QSL - I regularly upload to LOTW and eQSL. I'll respond in kind to your QSL card. Direct to Direct no SASE required, or via the Bureau. The photo above depicts my New Hampshire license plate with the state moto "Live Free or Die" as written by Revolutionary War General John Stark on July 31, 1809. Also on the plate is the image of another icon "Old Man of the Mountain".
Call Sign History
W1TG - Assigned on 30 Mar 2010. Previously assigned to Terry Gaiser (now W6RU-California) Jan-Mar 2008, and Andy Sallet (SK-New Hampshire) Mar 1988 - Oct 2002.
NN1T - 27 Feb 2009 - 30 Mar 2010. Previously assigned to Joe Miceli (now KE7S-Nevada) Nov 2006 - Feb 2007, and Al Kondvar (SK-Rhode Island) Sep 1997 - Nov 2004.
Station Equipment
My primary HF rig is an Icom 746Pro that runs barefoot across the bands. As a backup and for those trips to Camp in Maine I added an Icom 7000 to the mix. The pair provide me with good general capapbiliies and usage with the Digital Modes.
For antennas I have a Cobra Jr horizontal wire Dipole strung between a Pine Tree in my yard and a Cherry Tree in the neighbors yard at 30 feet above the ground. It's oriented North/South so I get good coverage to Europe and the USA. For a change in polarization I added a Gap Titan Dx vertical to my "Antenna Farm". That's a joke, because we're on such a small lot. The Gap doesn't use radials so it's perfect for my needs. The Gap is mounted on a 10 foot mast attached to the side of my shed. So far it's survived the nasty nor'east storms we've been getting lately. We're only about a mile from the salty waters of the Atlantic Ocean and that seems to help our propagation.
APRS
We run an I-Gate, with a Weather Station (W1TG-1), contributing to the position reporting system in the local Seacoast area. We broadcast the local Wx reports every 15 minutes from our Davis Vantage Pro 2 WX Station. We use UI-View 32 for station software, through a Kenwood D-710A and Diamond X-310 antenna.
DSTAR
We've ventured into the digital world of DSTAR in 2009. It's been an interesting learning experience using the equipment and understanding the mode. Starting out with a Icom-92AD we learned the nuances of call sign routing and linking of repeaters and reflectors. Later we added a Icom-2820H mobile rig and brought that on trips to the South East area of the USA. What fun to make contacts with stations back home over a 1000 miles away on a local 440 repeater.
Most recently we became involved in establishing a 2 Port Stack (B and C) on a Publicsafety Tower located at Hampton Beach. K1HBR provides DStar coverage along the New Hampshire Seacoast.
Bio Information
I got started on my ticket in late 2008. While in the study mode I made the decison to work all the way through the Extra class so I wouldn't be saying later that I'm working on it.
I was always fascinated by radio while growing up listening to AM broadcasts with my Grandmother and later to Public Safety on VHF Bands on a tunable multiband AM/FM radio. I still have my Grandmothers 1930 RCA console radio with the SW bands.
My hobbies include photography, aviation, computers and of course radio. We try to get out to many airshows and that has allowed us to see many beautiful areas of the United States. One of my QSL photos is of the main entrance to the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. This is a great museum and an awesome place to see the Blue Angels do a practice show.
I enjoy making and working DX contacts. I really enjoy working in the Digital modes and have made some great contacts with folks all around the world.
Thanks for checking us out, hope to run into you on the bands again soon!
Maine DXpedition July 6-12, 2009: Grid FN44rb - Otisfield, Maine - Oxford County
I wasn't able to make Field Day 2009 so when we did our annual stay at Pleasant Lake in Otisfield, Maine I had my own field day and DXpedition (75 miles), hi hi. I assembled a Gap Titan DX vertical at camp during the rain storms (3 days worth) and set it up using a patio table for the base. Using a 10 foot mast we had 40 feet of metal standing on the deck. We made several contacts with the Titan through the week as we learned it's operating characteristics. Of course we were on the lake so it wasn't all radio play.
The photo above depicts the front of camp during heavy lake surf. We were experiencing high winds from the south that pushed the already high water even higher. Water from the crashing waves was splashing up on the picture windows at the front of camp. The upper portion of the Titan is just barely visible behind the pine tree above the skiff and porch roof.
We narrowly avoided disaster when a large gust nearly brought the Titan down on the deck. I just happened to be sitting nearby when it started to go. A sturdy rope to guy the mast solved any further issues. It was a good learning experience for me to do a remote setup and takedown. Next time we'll use an antenna that's a little easier to deal with, probably something that can be strung in the many trees around us.
For those that we made contacts with I've created a QSL card to memorialize the event. Those will go out in the next week. In the meantime the Titan was disassembled transported home to Hampton reassembled and now offers a vertical choice instead of just the horizontal dipole.
