I changed my call sign 01-22-2010 from WA3ZBJ (which was NOT a vanity call, needless to say) to K3RLL to emulate my brother Glenn who has held the call W3RLL since he was a teenager. (At our age, it has been a long, long time since either of us were teenagers.) I've been watching K3RLL probably more than 30 years and when it became available, I jumped for it.

 Retirement has provided the time to again enjoy ham radio from both Florida and Pennsylvania.

 PA: Located here along the shores of "world famous Redbank Creek" in rural Pennsylvania with either a Yaesu FT-817nd or Icom IC-706 feeding a G5RVjr up about 40'. The '817 has been a lot of fun. It's amazing what a store-bought rig will do! (Smile) Like the '706, it even came with a "microphone". With a wire antenna and current conditions, this station is just not a commanding presence on the bands. However, I continue to enjoy QRP with a little Hendricks "Yellow Wonder" PFR3 that has seen a lot of portable use here along the hilltops.

 FL: After retiring and being chased out of the Palm Beach area by hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, I am now operating from Northern FL with a very early c.~1990 Elecraft K2 #1596 to a flat-black stealth Hustler 4-BTV that can only come out at night. Living with a homeowner's association requires one to quickly return the vertical to the garage whenever not in use. Daylight hamming is therefore restricted to a coil-loaded attic dipole. A brighter ham would never have built a home in an antenna restricted community. Hi hi. Therefore, most of my FL operating has been QRP from various parks with such trusty QRP gear such as my old 1975 Heathkit HW-7, Rockmite 40, SWL-30, SWL-20, KX-1 or now a KX-3. The SW-20 or 30 "go pack" fits into the Harley saddlebag for favorable weather portable opportunities. The little KX3 also seems to make a fairly good mobile rig with a Hamstick on the Mustang, but can't get it to stick to the Corvette for some reason. (Grin).

 Latest Project: QRP Labs announced a $49 single-band five-watt QRP kit with an abundance of features. At that price, how could one go wrong? Jumping on the delivery queue right away resulted in a bit of a wait but a tiny box eventually arrived. Not long after a number of careful hours of great enjoyment, my own QCX-40 came to life on the bench and it has been a delight to use. (More under 'Projects').

 I highly recommend investigating NAQCC if you like CW, lower power and simple wire antennas. It's a club for those of us who still like the basics of ham radio. http://naqcc.info

 With the progressive propagation degradation, QRP has become far more challenging and sometimes conditions seem insurmountable for the very low power operator. I was as dismayed as many others until K3JZD advised me that SKCC lists 'bugs' and 'Cootie Keys' among their accepted mechanical keys. Time to dig out the old bug!

I've found a home with SKCC and highly recommend looking into it if you like CW. It's a no-dues club for those all CW skill levels and even includes QRP and QRPp categories to their many frequent on-air events. With an abundance of activity, SKCC is providing new enthusiasm for a lot of CW fans and a new home for frustrated QRP ops. It is a frequent pleasure to run into former QRP 'friends' now active on SKCC http://www.skccgroup.com.

  Other interests include my 1967 MGB (purchased new), a now-older maroon Mustang and a couple of motorcycles, although my beloved old Corvette has moved on to a new owner. ("Boys and their toys"?)

 Thanks for not only stopping by, but for reading along and I hope to hear you on the bands. You'll most likely find me on the QRP CW frequencies.

72/73, Don K3RLL

 Incomplete list of published items:
"World Radio Online, February 2011" - My shack gets a little magazine coverage for QRP stations.