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My Amateur Radio Station
W4HH

 

Here are photos and information about my amateur radio station as of October 2008.  First, some background.

I obtained my first amateur radio operator's license in November 1958 -- Novice Class, KN4FPT.  A few months later I upgraded to Technician Class, K4FPT.  Here's my license history:

  • Novice, KN4FPT, November 1958;

  • Technician, K4FPT, February 1959;

  • Advanced, K4FPT, April 1979;

  • Extra, K4FPT, September 1992;

  • Received vanity call W4HH, January 6, 1997.

  • While stationed in Japan, July 1990 - July 1993, I held Japanese amateur radio license 7J1AJJ.

I have had a number of stations, some very simple, some complicated.  Now that we have settled down in Northumberland County, Virginia, I have put up a small station in my new home.  (Follow this link for more info on our new house.)  I planned to put a small station in the utility room of the new house but didn't realize how little room I would have.

The Station

Here are two photos of my station as it looks in January 2020.  The station sits on a homemade table in a small utility room.

  The equipment is:

  •  Top shelf, left to right:
    • Yaesu FT-211RH two-meter FM transceiver (oldie but goody).
    • Equipment manuals behind which is a 20 amp-hour battery charged by a solar panel.  The battery powers the Yaesu FT-817 and Elecraft K1.
    • Elecraft K1
    • Yaesu FT817; on top is an LDG 817 antenna tuner; on top of the tuner is an Oak Hills Research fwd-ref power meter.
  • Tabletop, left to right:
    • Yaesu FTM100 VHF/UHF transceiver
    • Yaesu FT857
    • Two telegraph keys:  Old WW II  J-38 straight key and Vibroplex "bug"
  • On the wall behind the station are two digital voltmeters and a solar charge controller.  Current from the solar panel comes in through a window into one of the digital voltmeters then to the charge controller then through the second digital voltmeter then to the 20 amp-hour battery.  The digital meters allow me to monitor voltage and current in and out.

Here are close-up views of the station

   

 

 

My station antennas

 

My antennas are very simple:

  • My HF antenna is an end-fed single wire about 135 feet long, only 20 or so feet off the ground.
  • A couple of VHUF/UHF vertical antennas.

Here are a two photos of the end-fed wire installation

This photo shows the fed end of the end-fed wire antenna.  You see the wire headed off to the left -- this wire runs out to my workshop/shed where it makes a 90-deg turn and goes to my garage where it ends.  The black box under the eave of the house is the matching balun.  Coming down from the balun is the coaxial feed cable that runs into the station.  Below is a better view of the balun and feed line.  Also, running alongside the coaxial cable feed line is a piece of #6 copper wire that goes to a ground system to provide an electrical and RF ground for the antenna.

 

        

 

 

 

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