Location
Located at 35* 49' 09" N latitude and 81* 27' 025" W longitude, my station is about about 60 miles northwest of Charlotte or about 3 miles north of Hildebran, NC in the foothills of the scenic Appalachian Mountains. The Maidenhead Grid Coordinate is EM95gr and the county is Burke.
With a very modest setup and no long term plans for expansion, I have located my equipment in an enclosed room beneath the stairwell in my basement. If you're claustrophobic, you'd probably not like operating in my shack!
HF Equipment
My HF station is very basic but it gets the job done. The HF transceiver is an Icom IC-718 with a maximum power output rating of 100 watts PEP on SSB and CW and 40 watts on AM. I'm hoping to be able to increase my AM power capabilities in the coming years and work more with that mode. My code key is the old but reliable J-38 straight key.
The HF antenna system is comprised of a fan dipole configured as an inverted vee which is capable of operating from 160 meters through 10 meters when used in conjunction with an MFJ- 949E tuner. I also have vertical capability in the form of a Solarcon 2000 antenna which can be tuned for efficient operation from 17 through 10 meters.
Power for the entire station is delivered from an Astron RS-35M linear power supply.
VHF/UHF Equipment
The VHF/UHF transceiver in the station is a Yaesu FT-8900R which gives me FM operation on the 10, 6 and 2 meter bands along with the 70 centimeter band. Power output is 50 watts on 10, 6 and 2 meters and 35 watts on 70 centimeters.
Mobile Operation
When mobile, I operate a Yaesu FT-8900R (same transceiver as my fixed station) with a Comet SB-14 tri-band antenna. I do not currently have 10 meter mobile capability but hope to incorporate that soon as well. When traveling, I monitor the two meter call frequency, 146.520. |
