I've set up a page that has downloads of various manuals in Acrobat format. All of these are for equipment I have owned with lots on Yaesu...but other stuff is there too. Click Manuals.
Shack-N-Bag
Just added a new page with lots of photos showing my easy to "grab and go" portable station. Click Shack-N-Bag for details.
El Cheapo AZ-EL Rotor System for Satellites
Details on how to assemble my under $50 approach for my AA5FR El Cheapo AZ-EL rotor system for working the LEO (low earth orbit) AMSAT birds. Click Cheapo.
ATAS-120a Antenna
I have gotten so many requests for info and photos on the ATAS antenna, I've created a separate page. Click ATAS to see!
New Shack Additions
Just bought the Kenwood TH-F6A HT to add to my minimalist lineup where less is more. Great little radio in an incredibly small package. Just added the Diamond CR320A Tri-band Mobile Antenna to the car to run this as an easy mobile. Covers the same 144/220/440 as the TH-F6A HT and works MUCH better than the cheapie MFJ dual bander mag mount.
Going HF Mobile
Also, just convinced the XYL that an HF mobile mount is a good idea, especially for mountain topping (she is less convinced about using it while driving)! That way, we can operate portable in the comfort of the car with the top down on the convertible.
Just got the Comet CP-5 and the Yaesu ATAS-120A auto tune antenna. Will also be using the ATAS for portable operation. Update: Just added the Diamond K-400C Mount for the ATAS as I was finding the Comet CP-5 not quite good enough. See new test results now that I have installed the K-400. Will dedicate the CP-5 to the CR320A by clicking ATAS.
I have gotten so many requests for info and photos on the ATAS antenna, I've created a separate page. Click ATAS to see!
Severe weather fuels ham radio growthMiddletown JournalBy Dave Larson, Staff Writer 1:07 AM Saturday, May 19, 2012 The number of licensed amateur radi […]
Stephen Mecsery, 89, Greenwich Ham Radio OperatorThe Daily GreenwichAn avid ham radio operator from the age of 15, he was a member of the Stamford Ama […]
CQ Announces 2012 Hall of Fame InducteesARRLHe was also an active DXer and wrote many technical articles for the Amateur Radio media, including 26 art […]
DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #20:eHam.netMembers of the Djelfa Radio Club will be QRV as special event station 7U50ND from May 20 to 26 during the 4th […]
Ham radio operators to host Field Day June 23, 24Northwest HeraldBy NORTHWEST HERALD WOODSTOCK – The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services division o […]
Free ham radio class offered in ReedsportCoos Bay WorldREEDSPORT -- Ham radio is a radio communications system operated by amateurs and can be an esse […]
BRIEF: Ham radio class begins this weekChicago TribuneCALIMESA — The Yucaipa Valley Amateur Radio Club is offering a course preparing individuals to b […]
Ham radio operators prepare for the Big One on the coastThe Register-GuardBy Tyler Graf More than four years after the Great Coastal Gale of 2007, and […]
Email:
You can email me by clicking on my eyeball contacts (yep, really my eyes.)
A Gift - Even If There Is Less Than A Zero Chance We Will Work Together
This is one of the ways that I am "paying it forward."
Zero cost. Zero expectations - except that it is with my hope that it helps improve your life - and more quickly gets you from your current Point A to your desired Point B. Click the Five Year Life Book Cover to download this 82 Question Pop Quiz.
Don't even think about starting a company or new venture - or even a new romantic relationship without answering these 82 questions about your life - five years from right now! Make sure your personal life goals, your romantic goals and your new business goals are totally congruent.
Click the book cover to download your free Workbook with my compliments.
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Start Up Company Services
Here are some videos on my start up company services.
Please click the full screen icon to really be able to read
them!
(They are actually seen in higher resolution by clicking on
the YouTube logo.)
Video Of Some Of My Photography Of The Smoky Mountains In Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Here's some of my own photography done as a video set to music on YouTube.com. (Best seen in full screen and hi def mode.) You can view this bigger by clicking BIG!
I just uploaded this - and would appreciate your viewing it and leaving your comments on YouTube!
I did this a while ago, but thought if might be worth uploading. Digipan I think goes back to at least Windows 98 days! Still works great on Windows 7! Video Rating: 0 / 5 Tags: Digipan, Decoder, 14.071MHz
Marconi has just built his third of a five circuit wireless network connecting America with Japan and Europe at Ryder’s Cove in Chatham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Just imagine being transported back to this exciting time almost 100 years ago when Marconi was still building his reputation as a pioneer of wireless telegraphy. Read More American Radio [...]
A Digital, totally automatic, version of the classic SWR meter,capable of displaying both the SWR and PEP power values, with a bar graph on the second line tracking the instantaneous power. The reading is quite precise in the whole HF band, up to 50 MHz, covering the power range from 5 to 120 W, therefore [...]
How to use tools you may already have to make low cost, effective antenna coil clips that are easy to adjust. In Part 2 I have connected 6 radials to the DX Engineering radial plate under the Hustler 4BTV vertical antenna. I show how to make a solid connection, and demonstrate how to pin the ground [...]
The ARRL is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award. This annual honor goes to a radio amateur who has demonstrated success in Amateur Radio public relations and best exemplifies volunteer spirit of the award’s namesake, Phil McGan, WA2MBQ (SK). As the first chairman of the ARRL Public Relations [...]
The ARRL Field Day Handbook A Collection of tools and resources for Field Day. List Price: $ 19.95 Price: Find More ARRL Products Tags: Field, Reviews, Handbook, ARRL, ARRL Field Day Handbook A Collection, Field Day, List Price
All the weather is electrical. They have done many tests on the effects of high voltage lines on the weather and vice versa. They have corona noice prediction software and a system to protect the power lines against the weather with traveling waves. These same elements can also be used to control the weather! Here [...]
By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOUContributing Editor This week, Surfin’ reviews what you need for traveling well to the Dayton Hamvention®. I don’t travel well because I don’t travel often enough to learn how to travel well (it’s a Catch-22). Because I don’t travel often enough to learn how to travel well, I make a list of things to [...]
Devil Handsome Xx-Large Deluxe Handsome Devil Costume\nBig and Tall, available in 2XL and 3XL\nRental quality costume Deluxe Big and Tall Devil Costume Oh you handsome devil Deluxe Plus Size Handsome Devil Costume Full length red satin cape, brocade vest with attached lace jabot and jeweled medallion, black gloves, and deluxe vinyl devil horns. Pants not included. 2XL fits chest 50-52 [...]
Due to staff travel to the Dayton Hamvention, there will be no ARRL Audio News on Thursday, May 17. The ARRL Audio News will return on May 24. The distribution of The ARRL Letter will not change, and will be sent out on its regular schedule. American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources Tags: [...]
I get a lot of "preppers" who visit this site looking for information that will help when IT hits the fan.
When the Chaos comes, cell phones and the Internet may no longer be available. In those cases, you will need other kinds of communications such as the following kinds of radios. And, you may need more than one in order to stay in contact with your family.
The radios listed below require a ham radio license to legally operate in transmit mode unless it is an emergency. No license is required just for receiving. I've included links for a couple of books that show how easy it is to get a ham license now.
Seriously consider getting your ham license now - so you are trained on how to operate, how to properly construct an effective antenna and how to operate with stealth. When it has already hit the fan, is not the time to learn this stuff! Be prepared now!
View From QTH
Check out our new webcam for the current view from our balcony!
Just click the photo for the most recent update. Updated every 5 minutes.
Our new Cobbly Nob TN site was just chosen as an Earthcam Top 10 Webcam!
All of this in just our first two weeks of operation - and before we install our new wide angle, high definition lens! Stay tuned for even better images!
EarthCam, Inc. is the global leader in providing webcam content, technology and services and ranks among the top 1% of all websites. EarthCam.com is the world’s favorite webcam network and the EarthCam Network cameras have been seen on top news shows, including CNN’s Headline News.
General Info
Name:
Robert
QTH:
Clearwater Beach, Florida and Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Locator:
EL87NO - FL EM85HS - TN IOTA - NA34 - FL.
Rigs:
Yaesu FT-897D, usually running only 20 watts. My main HF rig at my base station.
Yaesu FT-857D. This is my mobile rig working with the ATAS-120. Amazing result with the two - my first three contacts sitting in my Florida parking lot: Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Ukraine.
I also use the FT-857D as the main component of my "grab and go" "Shack-N-Bag" for easy portable operations.
Typically, using a SignaLink USB for all the digital stuff - especially PSK-31 and more recently JT65. MFJ-1026 for noise control. Both are amazing devices worth their weight in DXCC certificates.
Auto antenna tuner: The battery-powered LDG Z-11 Pro for the often portable FT-857D.
Antennae:
MFJ-1786 Magnetic Loop - Mounted on balcony about 30' above the sloping ground on the top of a mountain at 1,800' elevation.
Arrow J-Pole for 144/440 - Mounted on balcony about 30' above the sloping ground on the top of a mountain at 1,800' elevation.
Yaesu ATAS-120a for mobile and portable operations - which does a surprisingly amazing job for both. Best DX so far: Mobile from the top of the Smokies to VP8, Falkland Islands - with 10 watts - even at the bottom of this sunspot cycle. I have gotten so many requests for info and photos on the ATAS-120 antenna, I've created a separate page. Click ATAS to see!
Interests:
Everything! including my wife (absolutely my #1 favorite way to spend my time), digital photography, Photoshop, mountain hiking, sailing, biking, scuba diving, computers, writing, helping start up companies really get started and, of course, ham radio!
Previous Calls:
WN4LEJ - Novice WA4YFH - General KD5SB - Advanced AA5FR - Extra
Now available in paperback, eBook and Kindle editions! Click the book cover to find out more about my latest book on Efficient Love:
Click eBook if you prefer to get your own Efficient Love in the next five minutes as an eBook - with a 60 day risk free guarantee. Paperback edition of book in stock and now IMMEDIATELY available from Amazon. Also available from Barnes and Noble and most bookstores for only $19.97! Click Kindle for the JUST RELEASED Kindle edition to immediately download your own copy of Efficient Love to your Kindle from Amazon!
If it's not in stock at your local bookstore just have them order ISBN # 978-0-9792952-0-1
Email:
You can email me by clicking on my eyeball contacts (yep, really my eyes.)
Ham Radio News
