Current Activities

2024/2025: Currently, I'm enjoying operating QRP and using portable/minimal equipment from home and in remote locations. I operate most modes, but prefer CW and digital (FT4, FT8, RTTY) modes.

Devil's Den State Park (US-1082) POTA Activation - December 2024


2018-2021 - California Station

What you see below was my station up to September 2021, just before we moved from California.

Like most hams who have been on the air for a few years, I've gone through several generations of ham shacks. From a Heathkit HW-16 (crystal controlled) to a Tempo One (an early Yaesu - identical to the FT-200 - distributed by Henry Radio) to the Drake B line to (now) an ICOM IC-7300 and an ICOM-705. Like what was in the shack, what was outside the shack varied considerably, from dipoles to a three-element beam atop a tower to a multi-band vertical to (now) a manually-tunable vertical that tops out at about 12 feet (3.7 meters) above ground level, a 6 meter dipole about 7 feet (2.1 meters) AGL, and an old Ringo Ranger for 2 meters. There were long stretches of time when I didn't have a shack at all, and my operations were limited to 2 meters when I'd travel back east to visit my parents (my dad is W5JE). My current situation is governed by HOA (home-owner association) rules regarding antennas, or complete lack thereof. So far the neighbors haven't said anything.

So what you see below is quite minimal and out of date. But with nearly everything built in to the IC-7300, external hardware like a keyer or an antenna tuner or an external sound card or an SWR bridge really aren't required.

Three generations of ham operators, circa 1974 or 1975. That's me (then WB5HHM) on the left, my grandfather (sk), WA5EIT, in the middle, and my dad, W5MDP (now W5JE), on the right. (I think that's my grandmother's handwriting on the photo.)