Is This Frequency In Use?

While cleaning out the garage I stumbled upon my trusty ICOM 2100H VHF ham radio. Since I was pushing the budget envelope with recent target practice related purchases I decided to power up the old rig and see what was happening on two meters here in Arizona. Already had the radio and antenna and thought this would be a low cost diversion from the firing range.

QRZ .52?     ... Hey, back on the air for zero dollars!

Since I support Public Safety Radio Communications occupationally, I got connected with some of the local Amateur Radio clubs and volunteered for a few public service events.

What's that you say? I need a UHF radio too? How much could it cost for a dual band portable? Soon a new FT60R arrived on the doorstep. And a Mirage mobile amp. And a new antenna for the house. And one for the car. Gonna need a mast and some LMR400 as well. Hmmm, maybe target shooting wasn't so expensive after all.

CQ CQ HF

A bargain HF rig would really complete the picture. Enter the RCI 2950DX for about a hundred bucks. Bought it online, sight unseen and it works perfectly. Worked Hawaii, Argentina, Venezuela and many stateside contacts while this rig was in the shack. A sunspot or two would really help with the DX contacts.

Well, the sporadic E openings dried up as quickly as the rivers in Central Arizona after a monsoon storm. Saved up my lunch money and bought an Icom IC-718 to add some additional operating spectrum. Its a basic rig without too many menu driven controls. Simple is good and the price was right. The RCI is now in the mobile.

Replaced the 12 meter element on the inverted V antenna with a 20 meter wire and added an open sleeve element for 15 meters and never really got it to work well. Then replaced the homebrew antenna with the driven elements from a Mosley TA53. Now we're talking! Five bands with no tuner.

K7LOL Goes Hollywood - SSTV Style

A few months ago I added a SignaLink interface to the crude lash up of equipment in the shack to do digital modes like PSK and RTTY. Works great and also supports Slow Scan Television. The concept of sending tiny pictures at the speed of government may be foreign to most high tech folks, but it sure is a lot of fun. And that is what ham radio is all about.

View Recent Received SSTV Images »

Battery Powered Ham Shack With Links

OK, I've got a basic ham shack and have worked all continents and over a hundred countries with my entry level transceiver and a dipole 20 feet in the air. What else could anyone possibly need from a bargain basement amateur radio set up? Well, a nice tower in the back yard would allow me to put up the whole beam ...

If I don't end up in divorce court over hobby dollars, the plan is to get that Mosley antenna up in the air. In the interim here are a few low cost, yet useful ham radio links.