My simple Field Day 2011 setup while 1A Ohio.
Sitting on Campbell Hill, highest point in Ohio.
Operated 6m all day and the next from home.

As Bill Cosby once said - I started out as a child.

My initial interest in Radio began as a kid listening to a portable AM/FM radio late at night in Ohio and Indiana, DXing AM stations from far away placs like NY, Chicago and Louisiana. I was hooked on hearing what other folks were listening to from then on. In the Military (USAF and OHANG) I picked up a portable SW radio while training in Texas so I could listen to my favorite Chicago stations.

Later, after all that was over and I was working on my first major career (little did I know ther would be many) in Broadcasting where I was a Studio Engineeer for a major NBC station in Ohio, I took the 5wpm Technician class test with some of the Amateur Ops that were fellow Engineers and VEs cheering me on. I blame K8BBQ and WA8JKG for many lost hours listening to static and all that money in Ham gear. It was fun. I got a deep interest in Satellite and VHF+ operations from early on. I worked several sats from the car on the dual band mobile and several HB antennas I would pop up on light stands, caught the occasional 2m band opening on FM and drifted away after about 3 years to other hobbies. Well, I'm back. Got back into it with a Kenwood TH-F6a for listening to everything from DC-Light in all modes. That got me interested in antennas which lead to more power and that to, my Yaesu FT-897d and a car full of antennas as well as portable dipoles, loops for 6m and 2m and a General upgrade as of Sept 25, 2010. Working 20m from the portable dipole and 25w on a battery pack is pretty neat when you can get into Texas and California casually. Now to find that rare DX.

My recent toy and love is a rescued "basket case" FT-817 (non-ND) QRP rig. It was a bit of a mess but I got a great deal on it. New battery tray, finals board, Peg-Legs, screws, NiMH batteries, battery cover, new DTMF mic, replaced the main encoder and "sel" encoder, etc, etc. $250 or so dollars total! Great deal. I have been working the US and Europe from the car using cheaper "hamstick" type whips and a whopping 5w output. I love that radio. Just added an Elecraft T1 ATU, another bunch of antennas including an ATX II Walkabout HF portable setup and an Arrow for sat contacts and some directional VHF/UHF fun. I have 2m, 440 and 6m loops on the patio as well as a 75m dipole that tunes pretty well all over. My favorite band for QRP fun in the car has got to be 17m.

I also take the HT and sometimes the FT-817 /bicycle mobile. Love my bike. The only real excercise I love doing.

Plans include hill-topping (I am getting ot be a regular at Campbell Hill - highest point in Ohio) and trying to find unique places for 2011 Field Day. I listen more than talk but, if you hear me, call out.

Please Note: I am not a paying log book member on QRZ.com and don't plan to become one. I still prefer the old fashioned paper cards so send 'em if you got em. Direct or via "8" call bureau is great. If you only use QRZ or other electronic logs, I may never see the contacts or confirm. Too much upkeep for my aging head to worry about. Sorry. Hope we're still friends.

Sean McHenry
KB8JNE (EN80 and beyond)