MY INTEREST IN THIS HOBBY STARTED AT AN EARLY AGE, A GRAND GENTLEMAN WHO WAS A HAM RADIO OPERATOR (W4JLV), LIVED SEVERAL DOORS DOWN THE STREET. THROUGH HIM I BECAME "HOOKED". I STARTED WITH A SHORTWAVE RECEIVER AND NEVER STOPPED MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE WORLD OF INTERNATIONAL RADIO AND THE WORLD OF HAM RADIO. IT WAS QUITE A FEW YEARS BEFORE THE BIG DAY CAME, THE ONE WHEN MY AMATEUR LICENCE WAS IN MY MAIL BOX. THAT WAS IN 1986.

I DO NOT HAVE PICTURES FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT BELOW IS THE OFFICIAL EVIDENCE OF MY COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET, SO TO SPEAK.

ON THE DESK TOP ( STARTING ON THE LEFT ) HEATHKIT HW-8 POWER SUPPLY, MFJ-931 ARTIFICIAL GROUND, MFJ-949C TUNER, ASTRON POWER SUPPLY, COMPUTER KEYBOARD AND MONITOR, THE CPU IS ON TOP OF FILE CABINET.

FIRST SHELF, HEATHKIT 2 METER SWR/POWER METER, HEATHKIT HW-8 QRP TRANSCEIVER, YAESU FT-7 TRANSCEIVER, YAESU FT-411E 2 METER HT AND 7AH POWER STATION ON TOP OF THE ASTRON POWER SUPPLY.

SECOND SHELF, SPEAKER, HALLICRAFTERS S-120 RECEIVER, BEARCAT SCANNER, MFJ CLOCK, PLUS SOME STUFFED FRIENDS.

THIRD SHELF, REFERENCE BOOKS, HEATHKIT "TWOER" (AN OLD 2 METER AM TRANSCEIVER)

FORTH SHELF, REFFERENCE BOOKS, AND TELEGRAPH KEYS.

IN THE AMATEUR RADIO WORLD THE TERM QRP AT ONE TIME STOOD FOR "SHOULD I REDUCE POWER", IT IS USED TODAY TO DEFINE A FORM OF OPERATING ONE'S RADIO AT A POWER LEVEL OF 5 WATTS OR LESS. QUITE A FEW FOLKS RUN A POWER LEVEL WHICH IS LESS THAN 1 WATT, THIS IS "QRPp".

AT THIS TIME, I RUN QRP ( 2 WATTS ) WITH THE HEATHKIT HW-8, OR I RUN LOW POWER ( 20 WATTS ) WITH THE YAESU FT-7. MY ANTENNAS ARE MADE OF WIRE, AND ARE MOUNTED IN MY ATTIC.

"WHAT? IN YOUR ATTIC? INDOOR ANTENNAS DO NOT WORK, AND WHY INDOORS?" WELL, THEY DO WORK, TRUE NOT AS WELL AS OUTDOORS AND ON TOP OF A TALL TOWER, BUT THEY WORK. AS FOR WHY, SOME OF US LIVE IN THOSE EVER-INCREASING AREAS WHICH ARE CONTROLLED BY A GROUP OF WELL MEANING, BUT POWER HUNGRY PEOPLE. THESE ARE CALLED HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATIONS.

AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE PICTURE, MY SHACK IS IN A CLOSET. THIS CLOSET IS LOCATED ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF MY THREE STORY TOWNHOUSE. BEING THAT THE ATTIC IS WELL OVER THIRTY FEET ABOVE GROUND MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE ANTENNAS' WORKING SO WELL. THEY ARE A 15 METER DIPOLE AND A RANDOM WIRE USED FOR 40 METERS AND 80 METERS.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO OR ABOUT QRP OPERATING OR BOTH, HERE ARE SOME LINKS TO THAT INFORMATION. PLUS LINKS TO THE CLUBS OF WHICH WE ARE A MEMBER.

ARRL - AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE

ADVENTURE RADIO SOCIATY

QRP AMATEUR RADIO CLUB INTERNATIONAL

NORCAL QRP CLUB

SPARC - STERLING PARK AMATEUR RADIO CLUB