Howdy!

I've been an amateur operator since about 1980. I started out operating 10m/15m HF, as that was about the largest antenna I could put on my roof. But now I mostly operate 2m/70cm D-STAR and IRLP. I do have an ICOM-7000 and a half built Cushcraft R8 antenna. I'll finish the antenna when I figure out what kind of mast I'm going to use. I'm debating a small tower but may go with a simple mast. Sometimes the simplest tasks take the longest to finish. I've been debating this for a year now.

HF

6/1/2011 - Made my first HF contact today, in 30+ years.  I gave out a CQ on 14.185 MHz and WA5TYJ (Denis) replied, from New Mexico.  I look forward to getting back on the air, with something more than the 20m dipole I put up.  I have just purchased a Hi-Q-6/160 RT MC-3 antenna for my Jeep.

2m and 70cm Bands

Fixed: I use an ICOM IC-2820H and Yaesu FTM-350AR for my high power 2m/70cm radios. I use the IC-2820H for fixed station operation.Since most of theD-STAR repeaters in WA, are near me, I use thisas my base, because of the D-STAR capability. The FTM-350 is sometimes used as a backup fixed station radio. I have a Diamond X200A, as well as a Diamond X50A, mounted at about 20ft, at the base.

Mobile: My mobile radio is a Yaesu FTM-350AR. It has the best LCD for daylight that I have ever seen. It's a great radio and my favorite for mobile operations.

I generally am scanning most of the Seattle area repeaters but I can usually be found monitoring WWSEA (444.700+, pl:103.5, IRLP: 7378), in the Seattle area. I also have several other handhelds (two Yaesu VX-3R, one Yaesu VX-8GR, two IC-92AD).

IRLP (4581 and 7681), EchoLink (4581 and 9281)

To keep from having to update too many pages, I have moved my information to a central location. You can see photos and a description of my nodes here: http://www.msdsite.com/irlp/. Node 4581 is in my Jeep and not always online. 7681 is a fixed station and online most of the time, unless I'm away from home.

D-STAR

I have 3 D-STAR radios. I have an ICOM IC-2820H and two IC-92AD handhelds. There are several D-STAR repeaters that I have access to. K7LWH, W7ACS (no gateway yet), WA7FW, KF7CLD, and N7IH. There are a few others that I will occasionally monitor but I can usually be found on K7LWH or W7ACS. I have both port B and C access but generally monitor port B, on all D-STAR repeaters. I also have a DVAP and DV Dongle, for portable operations. When out and about in my Jeep, I usually have the DVAP and monitor REF001C. I recently used my DV Dongle, in Japan, usinga temporary Japanese callsign JO4DTX.

D-RATS

I also play around with D-RATS and have a ratflector at kc7ve-d-rats.net and monitor ref.d-rats.com. That is one of the reasons I havetwo IC-92ADs. I have two, so that I can setup 2 simplex stations and communicate between them, using D-RATS. Give me a shout sometime, on kc7ve-d-rats.net.

Streaming Audio

I also have a Uniden BC996XT scanning amateur repeaters, my simplex node frequencies and some Seattle area public service frequencies. If you want to hear some streaming audio, visit this link: http://stn7681.ip.irlp.net:8282/ (Please note that this streaming audio is not up 24/7. I try to keep it up most of the time but only when I'm available to monitor the scanner and IRLP node.)

Mike

KC7VE