K0IDX

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<p><img src="/hampages/k0idx/DSCN0050.JPG" style="height:160px; width:250px" /></p>

<p><span style="color:#3498db"><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">5BDXCC/+160m &amp; WARC bands, 5BWAS/+160m &amp; WARC bands, DXCC Challenge 1000, DX237/245, WPX2195 5BWAZ 173/200 as of 10/20/24</span></span></span></p>

<p>​My first exposure to ham radio was at the shack of W2GE (ex W2PUP)(exW8DOG), Frank Obrien who was a distant relative. I remember him pulling an arc off&nbsp; 811A plate caps with a lead pencil. I was impressed!&nbsp; He gave me an ARC5 to play with, I never had a qso with it but I did fire up a light bulb. &nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;WA2DXX gave me the novice test in1968. 1970&nbsp;I was an Advanced class. 1972&nbsp;2nd class FCC commercial ticket.&nbsp;FCC 1st class in 1976.&nbsp; I never got to the point where I could put 20 wpm on paper and never tested when it changed to comprehensive testing.&nbsp; I had&nbsp;no problem with 30wpm copy in my head but&nbsp;I didn&#39;t go for the Extra until the code requirement was lifted.</p>

<p>My first receiver was a Layfayette Explore-Air regen kit.&nbsp; Followed by a Heathkit HR10B.&nbsp; Completed the novice station with a homebrew 6HF5 transmitter built from TV parts.&nbsp; Subsequent rigs,&nbsp;Swan Sygnet260, HB pair 4-125&#39;s (it was a great TVI generator), FTDX570, Drake B line and a R4C added later replacing the R4B. Added a Johnson Thunderbolt&nbsp;....then sold it all off. Interesting story here... I sold the R4B to a local person in WNY ..my call was WA2EKW... would have been 1973 or so...well last year I saw the same R4B turn up on fleabay. 50 years later... I bought it and was able to bring it alive again and it is now in the shack with a T4X.</p>

<p>Returned with a TS930 and sold it - bought a&nbsp;TS940 - it was just as bad, sold it and bought&nbsp;an IC765 which I still have over 30 years later.&nbsp; Wish I had kept the Amp Supply LK-800-tny with the outboard special P. Dahl transformer but I needed cash so I had&nbsp; to part with it.</p>

<p>In the 1990s my qth was Varysburg NY with my old call WA2EKW. That was an excellent location on the highest hill top in the county. Its now a large wind farm.&nbsp; My antennas there were a 3 element KLM40 at 73ft. A 110ft 160M vertical, 80M switchable sloper array at 70Ft, and a 204ba at 50ft on a third tower.&nbsp; Also on RX a 1350ft beverage on europe. It was a very quiet location and 160M was a blast !!</p>

<p>Founding member BADXC now known as WNY Contest Club.&nbsp; Not a wall paper collector.&nbsp; I enjoy contests and the technical challenge associated with contesting.&nbsp;I like working with antennas - always trying to get the best performance on a shoestring budget.&nbsp; &nbsp;My QSL efforts are spotty at best.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Some have asked about my 160 operation, here is a picture taken at the end of our driveway at the BOTTOM of the antenna hill, looking East. For you county hunters... the pavement ends on the Pembina / Cavalier county line !&nbsp; I can only claim Cavalier though.</p>

<p><img src="/hampages/k0idx/20200810_152539.jpg" style="height:1200px; width:675px" /></p>

<p>Looking East from half way to the top of hill</p>

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<p><img src="/hampages/k0idx/FB_IMG_1665948776555.jpg" style="height:800px; width:1200px" /></p>

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<p>the drop off runs from about 300 deg - over North and around to about 160deg.&nbsp; at 180 deg there is a ridgeline that is a bit lower and then lower still is upper plains around to 300.&nbsp; The drop off over North is much higher and steeper than to the East and looks down on a Space Command ( used to be USAF) Radar site that tracks space objects out 2000 miles over the pole and small as a softball.</p>

<p><img alt="Cavalier AFS by F16CrewChief on DeviantArt" src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fimg08.deviantart.net%2F5970%2Fi%2F2015%2F011%2Fe%2F8%2Fcavalier_afs_by_f16crewchief-d8dh22o.jpg&amp;f=1&amp;nofb=1&amp;ipt=49d225592a648ded16b31eb67148931dff9cd0069caee72f4ad7c78131e08912&amp;ipo=images" /></p>

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<p>My Current station:</p>

<p>IC765</p>

<p>FT950</p>

<p>Drake R4B/T4XB</p>

<p>IC-AT500</p>

<p>Mercury M3S</p>

<p>2xGS35B homebrew 160 - 40m</p>

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<p>Below is a 63&#39; GP with ground screen, loaded at 43&#39; for 160.&nbsp; &nbsp; the antenna is base insulated from ground. &nbsp; 40&#39; of Universal aluminum tower and mast with loading coil .&nbsp; The matching network is at the base and provides matching for 160/80/40.</p>

<p><img src="/hampages/k0idx/20241020_172815.jpg" style="height:1200px; width:900px" /></p>

<p><img src="/hampages/k0idx/20241020_172834.jpg" style="height:1200px; width:900px" /></p>

<p><img src="/hampages/k0idx/20211220_141952.jpg" style="height:819px; width:1199px" /></p>

<p>&nbsp; The enclosure at the base houses a large heavy duty coil, relays and vacuum variable for matching 160m - 40m.&nbsp; Switching is accomplished using injection on the coax and allows four different setup conditions.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><img src="/hampages/k0idx/20241020_173004.jpg" style="height:1200px; width:900px" /></p>

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<p>ON RX I use beverages - each through a heavily modified AMECO PT preamp.&nbsp; The old style with the vacuum tube.&nbsp; Hard to beat them - great preselector/preamp. I select either or combine them through a mini-circuits ZSC-2-1-75 power splitter/combiner. I find the NE beverage antenna&nbsp;is most effective on eu sunrise signals with some times great gain over the vertical. The matching transformer is unconventional homebrew design on a fluted rod about 4 inches long and 5/8 dia. The beverage winding is first with one end to ground. Then several layers of special tape and over that is the coax side of the transformer with one end to braid.&nbsp; I use 90pf across to flatten it out on the higher frequencies.&nbsp; The termination resistor is &nbsp;600w 470 ohm vishay LPS600H noninductive ceramic mounted on a heatsink.&nbsp; This setup allows up to 1kw of rf should i choose to transmit on it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The NW/SE is unterminated and works best into Asia just before my sunrise. Same transformer design as above.&nbsp;Works great thru 20m. above 20M it still is usefull thru 10m.</p>

<p>580 ft beverage NE</p>

<p>980 ft beverage NW/SE</p>

<p>On 30M thru 6M&nbsp;I currently use a multi band 1/4wave vertical system that has individual radiators for each band. There is an extensive ground screen/ radial system under this antenna. Each 1/4 wave element is tied to the feedpoint.&nbsp; The 30m element is inside the 6&quot; fiberglass pipe which is 22ft long.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="/hampages/k0idx/20230828_140338.jpg"><img src="/hampages/k0idx/20230828_140338.jpg" style="height:1198px; width:608px" /></a></p>

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<p>This is my second op - Charlie, usually sitting on the back of my chair.</p>

<p>9/1/2024 UPDATE - due to excessive QRM from Charlie he went QSY to a new home in Mn. I wonder what his new care taker will think when he starts shouting QSY ! QSY!. I know I dont miss the bird crap on my chair...... but i do miss the little bugger.</p>

<p><img src="/hampages/k0idx/charliepopsickle.jpg" style="height:581px; width:581px" /></p>

<p>Somewhere on the trail near Old Forge NY Sept 2021<br />
<img src="/hampages/k0idx/20210907_184657.jpg" style="height:800px; width:450px" /></p>

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<p><img src="/hampages/k0idx/meADK2.jpg" style="height:713px; width:450px" /></p>

<p>Wrights Peak long ago in the Adirondak Mts. NY</p>

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