W Ø W O W     Jerry

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Located 1 Mile 502 feet High  (6,500 feet) at the foot of the Colorado Rocky Mountains!!  That's serious elevation for the antenna farm.   

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New Years Eve Celebrations Pikes Peak

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Front and CENTER:  IC 7300  On "Center Stage"

 

" most likely one of the best radios I've every operated or listened to, W0WOW "

 

 

 

AUDIO SETTINGS - IC 7300 and W2IHY

EQUIPMENT	SETTINGS
W2IHY
50	5
100	5
200	0
400	4
800	-2
1600	0
2400	4
3200	12
ICOM
BASS	+2
TREBLE	+2
GAIN	75%
COMP	4
73'S	JERRY w0wow

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Older setup with the IC-765

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​Antenna's:

• Cushcraft - 10 / 12 / 15 / 17 / 20
• 5 Band 3 Element Yagi Maximum Gain 5.3 dBi

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• 

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DIPOLES

65 foot 40 Meter Heavy Duty (Large Guage) Di-pole mounted on ROHN H-40.  Clear Openings both East and West from 6500 feet

Expensive 4000 Watt Dipole

( This is right before putting the top section on the mast, just assembled and ready to go up, laying on the roof, the Palstar Balun is 6" x 6" x 3" for reference in photo ) 1.  T-40 Rohn telescoping mast $120.00 + Shipping = $150.00, Palstar 4000 watt 1:1 Balun = $80.000, 100% foil / 98% Braid 100 Foot Coax = $75.00, 65 feet #8 FlexWire Stranded Copper Elements = $50.00, Mounting Hardware / Strain Relief, $20.00, 2 x 30 foot end masts = $60.00, 40 meter 4000 watt dipole COMPLETE $435.00  It really does work well, I like it .... fantastic antenna!!

 

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ROHN H40 Mast

( Base Concrete Filled Blocks weigh about 240 lbs, 10 foot Ground Rod)

House Bracket 2 ROHN WM12S's

 

                        

  Above Picture, Added the new 17 meter dipole, located just below the 40.  Very nice construction, with high power balun, recommend this company to anyone wanting a new antenna.

  Model 17HWDB from, Frequency Devices, Inc.   www.freqdev.com/ham  

 

  Now, below the 17 is a 160 Meter - HY-POWER Antenna Co., Model LD-1682 1500 watts Dipole

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ROOF TOP TriPod

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• This project will be updated often during it's construction 
• You can see, this is a 5 foot tripod that only costs $23.00 + shipping 
• The FOUR crank tight straps are rated 800 pounds each and will hold the tripod upright with 3200 pounds of strength 
• I'm having made a 4 point guying plate on the top 
• As you can see this tripod is a bit different than other that only have TWO supports in the center, this one has THREE 
• On the bottom support having a base plate made that will house the ROTOR 
• The next TWO supports will hold a 1 and 7/8 " PVC tube with the inner diamater at 1 1/2 inches and act as a  2 FOOT long thrust bearing  
• The vertical mast will be 1 1/2 " diameter by SIX feet long
• The structure will stand 8 feet over the roof and hold a Cushcraft A3-WS with a 14 1/2 foot rotating radius 
• A3-WS Gain, dBi 8.0, Longest Element:  25 feet, Boom:  14 feet, Weight:  22 lbs 
• The current MA-5B weight:  27 pounds 

​

Cushcraft A3-WS

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43 Foot Vertical 

or also know as 13 Meter Vertical 

(43 foot vertical is really, 42 feet, 8 inches if you want to make one)

   

 

Located on the RIGHT, MFJ 962D remote auto tuner.  Awsome piece of equipment,

I use this antenna exclusively on the KENWOOD TS-520 and it tunes all

bands (80 to 10) at 1:1 SWR in the IP mode during tune up.  It hits this 1:1 in

less than 1 second, and the KENWOOD TS-520 is So Very Happy with this set

up, it's Final and will Never Change!!

 

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This new beam really opened up the world of 6 meter SSB DX, love the new Diamond Yagi, 

 

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So often military transports, fighters, AWAC's, refuellers, helicopters, fly right over the house, so, I'm starting a new photo hobby, TAKE A PICTURE with ONE OF MY ANTENNA'S "in the picture".  Below, AWAC plane, with north corner of 40 meter dipole radial.    (Many more to come, I hope!!)

 

40 and 80 Meter Vertical along with 17 Meter Dipole end, and 160 Meter Dipole coming down.  Two Chinook's 

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My new toy :  (size of a small car)   

 

 

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10 Meter Cushcraft AR-10 RINGO RANGER

                                   

 

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MFJ 1792 - 40 / 80 Meter Vertical

( please visit mfj web site to see w0wow comments, search for 1792 )

                         

                                                               

 

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• Audio
• Boom mounted HEIL iCM high performance electret condenser element base microphone
• W2IHY 8 BAND- Equalizer  

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Receive Antenna / Transmit Switch 

This great little item works great, STOP the crazy noise and static by using a seperate receive vertical, dipole, long wire, beverage type antenna.  How often have you done that!!, switch to another antenna to see if you receive better on a different one?  A LOT, well, here is the solution, it works great!! I Love It!!

 

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Radio Equipment include:  (Newer and Vintage) 

• DAILY OPERATION:
• ICOM IC-7300, SDR Radio, 100 Watts, All Mode, HF + 6 
• 
• 

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• VINTAGE   
• ICOM IC-765, CURRENTLY 26 YEARS OLD, 1990's era Flag Ship Radio, plug in the wall base station, built in auto-tuner 100 watts, AM / FM / SSB / CW / RTTY
• Manufactured in 1990 - Runs like it was made yesterday!
• Use this off and on during the week, every week.

• 
• (Radio completely rebuilt by Mike Alexander, AFFORDABLE RADIO REPAIR)

 

•  TS-520, Currently 42 Years Old:  Kenwood (One of my 1st radios) with the original SP-520 and the MC-50
• 
• Completely rebuilt by Mike Alexander, AFFORDABLE RADIO REPAIR)
• Manufactured in 1974 - Runs like it was made yesterday!
• Use this radio everyday at least once!
• Swings over 120 watts

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• YEASU FT 2900 R/E      
• 70 Watt FM 2 Meter FM Radio
  • DIAMOND CP22W 5/8 wave over 5/8 wave 6.5 dB Gain Base Station Antenna  70 Watts in = ERP of 315 Watts FM Out .... highly recommend this antenna for 2M

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CW OPERATIONS

5 wpm TO 50 wpm!!  ( 50 wpm, because that's as fast as I can type !!!) 

 

~  Just below the TV I have the MFJ 464 and 551. 

~  The 454 will read and display Code from 5 WPM up to like 99, way faster than it needs to.  

~  It ALSO transmits Code with the 551 keyboard.  I use it all the time.  I can still send and receive code around 6 to 11 WPM.  But, I can now jump down to the CW bands and make a few nice QSO's 18 to 23 wpm is what most do.  I love it.

      

____________________________________________________ SET UP ____

A lot of people have contacted me and don't want to download the 

500 page manual .... so here it all is in a few paragraphs OK !! 

• Set the radio to "straight key", not paddle, or bug, without the internal keyer.  Use the 464 built in keyer.   
• Make sure you order the 551 keyboard when you order the 464.  Make sure MFJ sends you the adapter for the plug from the keyboard to the 464, 6 PIN PS2 to 4 PIN DIN, you MUST have this to work.  
• Connect the power to the 464.   
• Connect the keyboard to the 464. 
• Connect the RCA marked KEY OUT "center wire ONLY" to the top connector of your straight key.  ( With this set up, you can send CW with your key, OR, send with the keyboard ) 
• Connect a 3.5 mm plug to the RADIO IN jack, and the other side to the headphone jack in the front of your radio.   Note:  you don't have to push it all the way in, just touching, it will send the on/off signal to the 464 and leave on your external or internal speaker.
• Connect your CW key to the input on the back of your radio.  
• On the front, press the mode switch to S, this is send, and set the speed you want your 464 to send code.  Put the mode switch back to "blank" and listen, once on a CW signal, adjust the volume and RF to a perfect "CLEAN" signal, and watch the words appear, and the speed will also appear, adjust your send speed to their speed, and get ready to type.  
• Spend a lot of time getting use to hearing CW signals, and which one's you can and can not decode.  Not all signals can be decoded, for me, a good 10+ signal without fading can easily be decoded.  Once you know which signals you can really decode and hear, then start sending.  Practice sending to a dummy load with no power.  Use all the same sending words, phrases, etc., that you would normally send on a key, paddle or bug.  [  Again ... don't forget to adjust your send speed before typing ..... also, the 464 has a buffer to allow you to pre-type all your words, so type away and when your done, the 464 keeps on sending until all caught up ... !! ]  you can even add a "e" space "e" at the end, and get the ending we use, 73s dit dit 
• (Just added below :  2/11/2017)
• Note:  On the far right .... input for 1/4 inch CW Iambic Paddle, so end of plug ... dit .... second row .....dash ...... last row ground .... Just plug in your paddle, set the speed and send away.  
• With this setup how great:  send by keyboard, straight key, or iambic paddle .... ALL HOOKED up and working together as you want.  (Leave your radio set for straight key, MFJ 464 does the rest.    Jerry    

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My new Iambic Paddle .....  

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• ​AMERITRON AL-811H Amplifier 800 Watt four fully neutralized 811A tubes

• 989C Versa Tuner V, 3000 watt Roller Inductor Tuner  1.8 to 30 MHz with 4:1 balun, dummy load, balanced line or long wire, and 2 coax connections, cross-needle SWR / Power Meter
  • 3 KW ROLLER INDUCTOR will tune just about anything 
  • 
  •                                                           
  •                                                          4:1  BALUN for my ladder line​

 

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MFJ-1026

MFJ-1164B

These two items are my newest arrivals for noise.  What a great surprise to ELIMINATE most of the noise around the shack.  Sometimes you just don't know until you try .... I love the phased receive array, it's great!!  And everyone needs the AC line filter, it's great. 

 

 

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Older set up with the TS-520.  I use this radio now to   check into the "boat anchors" net on 40 meters once a  week if band is open, about 7.201.5 or so, I think on  Thursday night.	My original Ham Shack, located about 30 feet behind the house, all new carpet, french doors, windows, A/C, electric heat and fireplace, new metal roof and all new insulation.
And NOW ..... the finished product, all new "HAM HOUSE".  Home of w0wow !!  This is the best stove I've ever owned, this stove would heat your living room too .... keeps my ham shack at 70+ all evening, even below zero.    See my review on the link below, and even order your own! http://nuwaystove.com/product/model-965/	CQ, CQ, CQ, this is
Behind radio desk, my work shop and bench	Nice shot of the TS-520 and the Versa Tuner V, what a radio, and she is just like brand new thanks to  Affordable Radio Repair!

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Antenna Length

(Band) Meters to 1/2 wave and 1/4 wave

Meters (Band)	3.28	Full Wave	Half Wave	Quarter Wave
160 Meters	X	524.8	262.4	131.2
75 Meters	X	243.75	121.87	60.93
40 Meters	X	131.2	65.6	32.8
20 Meters	X	65.6	32.8	16.4
17 Meters	X	55.76	27.88	13.94
15 Meters	X	49.20	24.6	12.3
12 Meters	X	39.36	19.68	9.84
10 Meters	X	32.8	16.4	8.2

Convert to Inches, 9.84,   .84x12=10.08, so 9 feet 10 inches

60.93,    .93x12=11.16, so 60 feet 11 inches

Rule of thumb, lower longer:  lower frequency, longer wire.

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Antenna Height

The best overall antenna height for the bands 20 through 10 meters, is around 1.5 wavelengths. At this height, the performance of a Yagi antenna is not seriously degraded from a free space design and the antenna provides good gain at the critical takeoff angles from 3 to 17 degrees. The 1.5 wavelength height would be:

20 Meters	105 feet
17 Meters	82 feet
15 Meters	70 feet
12 Meters	60 feet
10 Meters	53 feet

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BUSHCOMM BBA-1KDE BU00593

GAIN NUMBERS
3 MHz	4 dBi
7 MHz	4 dBi
14 MHz	7 dBi
18 MHz	8 dBi
21 MHz	9 dBi
24 MHz	8 dBi
28 MHz	9 dBi

Cost:  $1550.00

Length:  178 Feet 

Height (Recommended):  120 Feet 

 

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Alot of my friends have heard me talking about my scooters and wanted to see it, well here they are !!!!    

 1st Up:  Lance Havana Nights 50  

 2nd Up:  BMS Heritage 50 

                                        

I look a lot better than this stupid old camera makes me look old and a bit overweight ... stupid thing!!

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All 13 antennas are in the back yard, top of the house, and along both sides, rear yard.

and ...... all 13 antennas are tuned, and do not require the antenna tuner.  I have a tuner, but I only use it on high power with the amp on, just as a "safety net of sort".  But, all my antennas are resonant on their respective band in the area that I use them, ALL OF THEM .... NO TUNER REQUIRED !!!  

1.   10 meters (beam) MA5B  
2.   12 meters (beam) MA5B  
3.   15 meters (beam) MA5B 
4.   17 meters (beam) MA5B  
5.   17 meters #2 (dipole) 17HWDB from, Frequency Devices, Inc.
6.   20 meters (beam) MA5B 
7.  40 meters (vertical) MFJ 1792
8.  40 meters #2 (dipole) PALSTAR 4 KW HD 
9.  80 meters (vertical) MFJ 1792 
10.  160 meters (dipole) Hy-Power Antenna Co. LD-1682  
11.  2 meters (vertical)  Diamond CP22E 
12.  10 meters (vertical) Cushcraft AR-10 Ringo Ranger Vertical also works well SSB 
13.  298 foot beverage style long wire, Receive ONLY Antenna  ( Switched by MFJ 1708 RF Sense TX/RX Switch )
14. 80 meter 122 foot dipole with 1:1 Current Balun Center, located below 40 meter 4K palstar 

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Hobby of course, Ham Radio, Mountain Bike and Motor Bike Riding, mowing and working in yard. 

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Retired at 37 years old after 20 long years in the military (USAF), yes I entered in 1978 and retired in 1998. 

Collected retirement pay since 1998, worked a few part time jobs since, but now fully retired at 56. 

​Sometimes I ride 30 miles in one day, most days ride between 10 and 20 on the mountain bike.  I can and will ride up to 1 to 65 miles a day on one of the scooters.  

I "volunteer" to take my wife (15 years younger than myself) to and from work everyday.  I enjoy doing it, and it get's me away even more than my already busy schedule.  

 

 

Thought some of my ham friends would like this from 1922:  (note 200 meter band !! ) Cage T antenna of amateur station in 1922. 60 ft high by 90 ft long. The conductor is made of a cage of 6 wires held apart by wooden spreaders; this construction increased capacitance and decreased resistance. It achieved transatlantic contacts on 1.5 MHz at a power of 440 W. _____________________________

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WLW's 739-foot, 200 ton tower

was constructed from two Blaw-Knox self supporting antennas

 

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Can anyone help me figure out what type coax this is?             

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For Vintage Repair, contact affordable Radio, Mike Alexaner : N0BXE.  www.affordableradiorepair.com 

Mike rebuilt the TS-520 and the IC 765

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  w 0 w o w

 

 

 

 

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Every once in awhile, you meet a ham that's worth commenting on :  well, I was impressed with his set up, see below:  

 

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Another Thing to Get In Line to Get:  !!   

New KPA1500 solid-state amplifier won’t take over your entire desktop: it’s just 4.5 x 13.5 x 11.5” (HWD; 11.5 x 34 x 29 cm). The lightweight companion power supply can be placed on the floor or in any other convenient location.

The KPA1500 was designed with the serious operator in mind. Its no-nonsense front panel shows all important parameters at a glance, with a high-contrast 32-character LCD and fast, bright LED bar graphs. Band switching is instantaneous, via control inputs or RF sensing. Protection and monitoring circuitry is extensive and foolproof, letting you focus on the job at hand — breaking pileups and overcoming the most difficult operating conditions. And it wouldn’t be an Elecraft amp without robust PIN-diode T/R switching. Like our KPA500, the KPA1500 offers fast QSK without a noisy relay.

The amplifier’s rugged internal ATU can handle full power with load SWR up to 3:1, while a wider matching range is allowed at lower power, including up to 10:1 in standby mode.

When it’s time to make waves, you can rely on the compact, quiet, highly integrated Elecraft KPA1500.

Note: We will not be accepting orders for the KPA1500 until we receive final FCC certification.*

KPA1500 Features:

• 1500W

• Very compact design

• Fast, silent PIN diode T/R switching

• Built-in Antenna Tuner with dual antenna jacks

• Compatible with nearly any transceiver

• 160-6 meters

• Introductory price: $5,995

 

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5 Element wire, copper or aluminum beam, 8 dBi Gain

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4 Element wire, copper or aluminum beam, and 40 Meter Sloping Diamond with 3 to 4 dBi Gain

beam is6.8 to 7.5 dBi 

 

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With rope supports, about 120 feet long, and 1/2 wave up about 70 feet tall. 

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THIS BABY IS KEEPING ME BUSY, if you know Quadcopters / Drones, well you know !!  

What a pleasure to fly!

Link below to my video page with the Mavic Pro, Jerry w0wow  

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