I have been licensed since 1954, first as W4EGY and then in 1976 I obtained the call W4PK.  I primarily chase DX but I do dabble in some of the contests too. My favorite mode is RTTY, having gotten the bug back in 1959 with a surplus Teletype Model 15 WX machine.  I have RTTY DXCC #6 from the ARRL, dated 4 Jan 1977.  This was before the days of spotting networks!  I finally obtained Honor Roll status for this mode in 2007.

I am an engineer, and I retired in 2002 from a manufacturer of cellular/PCS infrastructure equipment.  I have a B.E.E. and a Master of Engineering degrees from the University of Florida (1963 and 1967, respectively).

I QSL 100% either BURO, SASE direct or LoTW (preferred).

RADIOS: ICOM IC-7800 and ELECRAFT K3/P3 with 2M and 70CM Transverters

AMPLIFIERS: ICOM PW-1 & ACOM 2000A

75-ft ROHN 45 tower (23M high), ROHN 25 towers 50-ft (15M) & 65-ft (20M) high

On the 75-ft Rohn 45 Tower:

• FORCE-12 520/240, 5 elements on 20M & 2 elements on 40M
• FORCE-12 EF230, 2 elementson 30M
• M2 2M12, 12 elements on 2M
• Shunt fed for 160M

On the 50-ft Rohn 25 Tower:SteppIR 3-element with 6M option

On the 65-ft Rohn 25 Tower:

• FORCE-12 C31XR; 3 elements on 20M, 4 elements on 15M, & 7 elements on 10M
• M2 6M7X, 7-element beam on 6M
• M2 440-18, 18-element beam on 70CM

40M & 80M 4-squares

The photo to the left is of my interleaved 40 and 80M 4-square antennas. The 80M verticals are of KLM design, and they are constructed as a tripod for the first 30 feet to support the remaining 37-ft whips. These are not visible in the photo. The photo to the right is a picture of Lone Pine Mountain which is less than a mile away. This hill is toward the northeastern states in the U.S. and toward Europe. It does start to impact propagation in this direction on 15M, and it is very noticable on 10M and above. It does not impact the lower bands. The tower in the photo is my Rohn 45.

BEVERAGES: Toward Europe; two 1125-ft (343M) phased at 0.6 wavelength separation. Toward Japan & SE Asia; one 850-ft (259M) and one 576-ft (176M). Toward South Pacific, one 1125-ft. Toward Oceania; one 1125-ft and one 576-ft. Toward South America; one 850-ft and one 576-ft. Toward Africa; one 1125-ft and one 576 ft.

QTH:

My wife and I live in the country with plenty of room for antennas. The left photo below is the view from our deck of the Peaks of Otter. The right photo is another view, and they are all a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Blue Ridge is one of 13 major mountain ranges that make up the Appalachian Mountain Range. This range is in the eastern part of the U.S., and runs from northern Alabama up to eastern Canada. These are the oldest mountain ranges in the world.

SO2R Setup

I can operate with two radios simultaneously, and I have designed and built my radio control equipment. It is in three interconnected pieces, with the first being the main control unit above the computer screen in front of my keyboard. This unit is computer controlled and among other things it allows for the automatic control of the antennas as well as interfacing to the two radios. The second unit mounts next to my keyboard and my key, and it allows for easy selection of RX and TX focus, audio balance between either speakers or earphones, and the four memory functions of the ICOM 7800. The third unit mounts in the basement directly below my "office" and it provides for the automatic selection of my various antennas. Among other things, it will automatically place dummy loads on my two radios and ground all my antennas when I turn the main unit off. My two amplifiers are also in the basement.