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First licensed at 14 as W8SRK in Detroit, Michigan in 1954. Became W8KR in
1976 and moved to Edina, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis) in 1977. I started
as a traffic handler on the Michigan QMN net, but caught the DX bug at age 15
when I worked G2DPY on 40 meter CW. Over the years, I made it to the top of the
mixed honor roll (mostly CW), but then became more interested in QRP and
gardening.
I sold my 80 foot crank-up a few years ago and started building verticals for
winter fun, after putting my rose gardens to bed for the year (it typically
goes to -30 C here in the winter). After several iterations, I have learned
that well constructed verticals with lots of radials make very good DX
antennas. My latest effort is a 4-square phased vertical array for 20 meters
and, while it isn't a Quad or a TH-7 at 80 feet, it's a nice improvement over a
simple ground plane. My other antenna is a 40 meter ground plane with lots of
radials, which is a very competitive antenna on 7Mhz.
My station is an ICOM 781 and a Henry 2K Classic X.
Look for me on 20 and 40 CW from November to April, and in my rose, perennial
and vegetable gardens from May to October.
73,
Jack, W8KR
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