Rigs & Antennas – OZ9XU – 5P5Q

“Antennas should be heard, not seen”

The Shack

The shack setup.

The computer is for logging only as well as lookups in QRZ.COM a. o.
The computer will never be a part of any radiocommunication whatsoever.

Soldering iron and screwdriver?
My workbench is upstairs and not worth taking photos off yet 🙂

CW on a PC? Never, I want to have fun.

Shack window view

View over the Baltic Sea (looking towards NE) from my shack window.

On the flagpoles, left: The Bornholm Island regional flag and right: The Danish flag “Dannebrog”, which celebrates its 800th anniversary June 15, 2019.

As you can see, it was a nice spring day with a calm wind from N/NW, sunny with abt. 8 dgrs. C.

Messy CW?

Here’s why I sometimes mess around a bit in my CW.

My two cats Taiji (black & white) and DX (red) are the reason to much QRM in the shack and they both love to rest in front of my radio and paddle, so I’m not able to work 🙂
DX also love to push my paddle-hand while I’m on-air, which results in QSD.

Maybe a hint to me, that I should take a look at their food bowles and fill them up (again).

DX is my older cat (8 years in 2023) and got his name because I’m a DX’er. Came to me in 2017.

Taiji came to me in September 2023, proberly abandoned from a holiday home area close to me, which are a bit of a problem here on the Island.

He is incredibly lively and are about 1½ years old (2023).
He got his name Taiji because of his fur colors. Taiji is the Chinese word for the sign, what we in the West call Yin & Yang.
He has now been neutered and ear tagged and has become a part of the my family.

Meow!, Meow!

Elecraft new K-Line = K4D + KPA1500

From left:
Boya mic. on modified Kenwood MC-50 stand, Elecraft K4D Transceiver, Elecraft Dual Paddle HexKey and KPA1500 Amplifier (RF-deck).
The KPA1500 PSU are under the desk and not shown.
The K4D, amplifier and ATU can be controlled on the PC with the Win4K4Suite application.

Barefoot operation:
The K4D radio has Sub-receiver and 100 Watt output, but no internal ATU.
I will use the ATU in the KPA1500, both barefoot’d and amplified.
I will from time to time work barefoot’ed.

Power Amplifier operation:
On February 12, 2019 I got my first external PA-unit ever.
Since 1974 and until that date I have worked with 100 Watt.
From 1973 to 1974 QRP with 5 Watt.
Max. legal limit in OZ-land are 1 kW. On some bands much less.
Depending on the band, my output will be between 500 and 1000 Watt. On 60m limited to abt. 100-150 Watt.

Transceiver PSU:
Diamond GSV-3000, 30A at 13.8VDC (Not shown, under the desk).

Electronic log:
Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD), in my opinion the best logging application with full screen size window and clear fields and text, which is UFB for my bad eyes.
No small windows and rubbed text. The “Rig control server” is replaced with Win4K4Suite, where I can control both radio, amplifiers and ATU’s.

Racal RA17L

Vintage tube communication receiver.

Freq. range: 0.5 through 30 MHz.

MFJ-2990 Vertical for 10-80m bands.

Covers all bands from 80m to 6m. Should also cover 160m, but can’t tune it on 160m.

The antenna is 13,5 m (43 ft.) tall and self-supported, but since my QTH are very close to the coast, sometimes with very strong winter storms, the antenna are equipped with guying ropes.

The antenna is installed with the feed point at ground level (up 50 cm) and with abt. 20 burried radials of different lengths.

Due to the lack of space, the radials are not evenly distributed, but mostly in the western and southwestern direction.

Mounted on a MFJ-1903 Tilt base for easier antenna maintenance.

Extended FD4 Windom, modified to cover the 160m band.

Fritzel FD4 Windom (10-80m) with extended coil and about 5 meters of wire in the short leg of the originale antenna, so it can cover the 160m band too.

The coil are made of a 50mm Ø plastictube with 120 turns (abt. 100 uH).

As I live close to the Baltic Sea (30 meters) the pole is equipped with many guy-wires..

Bengali Graciella Paddle

Really very nice finish and it’s heavy, magnetic tension.

Elecraft Dual Paddle HexKey

Magnetic tension, just a dream! Elecraft, but made by Bencher.

Bencher BY-4 paddle.

Perfect for my stiff fingers (hi).

Kent Twin TP1-B paddle

Very heavy and solid. Nice to use.

Vibroplex Original

2 models, the black one are including round vario arm.

Vibroplex Square Racer, Iambic paddles.

Magnetic tension, easy to ajust and use.

CWtouchkeyer, P1PAD, Iambic paddle.

No moving parts or contacts, you just have to touch the paddles.

You have to pratice a lot, not easy to use. It CAN be very sensitive to HF on some bands, but else nice to use.

Is available in many configurations, with and without internal keyer Electronics. My model have only the paddle Electronics and I use the internal keyer in the transceiver.

Great Northern Telegraph (GNT) handkeys

Two different models.

The black one (model 605) is similar to the one I – for many years ago – learned the art of CW.

My arthritis wrists do not allow them to be used daily, but they are touched once in a while.

Previously used stations.

1969-1973:
Various radio stations 25 W – 2-3 kW as professional radio operator.

1973-1974:
Ten-Tec PM2B QRP transceiver, 2 Watt, modified to 5 Watt output.

1974-1977:
Yaesu FT-200 transceiver, 100 Watt output.

1977-2011:
Atlas 210x transceiver, 100 Watt output.

2011:
Yaesu FT-101ZD transceiver, apx. 120 Watt output.

2011-2013:
Yaesu FT-840 transceiver, 100 Watt output.

2017-2023:
Yaesu FT-450D, 100 Watt output.
Used as spare station, now sold.

2013-2023:
Elecraft K3 + P3, 100 Watt output + KPA500/KAT500 500 Watt.
K3/P3 now used as spare station and non-home QTH activities.
KPA500/KAT500 are sold.