Talk about band conditions…the Month of September had its ups and downs along with complete band blackouts. Don’t despair, even with poor conditions there is always something out there if you look for it. Remember the proverb ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’. This applies to both life experiences as well as operating an HF radio station.

In order to develop good operating techniques prior to calling your first CQ, sit down at your station and listen, when you’ve listened enough, listen some more. The weekends are taken up with contesting…a great place and time to be listening and learning. I like to think of this as ‘boot camp’. Those of you who have served in the military will understand that you learn by listening. Having said that, I have to pass this along to you. Several nights ago I listened on my vertical to 80-meters in order to pick up some of the ‘good old boys’ that hang out on the band in the evenings. Please, just listen for entertainment, don’t pick up those operators bad habits…especially their potty language. Makes you wonder how they get away with it. The FCC or an ARRL frequency cop allowing that language along with poor operating on HF is a mystery to me.

Good operating techniques include the 5 most important words you will use as an HF operator. Prior to jumping on an open frequency you’ll say ‘is the frequency in use’ plus don’t forget to ID your call. All emissions require your call sign, no exceptions. Sometimes you’ll not hear another operator on the frequency so be sure to ask and if you’re on frequency and another operator asks ‘is the frequency in use’ you’ll reply, YES and THANK YOU FOR ASKING. This is the right thing to do and its good operating technique. Okay, it’s time to sit down at your station and call CQ because someone somewhere is listening for your call. Don’t disappoint them. So long from Huntersville for now…

Best 73 es gud DX  Bob/WØZPE

Breaking News: The Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) has announced that they will be contributing $100,000 to the Bouvet Island DXpedition. I’m proud to be a contributing member to the foundation.

The first thing I needed to do after obtaining my novice ticket was to outfit my 1st station with an HF radio. Even though there were no HF privileges for novice licensees, I needed to become a listener of HF in order to get on the air without sounding like a lid.

So, how do you pick your entry level HF rig, well, I was a member of ARRL and received a monthly copy of QST magazine. The copy I was reading at the time was highlighting an article on the National Hurricane Center and their selection of an HF station setup. The NHC had selected Yaesu and I’m thinking ‘if it’s good enough for the NHC its good enough for me’. I didn’t give a thought to the possibility of Yaesu being the low bidder for the station’s equipment. So, I called Burghardt’s (burglar heart we used to call them) to order an entry level HF rig. My very first (there were more) rig was a Yaesu FT-840. This was a no nonsense simple, no bells, no whistles HF rig. I might mention my antenna was a vertical. Now the definition of vertical is that it radiates equally poorly in every direction so I was told by a lot of old timers.

Turns out that they were spot on with their ‘wise guy’ description but what the hey, when I received HF privileges I knew no better. Over the years the station grew with this and that plus a better radio to enhance my operating techniques. Talk about a mish mosh of peripheral items and 100 miles of wire, I had a nightmare for a radio station…something had to be done. I pulled the plug on my HF station one cold winter day and proceeded to align the equipment along with rewiring the entire station. When the project was completed, everything on my operating position was within my reach.

Wow, what a pleasure it was to sit down and call CQ. The new setup allowed me to get that DX I needed and the DX I wanted. Antennas? Yes, there are a bunch of them but…we’re discussing the operating desk. The peripheral items are so important with number one being a VSWR meter large enough to read while operating. I consider the microphone to be the second most important so I talked to the ‘guy’ who knows microphones. Bob Heil pointed me in the right direction. My new mic is a PR 781 studio quality, mounted on a boom attached to the wall. I’ve always used a foot switch for push to talk, also by Heil. If you look closely at the mic boom you’ll see a set of earphones. Do not operate without them. It’s a whole different world of quality sound that comes from the radio to your ears. Also, keeps your wife happy…she doesn’t have to listen to the other guy and his static. My earphones are also by Heil. The top rig in the photo is a Yaesu FT-950 use for CW operation only plus, it’s a stand-by radio just in case.

Below the 950 is my pride and joy and the state of the art in HF radios (today at least). Meet my Yaesu FT DX 3000. It’s really a nice rig to operate I do keep the operators manual close by…I need it! My power supply is equipped with meters telling me that my operating conditions are okay. The amplifier is a solid state Ameritron 1300 rated for 1200 watts output. My CW paddle is by Vibroplex. Last but not least is my laptop computer, I cannot operate without it. It took me almost 20 years to get my station in the shape it’s in today…don’t lose hope, everybody goes through station growth over the years and they all grow by experience.

The first thing is to know what mode you’re going to operate and so that way you can plan your station layout. I’ve named the brands I use but in no way do I recommend what you’re going to use in your station. Remember when your station is ready to go, sit down and call CQ because someone somewhere is listening for your call, don’t disappoint them. So long from Huntersville for now.

Best 73 es gud DX de Bob/WØZPE

Good news before I start my rant!

Baker/Howland Is. (KH1) will be activated in 2018 by a DX group who has already mounted their fund raising activities. Baker/Howland is No. 4 on the most wanted list. This DXpedition will be another very expensive project with the costs in line with the Bouvet project. These dedicated radio operators are to be lauded for their efforts bringing those all but impossible ATNO’s to you and I.

Antennas, antennas and antennas are the most important pieces of equipment for our radio stations. So, who do you ask?? Ask any operator because you’ll soon find out that they’re all experts…every one of them. There’s a lot of antennas to choose from too. They range in price from inexpensive wire antennas to thousand buck giant Yagi’s and…what about a tower and a rotator to support your selection. There’s a lot to think about before taking that plunge into the world of HF radio operations.

My first antenna was a compromise vertical, its replacement was a compromise 5 band Yagi. Look folks, you can do a lot of radio with a wire antenna but, if you’re going into the world of worldwide DX, best to have a tower to support your selections to work those far away exotic places in this world. It isn’t cheap to be a dedicated DXer so one needs to define what part of the hobby am I (and my pocketbook) going to be involved in.

I ended up with mono band antennas, a tower and several power poles supporting antennas with rotors. Am I right and the other dude wrong?? Absolutely not. A tower with a log periodic isn’t a bad idea either and what about those Hex Beams?? There’s a lot to think about so talk to an expert, you know the ones I mean, they know everything (smile).

All kidding aside, talk to a DXer if you’re in doubt. In the meantime you folks who are all set up with your dream stations, sit down and call CQ because someone somewhere is listening and who knows…he may be an antenna expert. So long from my station in Huntersville to your station.

Best 73 es gud DX de Bob/WØZPE