My name is Monte Hammond. I have been a "ham" for more than 45 years. My first "shack" was in a little home in Alaska. It was an ideal setup for ham radio. We lived alone on the tundra three miles from a small village named Unalakleet. At the time I was an electronics technician for the FAA with responsibility for keeping the airline navigation equipment on the air. My first transmitter was built from a "Heath Kit" and provided hours of conversation during the long Alaska winters.
The shack was in the attic of our home. The high sloping roof of the house provided virtually a second floor. The laundry facilities were in the attic also, including the clothes line. The clothes line had three wires strung between supports. One night, just for fun, I decided that the clothes line may radiate enough RF for someone to hear and hooked it up to the rig. To my surprise it worked quite well! When asked on the air what kind of antenna I was using all I could think of was, "a diaper dipole".
My attic ham shack in Unalakleet, Alaska 1958
All the room in the world for a ham antenna!
I now live in Montpelier, Idaho. I am using a multi-band vertical antenna from MFJ (MFJ1798). It does quite well here in the Bear Lake Valley. We are surrounded by mountains and, in fact, live at the base of a mountain to the east. The antenna still does a good job to the east coast and Europe. My rig is a Kenwood TS180 running 100watts. Ham Radio has provided much enjoyment over the years.
I hope to meet you on the air. I can usually be found on 10, 15, 20 and 40 meters.
73 to all!
Monte Hammond, K7GPA
Montpelier, Idaho
Thanks to all at QSL.NET for making this service possible.