I was able to work VP8STI and VP8SGI on 160M for new band countries. The path was good, their signals were good, and with a beverage in that direction, I could hear well. I have become a true believer in QSK, since my Alpha 89's outboard circuit has given me confidence in its reliability, but I do not have dual receivers in my K3, so despite looking for the "last called" station on my panadapter, and judicious use of the REV button (which I can activate with a mouse click), it's still a little harder than having a receiver in each ear. I can use the NaP3 program as a subreceiver, but given my aging PC, it's definitely "sub." Even with essentially just one receiver, the K3's NR is extremely helpful, even on a quiet night, at sucking the weaker signals out of the noise, and up to Q5. My approach on 160M is aided by the fact that I can most often hear and see the callers, and so I can use the panadapter to quickly asses the edge of the pileup, or an open spot in the feeding frenzy. Part of the dynamic is that when I hear the DX better (in the long, slow QSB that is characteristic on 160M), so can everybody else and the pileup grows accordingly.

Finally, the jewel of the season, because it was probably the most unexpected, was my QSO with VK0EK. It seemed that after the similarly unexpected QSOs with the VP8s, it was unlikely that I'd nab VK0EK also. Instead, for whatever combination of reasons, including good ears and dedication by K3EL on Heard Island, I put it in the log without multi-night, multi-hour effort. Seeing his call on Clublog as the op. who worked me, I sent David an email while he was still on Heard Island, thanking him and the whole team and he took the time to email back! That was as unexpected as the contact itself.Their use of the DXA realtime feedback was extremely helpful too, and within moments of the QSO, I grabbed the screen capture below. I often neglect to record these QSOs and always regret it later, and this QSO was no exception to that but I do have the card and this unique real-time memento.

As we head into the nosier months in the northern hemisphere, I send a hearty thank you to the dedicated OMs who continue to operate 160M, both from their home stations, and DXpeditioners. It is a difficult, but highly satisfying place to work DX!

Tower is FINALLY up! 11-14-2015: AFTER THREE YEARS OF PLANNING, ROADBLOCKS & SLOW PROGRESS…

After bucketing, and hand digging out the mud, we were underway again, with forms prepared, rebar bent and built into cages Gravel was put in the bottom of the holes for drainage, and to fill in some "overage" in the guy anchor holes caused by the inevitable scraping of a 3-foot backhoe bucket digging a 3-foot square hole. The operator was quite skilled, but we sill ended up with a total of seven yards of concrete in the ground, instead of the 5 actually needed to meet spec. Still, it's a professional job, with a 1 inch fall for drainage, and guy anchor points that will not be going anywhere! A single 10-foot section was put in place, used to maintain a plumb orientation for the concrete-encased short section, and the area has been mostly graded, and the concrete is cured. The first 32 feet were added in the next couple weeks (up to the foldover hinge), and the final 26-foot top was pulled up intact, and bolted at the hinge, then winched upright after adding antennas.

It's been a slog, but the payoff has arrived, and this should serve me until I hang up my radio spurs 25 years or so from now. The foldover should allow me to change antennas and "follow the sun," and the high-frequency bands die off for the next several years. Of course, we don't know that they'll ever return to even what we've enjoyed in Cycle 24. Still, having the ability to change the "main" yagi to something for 30 or 40 meters will be potentially beneficial and something new. The previous tower and antennas I had, at least at the top, were unchanged over 24-years. A 40 meter yagi and a tribander were sufficient, supplemented with two VHF antennas to take advantage of the tower height, and other monobanders added to the side of the tower at various heights.

With the help of W4ACM, W4GO, K3TRM, W8KRZ, KK4KM, and K1HTV, the new tower is up and the first antenna to be used, a Cushcraft 10-4CD, provided good performance for the 2015 ARRL 10M contest. VHF antennas followed, then the monobander was removed and replaced by an A3S tribander with a 30M kit, to be followed in the springtime by something with interlaced monobanders. I do have some weight limitations to permit me to fold the tower over, but there are several possibilities including Optibeams, JK antennas, and maybe Force12. As the bands wane in coming years, I will have the option to replace that with a 20M monobander, or a 17/20M duobander, 30M Moxon, or something else. The foldover design gives me a lot of options, which was a big factor in my choice.

As for the actual erecting of the tower—the first 32 feet gave us a little trouble with sections not fitting (all sections were previously used), We had to remove the first section used to keep the base vertical in the concrete, and use the cantankerous section at the base, and move the previous lowest section up. The rest of the tower sections had been pre-fitted, and gave us very little trouble. My cousin, Art, W4ACM, who provided the tower in the first place, and had erected it for the previous owner, scripted the method of pulling the assembled top half of the tower into place. He manned the hinge point and with some considerable pulling and hauling, (Alex, KK4KM, doing the lion's share of the pulling at the ground level) and W4GO guiding the top end of the tower, Art directed the 200+ lb. structure into place. When he got the first bolt in, we cheered, and when the second was installed, it felt like the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah, where the east and west sections of the transcontinental railroad met.

The initial stack of antennas as of 12/2015, from top to bottom: Cushcraft 19 el. 432 MHz yagi (now replaced with a DSE 25 el. K1FO), 5 el. M2 6M5X, 15 el. C3I K1FO for 2M, and 4 el. Cushcraft 10-4CD for 10M. Now that the 2015 ARRL 10M contest has passed, the 10-4CD has been removed and a Cushcraft A3S with the 30M trapped dipole kit (A-734) is in place as shown below left. As of fall 2019, it's still providing good results, and replacement can wait. The tower works as smooth as I could ask, and I thank all involved once again. Here's a link to the entire photo album, with the hope that some of the details may benefit someone else putting up a similar tower.

K4SO Amissville Tower Album

Another Icom Rig in the Shack THIS TIME, AN OLDIE BUT GOODIE. SIMPLE BUT COMPETENT!

After getting the bug to try HF mobile, moving my Icom 706MKIIG to my compact pickup truck, left a hole in my HF "arsenal" on the desktop.I had been offered the use of friend's spare rig(s), a pair of Icom IC-765s, which had served well as CW contest radios before being replaced by a TS-950SDX and K3. Later a second K3 joined the lineup, and there has been nothing to displace them so far.I had only used the 765 very briefly during their fairly long run there, impressed by the way the C-IV sensed the VFO use on either rig, and swapped focus in CT (for DOS!). Back then, SO2R was less formalized, with support by external devices, and you only needed the logging software to grab the second rig, when it was used for transmitting. The seamless way the Icoms were supported was quite efficient and basically followed your actions at the rig, rather than being controlled by the keyboard.

As it turns out, one of the 765s had a case of deafness, and the other had a tuner problem, and, as I delved further, a transmitter feedback problem on SSB. This mode was rarely used in their years of contesting service. I started with the rig with the lively receiver, only to discover the SSB problem once I'd made room on the operating desk, so I tried the second, older rig (the one with the deaf receiver) as an SSB transmitter, and found it was fine. Opening the cabinet, I decided to pull and reseat connectors, in hopes of a quick fix for the receiver. No joy, so I moved on to the next "easy" attempt to find the problem, by slightly moving potentiometers and coils in the RF signal path, in hopes that something just needed a swish to clean it up and restore the signal path. When I tried R465, I found the problem. The pot was not dirty, but turned down, reducing the receiver gain. After stumbling on this adjustment, I looked in the Service Manual, and found that it was one of a pair of pots used to set the overall receiver gain. That encouraged me that there was a logical reason that it made the difference, even though I'd found it by blind reckoning. I tweaked the associated coils and found a couple dB or additional sensitivity, then "calibrated" the gain by setting it to yield S-meter readings approximately the same as my K3.

A 1990 QST review of the rig explained a few other behaviors, such as the IF SHIFT function (the button in particular), which also removes one of the cascaded filters, which is a big help on SSB to open up the 2.2 kHz bandwidth for daily use, and let the 2.8 kHz filter take over. This rig has cascaded

500 and 250 Hz filters, and the optional 6 kHz AM filter as well. The antenna tuner problem in its twin turned out to be a worm gear that had crawled up the shaft of the drive motor for one of variable caps, which was quickly fixed. A loud hum was actually the motor running freely, trying to find a home position for the tuner to start, but being unable to drive the gears where it needed to be. The most obvious missing piece on this rig, compared to the 950SDX and FT-1000D that I had, of similar vintage, is a sub-receiver, but that's a DXing function more than a SO2R contesting need, and I'm very pleased to have this rig on the operating table. Hopefully, my small problems and their resolution will be of help to someone else.

When the envelope is as cool as the QSL . . . PHILATELY ANYONE?

Not to demean the FT4FA DXpedition QSL card, but rather to commend them for this extra dimension of their QSLing process, I share this picture of the envelope which contained the QSL card. Not since the "first day issue" envelope of Radio Nederland International, on the event of opening their Bonaire relay shortwave station, have I received such a notable envelope. The RN envelope is postmarked 6 March 1969, and is also shown below. That's a lot of years in between. When my neighbor Frank, K3TRM, told me he got his card and the envelope was also a prize, I was only guessing what it would look like. Unfortunately, the card enclosed in my envelope didn't have a 160M QSO included, but the packaging helped with my disappointment at not being able to work them on topband. Thanks again Lyon DX Gang!

Above: Recently received envelope containing

QSL card from FT4TA DXpedition

Right: Envelope containing Radio Nederland

QSL card from their new station on Bonaire

Below: The FT4TA QSL. The wraparound

design is a real favorite of mine.

Here's an envelope from 2019 FT8 DXing

that's especially colorful— C21WW from

Latvian, Yuris Petersons. I was able to work

their DXpedition on 4 bands, including 80M.

I do appreciate the planning and effort

of the smaller DXPeditions, as well as the

bigger ones. Thanks for the Qs!

Smallest HF Rig I've Ever Owned

100 WATTS, LOTS OF BANDS INCLUDING VHF, AND NEW OPTIONS

After selling my trusty, venerable FT-1000 (almost a D) to a friend, I felt the loss of not having a reasonably modern backup, and second rig for "light" SO2R use. A deal for a very well-equipped TS-930S fell through, and I got thinking about the possibility of a rig for both HF and VHF and the option of trying HF mobile. My K3 is great for serious DXing and contest dabbling, and I decided to take a different tack than buying a 10- 15-year old mainline transceiver. I called a local friend who had mentioned that he had an Icom 706MKIIG that was excess to his needs, but he'd already sold it to a newly licensed local ham. I had used a 706MKIIG which was borrowed from K3TRM, during a VHF contest in 2011. I was impressed by how much functionality was squeezed into this small package. At that time, my K3 had its drivers blown for the second or third time by my ornery Alpha 89. I recalled that another local ham had mentioned that he was going to sell his 706 back in February. A quick email confirmed that he still had the rig, and was still interested in moving it along, in favor of a newer, compact HF/VHF rig. With little haggling, we came to terms, and a brief demo convinced me to take the plunge. Not knowing too much about the options for this rig, I was delighted to find that this one has the 350Hz CW filter, DSP, and high-precision crystal, in addition to a USB to CI-V cable, and a plug in module from "The Better RF Company" (now defunct, the company, not the board), which uses the antenna tuner port and provides a 10W tuning carrier for antenna tuner use.

First experience with an IC-706MKIIG from K3TRM in June 2011

It fits right in on the desktop, not taking up much room and only displaced an old multi-position speaker switch and my LP-Pan for the K3. They were easily moved (just visible on the left in the picture above), and not in the sight line of the monitor. The receiver isn't contest grade, with its broad filter skirts evident on very strong signals, but overall it's very competent and a ball to use. Paired with an LDG Z-100Plus that I bought for quick bandswitching at low power for the K3, I've had lots of fun already working some pretty distant DX, with 100 watts on both CW and SSB. I need a mobile mount before I can install it in my pickup truck, but this rig is definitely the right format, making the K3 look large by comparison! The addition of a cable for amplifier keying, and an adapter for the RJ45 mic. connector has allowed integration with the YCCC SO2R box, which you can see on top of the K3. For the moment, it's enjoying the role of "first responder" to DX spots, and providing the fun of DXing and ragchewing, all from this small package.

Another Collins Station Added

A DEAL I JUST COULDN'T PASS UP - 2015

I wasn't really looking for another Collins station, but when a comment was made about some "Collins gear that you might want to take a look at" at a hamfest about a year and a half ago, the bait was set. What I thought might be a "purchase, clean up and sell" transaction, tuned into a buy, sell, donate and keep one, series of events. I've had an interest in a KWM-2 since I got my first S/Line many years ago, and again when I got an S-1/Line about 6 years ago, and replaced it with an S-3/Line about a year ago. It's a very rudimentary rig, lacking anything but AF and RF gain (well, and emissions, and RF bandswitching controls) in the receiver, but stuffing the essence of the S/Line in a single box intrigued me. When I saw the first pair of KWM-2A and 312B-5, and got it going, it wasn't long before I asked the seller if I could "take a look" at the other two pairs he had. After some excellent information and coaching by K6XYZ on how to further improve the stock radio, I have an excellent performer, at least on SSB, and a station that's just plain fun to use. I share the 30L-1, around the corner from this station in the picture above, between the M-2 and the S/Line. The 312B-5 is a RE, matching the 30L-1 in that regard, and although it had some serious thumb rash on the panel, and a cabinet with a few prominent scratches and flaws, a bit of touch-up paint and a cabinet overspray brought it up to very acceptable condition physically. Electrically, it was already fully functional, and a bit of cleanup resulted in bringing the innards to very nice condition

Here is the rig, as received. Note the discolored trim ring (plastic), and the aftermarket emission knob. The usual problems were present, nicotine, scratched knob inserts, and yellowed lines in the knobs. I purchased the rig without ever opening the cabinet. Imagine my delight, when I found a DX Engineering speech processor topside, and the Teflon wiring and plug-in relays below decks. I figured there was enough to work with in the transceiver, power supply, and external VFO (PTO), but when everything powered up, I was really motivated to clean things up. Once I got things spruced up, I was further motivated to find a way to keep it in the shack, at least for now. As you refurbish gear, the particulars emerge, and in this case, the yellowed trim ring (which I'd avoided previously, with painted, metal ones on the other Collins gear I have), and the installation of service bulletin upgrades were part of the M-2 involvement. The construction of the M-2 is both similar, and quite different from the S/Lines I have worked on, using "turrets" to provide the component density needed to get everything into this package. Invariably, the components you need to change or add, seem to be on the inner layer of parts that are placed on the turrets early in construction. Those who have worked on these rigs, have developed techniques to reach, remove, and replace what needs to be done. One of the hallmarks of the Collins construction, is the wrapping of leads, and generous use of solder, finished up with a dab of red inspection "paint" on each connection, indicating that it's been checked for correctness, both electrically and physically. Easy removal of these component leads later is not a consideration. I don't own a Haako desoldering station, which is almost universally celebrated as the way to go when doing this work, but after using a roll or two of Solderwick (desoldering braid) for these operations, I pulled out the old manual plunger-type solder sucker for initial solder removal, and almost by accident (at first), created intentional cold-solder joints that allowed some careful clipping, and unwrapping of leads with a dental pick. These techniques allowed the use of less heat, and original technique when installing the new components.

These turrets are numbered, and as you can see in the photo, there are letters indicating the particular lugs. The manual identifies the turrets, and even the lettering of the lugs, which go clockwise, with A-F on the top layer, and G-L on the bottom. This was all new to me, and while I'm glad I made the changes to the circuits, and enjoyed the process overall, I'm not looking for a steady diet of this work! To those who routinely maintain this gear, you have my respect and a tip of my hat. Thanks Dave, for your patient coaching, which resulted in a rig that sounds really excellent. I have taken a number of other photos, as is my practice, and while not an exhaustive recipe for SB8, one of the most critical, may help you if you are making these changes to your KWM-2(A). Just click on the photo of the turret to reach the entire album, with captions. The album includes details of the trim ring restoration as well.

Snow vs. The Ground-Mounted Rotator

IT'S STILL EASIER THAN CLIMBING

The snowstorm on February 13, 2014, which dropped 14–16 inches of snow, left the rotator system for the Spiderbeam HD just barely visible. The counterweights and steering strings need space below them to operate, and so a little shoveling was needed to get things operational for the ARRL DX CW Contest the following weekend. 15 minutes later, with all control and coax lines still deeply buried under the snow, things were turning again. The antenna itself was safely above the snowline, so only the rotator and associated items needed the snow cleared away from them. I look forward to a no-climb tower installation in the spring of 2015, but this is still even easier to maintain. With over a foot of snow, I didn't think I could wait for natural melting in the sunny, 52F weather that followed the next day. Also, this storm started with cold temps and powdery snow, and the power stayed on for the duration. I know those south of us really suffered in this storm, with ice in NC, GA, and even snow down in AL. I also read of antenna failures due to the ice. The fact is, we're still pretty small compared to "the weather." A good reminder...

Removing snow from the small road that runs along our property, out to the "main" road, with our 1986 Ford 1710. This was my first time needing the tractor to clear us out. The forecast for the 2014-15 winter makes me think it won't be the last. A more suitable blade (rear grader) is on the tractor now for snow removal tasks.

The short boom and the tip of the rotator protruding from the snow, with the Spiderbeam safely "parked" on the short mast, above the snow line.

Rotator dug out and area cleared for the rotation of the short boom and counterweights on the end of the "steering strings" which attach to the antenna's boom. Ready for DXing!

Updated! OVER 3 YEARS LATER, A NEWER "CERTIFICATE" IS ADDED

Newest “Certificate” at K4SO PROBABLY MORE EXPENSIVE THAN DXCCs WITH POSTAGE AND ENDORSEMENTS

This building permit was the latest wallpaper in my shack back in 2013. It is now back indoors, and the tower is not complete, as you can see from the story above. Just below it, you can see the newest certificate, a flimsy piece of paper that belies the expense, time, and labor of many that it represents, the Final Inspection receipt, with the unassuming text, "ok for use."

I never calculated the cost of all the QSL postage, KwH of power consumed, or my hourly labor rate for working the DX to obtain my DXCC certificates, but this piece of laminated paper is probably right up there in terms of comparative cost. since it has not been manufactured since the late 1970s, the tower I now have had to be re-engineered to meet current IBC 2009 commercial specifications for wind, snow, and ice, and all the mechanical considerations for weight and wind load of the antennas, The existing Rohn documentation was not nearly sufficient for my local jurisdiction (county), so this had to be prepared by a PE licensed in VA. In the end, I employed the services of a local contractor to do the excavations, build forms and rebar cages, haul the concrete, and babysit the project during the initial inspection. Zoning was a snap, with the location required to be only 25 feet from the property line, regardless of tower height (up to 200 feet without any special waivers), and 125 feet from the centerline of the road on the "frontage" side of the property. That is defined as the shortest side, not the one that fronts the public road. Neither of those considerations make much sense to me but at least that part of the process was easy.

Thanks to Don Daso, K4ZA, I obtained the services of an excellent and very reasonably-priced (considering the work involved) PE, and the approval only took 5 days once the documents were submitted. That's the good news. What then remained was excavation for some very substantial guy anchors, and well as possible removal of a large oak tree by a tree service (later deemed unnecessary). The guy anchors are one cubic yard each, and there are four of them, plus another cubic yard at the base. The total amount is still less than some self-supporting or crank-up towers (it finally took 7 cubic yards total, with the overage by the backhoe's excavation). For comparison, my previous 100-foot tower had only 1 cubic yard at the base, and used large screw-in guy anchors. The upside with this design is that the footprint is only out 19.5 feet from the tower base. Regulations vary, but if you need a PE in the state of Virginia, drop me an email at k4so@aol.com, and I'll pass along the particulars.

My last tower was erected when I was only 33 years old. I had an intense desire for a "real" tower, coming from a 40-footer with a house bracket, drive in base (no concrete), and the "ask forgiveness, not permission" approach. Although this tower will likely be my last, the challenge is that I'm less motivated, given the great results the last one produced. I postponed this one's construction almost three years after we moved here, until fall 2015, and used a Spiderbeam hanging in a tree with surprisingly good results, using techniques learned with several "temporary" antennas as shown below on this page. Oh, and I'm not 33 anymore...

Final Inspection receipt. "ok for use" never sounded so good!

It's now "in use," thanks to the work of many, mentioned and shown in my Google Photos album of tower construction. Thanks to all involved! - SO

Collins 32S-3

REPLACES MY 32S-1

The updating of the Collins station is now complete, with a 32S-3 replacing my venerable 32S-1 which gave five years of excellent performance. I previously replaced the 75S-1 with a 75S-3 (see below), and knew I wanted the 32S-3 for three reasons: 1.) It generates CW in a manner which will not cause multiple signals on the band, due to a lack of carrier and sideband suppression, 2.) it has a CW CAL control to allow quick and accurate spotting of the transmitted signal, when using the transmitter PTO, and 3.) it uses an air variable neutralizing capacitor, which allows for use of later generation 6146s, including As, Bs, and Ws. This could be retrofitted to the 32S-1, but I decided to leave it stock in that regard.

After missing some eBay offerings, and inquiring about breaking up full S/Lines to purchase just the transmitter and being declined, I purchased one that had already been substantially cleaned up and already recapped (failure-prone capacitors replaced). It was much further along as a starting point than the eBay-purchase 75S-3, but still required some detailed cleaning to "make it mine." The dials were only lightly discolored by smoke or sunlight, but happily it doesn't smell like smoke. The chassis and controls were all very clean, likely due to the work of the most recent owner. It's a 1966 model, so it's 7 years newer than its predecessor on my operating desk, but despite its cleanup, will never be as "original clean" as the S-1. I'm glad to have the 3/Line now and have made good use of it on both SSB and especially CW. The cabinet needed some minor paint repairs, so I just kept the one from my 32S-1, but I couldn't wait for a shakedown cruise, as shown in the picture.

To view the Google Photos album, showing an abbreviated record of the cleanup, click here.

Collins 75S-3

REPLACES MY 75S-1

Five years of enjoyable operation with a 1958/59 S-1/Line convinced me that I would be keeping a Collins station in the stable, if possible, from now on. The one-owner S/Line (W4HYB) was operationally very good, but the S-1/Line has some limitations for daily use, which were addressed in the S-3/Line. Since keeping both was not a viable option, I decided to upgrade the receiver first to gain three useful features, then the transmitter. The 75S-3 features an adjustable BFO, two AGC time constants (a feature I had added to the S-1), and rejection tuning (a notch filter, which I had available on the 75S-1 by using an external Heathkit QF-1). The BFO allows easy zero beating for transceive, and changing the tone of SSB by shifting the signal in the mechanical filter, as well as changing the pitch of the CW signal in the stock 200-cycle crystal filter. It can also act as RIT when transceiving, without having to go split. Of lesser importance, the additional controls add two additional knobs with alumin um inserts, which brighten the front panel and create a more balanced look. The 75S-1 has an open area under the meter that is occupied by the BFO control on the 75S-3.

This receiver was an eBay purchase, at a good price, but was a bit of a diamond in the rough, dirty and neglected for many years. From what I could see in the pictures, it appeared not to be damaged in any way with scratches, dents or extra holes, and when I received it, my assessment proved largely correct. It was operational out of the box and cleaned up very nicely. The receiver included a weighted VFO knob, a bonus usually costing in excess of $100 by itself, when you can find one for sale.

There was a "gotcha" though. The permeability tuned oscillator (PTO), which I consider the heart of the receiver, had a serious mechanical flaw. It would spring backwards when turned in the clockwise direction. There was also slipping in the dial drive, as a result of the high resistance when tuning in that direction. It seemed to improve with use, but it soon became clear that I would have to remove and service the 70K-2 PTO. Many avoid this procedure, and not without cause, but with the coaching and encouragement of several on the CCA email reflector list, I decided to service it. Although sophisticated in its engineering, with reasonable care and documenting the order of assembly (digital photos are a great tool for this), I successfully disassembled, cleaned. lubricated, reassembled, and calibrated it. The final result is very satisfying. It's perfectly smooth, light, and should outlast me!

I have documented the process, not as an absolute recipe or step-by-step guide, but hopefully enough detail to encourage others to not shy away from this procedure. The link below places you within the larger album on this receiver, and as you advance forward, includes detailed close-ups and written descriptions.

Google Photos Album of PTO rebuild (subset of receiver refurbishment)

Don't be surprised if you find me using this gear especially on 17M, since I obtained crystals for that band a couple months back. I have also added crystals for 30M and 12M as well, so the pair is WARC-capable.

160M QSL Favorites

TOPBAND IS TOUGH, AT LEAST FOR ME

FT5ZM - AI

Yes, AI stands for Amsterdam Island, but might as well be Antipode Island. As tough as Yemen was to work (see below), this station was easy to copy, in terms of signal strength, but perhaps even more sought after. The T vertical and beverages once again earned their keep. The QSO was right at peak grayline time, 23:56Z, but still a surprise to me that I got through. I never heard them as well again on 160M. I worked them on 18 band/mode slots, but the Q on topband is the prize. Thanks to all involved in this very well planned and executed operation.

9U4U - Burundi

Clearly the wraparound design is a popular format. This card arrived after a request on the OQRS system. This one also included a 160M QSO, much appreciated.

7O6T - Yemen

This fold-open panorama card from 7O6T is a prize. I worked this excellent DXpedition on quite a few bands, including 160M, which was the jewel for me. Reading K1ZM's description of what they had to do to operate on topband, I feel especially fortunate and appreciative. The card for additional contacts that didn't fit in this card used a simple design with the national flag, which was also a nice touch. Thanks to the crew for their dedication and operating skill and the management of QSL and LoTW confirmations!

Drake B-Line

RIDES AGAIN

After learning that Hartzell was no longer refinishing Drake cabinets, I decided to repaint the one on the T-4XB. There was substantial variation in the finishes of the gear over the years, and since the MS-4 and the R-4B cabinets were in somewhat poor condition when I received them, I sprung for the refinish job by Hartzell. By comparison, the T-4XB was mostly unscratched, but had an almost matte finish, and a much smoother surface. I decided to cover the scratches, and try and minimize the gloss differential, by repainting the cabinet with Rustoleum Satin Black, my go-to paint for most anything black that I want to restore.The result was very good, and highly cost effective. The R-4B cabinet refinish from Hartzell was $90, the MS-4 $45 (per piece pricing, not surface area), and the T-4XB was $4.97, plus my time ($0). Once painted, it seemed like the station should be deployed and with the wide open shack in the basement, it was easy enough. With much of my daytime operating using 17 meters, I added two crystals for that band and they also include crystals for 30M and 160M. There are still plenty of Drake radios being sold, and they're a good value and great fun to use.

LoTW comes through with 100 countries on 30M

I have always considered the WARC bands to be "for fun" (I know, aren't they all?), and haven't sought QSLs or confirmations with the same aggressiveness as I have on the other bands. I did work 104 countries on 30M with my Drake B-Line, just for the fun of it, and have been trying to work what's spotted on 30M for the last couple years. My antennas have been simple dipoles for cut 30M, or other bands and used with an external antenna tuner. When checking 6M DXCC counties, I noticed that I had 100 on 30M, so I applied for the award. The turnaround was just a week or so. Thanks for the Qs, and thanks ARRL for the quick turn. (49 more have arrived as of 12-31-2012)

7-2023 Update-With the help of FT8, the total is now 317 confirmed)

LoTW also provided 100 countries confirmed for 12M

I was on 12 meters the day it opened, with a 4 element monobander and a separate tap on the B&W850A in my multi-band homebrew 4-1000 amplifier (built by Jeff, WA8SAJ). I worked a bunch, but like 30M, didn't chase the cards. They trickled in, and when the band opened up again this year (2013), I started looking for LoTW users to work and finish up DXCC confirmations. Most of what was added was via wire antennas and CW is a great help, when the antennas are not terribly effective.

7-2023 Update: 302 confirmed

LoTW-based Digital DXCC

I have operated RTTY since very early on in the hobby, and never considered chasing DXCC until LoTW and the use of computer decoders. MMTTY, and now 2Tone provide lots of fun for contesting with RTTY, and I use MMTTY for day-to-day DXing. With many major DXpeditions including RTTY, I have a somewhat high percentage of exotic countries on this mode, and should spend some time chasing the easier ones, I guess. These days, I let Spotcollector alert me to new RTTY countries, and if the station is an LoTW user, I am doubly motivated. Like the other DXCCs, just working 100 on RTTY doesn't represent anything terribly difficult, but another fun award to chase and track. Modern tools for all these things makes it very enjoyable. Give it a try!

7-2023 Update: 315 confirmed

2011 = Starting Over at New QTH

NEW CHALLENGES

After 24 years in our former home, with family grown and gone, it was time to make a move to a home more suited to our age and purposes. For me, that meant starting over in the ham shack too. At that time, I was on the air with wires and rotatable antennas in the trees as shown elsewhere on this page, having fun in a somewhat simpler way than when I had a 100-foot tower and a bunch of yagis. I do have much of the same gear, having shed the largest amplifiers and some peripherals. Being somewhat temporary, the shack was set up in the corner of the basement, and nearly everything is on one "level" so I can reach all the connections and reconfigure when needed. I also have room to walk behind the operating position. While shelves and a position flush to the wall are attractive, this arrangement allows flexibility, since I wasn't sure how things would be changed.

The new start also means a new website, having retired the old one when I had to change ISPs. I'm trying to retain some of the fun links and background that was there, but emphasize what's new here rather than chronicle the past as my homepage. QRZ.com has a briefer overall history. One of the things that has been a useful addition to the free web tools from Google, has been Picasaweb (now gone the way of the dinosaurs), and its utility as an efficient way to create online photo albums. I've taken many (sometimes, too many) pictures of projects as I've gone through them, and if the project's name piques your curiosity, take a look. Some are more step-by-step, and some have been found and used by others to assist them in related projects, if only as encouragement that "This guy did it, I can dive in too."

K4SO QTH and Antennas - Winter 2020

TOTAL PROPERTY IS 5.22 ACRES

Tower and yagis (white) were erected in the fall of 2015 in the position shown. (Antennas on tower are not to scale. See description above.) They include a Cushcraft A3S with the A-734 kit for 30M, and a stack of VHF antennas above it, with a C3I 15 el. 2M K1FO yagi, an InnovAntennas 7 el. LFA for 6M, and a Directive Systems 25 el. yagi for 432.

Beverages (orange) run NE and NW and SE (not shown). A reversible two-wire beverage was added in early 2021 with matching and switching from QRO.cz (RemoteQTH.com). Jan Sustr (OK2ZAW) has an excellent line of kits, parts, and even built units. He was incredibly helpful with the build, and highly responsive to answer questions. The new beverage is that "little bit extra" for the AF and due west Pacific DX, just as I had hoped. A new control setup in 2021 allows combining any two beverages, and splits them to either of my K3s.

Wire antennas (turquoise) are open wire-fed dipole (125 ft. long) at 85 feet, and open wire-fed inverted vee (255 ft. long) at 85 feet. Also shown are the low 40M dipole (high angle) at 33 ft. and 40M NW/SE dipole at 75 ft. for Asia and Caribbean (the 80M open wire dipole is used as 2 half-waves in phase for NE/SW, Europe and Pacific.) A dedicated 60M inverted vee was added for anything off from the NE/SW orientation of the 80M dipole which is also used on 60M.

Tree branch suspended antennas (yellow) are in the woods to the northeast of the house and is shown by the yellow yagi, and supports a Cushcraft A3WS for 12/17M or a Cushcraft 10-4CD 4 el. monobander for 10M, typically hung for the ARRL 10M contest.

The 160M T vertical with folded counterpoise (FCP): (green) as designed by K2AV, this has been an outstanding performer for me overall. There is no free lunch, but the lack of an extensive radial field helps me maintain my drain field where the antenna is located. The line indicates the approximate direction and length of the top loading horizontal wire. The FCP is located in nearly the same orientation as this wire, but elevated at 10 feet above ground. The horizontal portion of the antenna is 71 feet high, with the resulting vertical portion of 61 feet. A newly constructed FCP with better spacers for the 3-wire side was added in December 2020. More pictures of the initial configuration, testing, and FCP isolation transformer are at:

160M T Vertical FCP Construction and deployment with 160M T

The Radios that got my dad started in electronics, and got me started in Ham Radio

There is a short thank you tribute about my dad, Charles F. Killmon accessible from the menu on this site. My interest in radio was his doing, and that, based on his early exposure in WWII as a radio operator on B-29s in the Pacific (Tinian and Saipan)

Fast forward 48 years—I get the chance to see how he got his start in radio...

After email and telephone correspondence with KC0TEG, Paul, last summer, I learned of the efforts by the Collins Radio club to refurbish the radio operator's position in FIFI, the Commemorative Air Force B-29, and only flyable B-29 left in the world. He had stumbled upon the details about my dad, which I had shared on QRZ.com, and here on the website. I was intensely interested in the project, but was unable to attend the commemoration of the station at the CAF base in Texas. Later, I had the thrill of working FIFI, and received a special QSL for the contact with N9A/B29. I heard them on 40M in some of the initial, in-flight tests, and could clearly hear the engines over the air! Paul later sent me the documents distributed at the commemoration of the station, which I greatly enjoyed seeing. After reports of a B-29 in the airspace around Warrenton, VA (the largest town near our home in Amissville), on June 1, 2013, a little Internet research revealed that FIFI was at the Manassas Airport nearby. We jumped in the truck and went over for a cockpit tour and took some pictures, as shown above, and in the related Google Photos album. The guys did a fantastic job, including a paint job on the BC-348, and a meticulous job of cleaning and wiring, as you can see in the pictures in the album. My wife asked about the wire, running from the top of the fuselage to the tail, which I identified as the antenna, and she pointed out that my model of the B-29 did not have that detail. I'll be adding a thread to the model. After all, the model had been built for my dad, and spent many years in his radio shack, without an antenna!

The BC-348 on Aluminum Overcast. It's real, but non-operational. It was still a thrill to sit at the radio position and think about my dad's training in 1943 or so in B-17s in the same seat.

The fully operational radio position in FIFI. Click for a link to the details of the restoration project. As the son of a B-29 radio operator, I sincerely thank those who did this work, giving me a chance to both work it and see it!

Click on the shot of FIFI for an album of other still shots.

A few years prior, on 9-10-2010, I took the opportunity to take a flight in EAA's "Aluminum Overcast," a flying museum that tours the country. Knowing my dad trained in B-17s, and not sure I'd ever get the chance to fly in FIFI, I took a half-hour flight out of the Leesburg Executive Airport. On the flight was another guy whose dad was a radio operator, so he sat at the operating table for takeoff, and we switched places for landing.

Click here for a short video that I shot during my flight in Aluminum Overcast, which is posted on youTube.

Click here to some stills of Aluminum Overcast on the day of my flight.

In 2012, I was able to work FIFI on 20m CW. It was in Texas and I believe it was airborne at the time. Note the nice note from Bob, K3NT, the operator. Maybe some day, I can get the chance to operate the station! I'll need some training on the ART-13, but the BC-348 will seem familiar, as it was my first shortwave radio when I started as a 10-year-old SWL.

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