Update Dec. 31 2002

My latest pride and joy. I sure thank everyone for each and every QSL card I received from, but this one is special because it is out of my first and perhaps the only two-way cw contact as you see on the right above. I think, it is enough proof to myself that I could do code. Thanks Don, for this one. I will keep the original in a safe place.

The improvements to my setup


Here is what YL got me this year. Ain't it nice to be pampered with goodies like this at least from time to time? It lights up whenever the HF antenna is connected. This is a 'quiet' zone; no qrm of any kind please, unwanted pressure waves and electromagnetic waves all act as qrm in my judgement!	This is the latest configuration of the desktop. Don mounted the key to that Lionel fruit stand just for me. On the left is the Cassiopedia that I use a logging software 'MobileLog' on. Unless it is hooked up to the computer or the receiver it generates minimum, if any, RFI. And there is the AT switch box.

Here is that switch box for the AH-3/4. As you might be aware, the tuner disconnects the antenna from the coax line if the power is removed. Of course, Olivia provides the necessary power to the tuner. This necessitates the presence of Olivia when all I wanna hear is Ike. Icom designed their ATs like this to have some immunity to lightening strike. Granted, all bets are off in a direct strike but I think the best you can do is what Icom did. So, I made this switch box to select one out of three transmitter/receivers.

Some fellow hams asked how I brought the cables into the house. In earlier times, after I installed the vertical antenna I had TVI problems (based on a complaint by the neighbor). Out of three actions I took, two of them are shown here. The third one was to install a lowpass filter that suppressed anything above 40MHz, surely no 6m for me anymore.

From the roof, the RF-coax and AT-control lines along with the ground strap come to this corner of the plastic gutter. The ground strap goes directly down to an 8"-driven ground rod. There is a common-mode filter on the coax line which is to prevent RF-currents in the coax shield.

The RF line has to go through a grounded lightening arrester. Both cables make a "rain-loop" to prevent the water from following the line into the house. I sure sealed the entry with cement.