I've been in ham radio for about 37 years now. My callsign is WB3GCK. I'm particularly interested in low-power (QRP) operation. I'm member of the Eastern Pennsylvania QRP Club (EPA QRP), the QRP Amateur Radio Club International (QRP ARCI), the Michigan QRP Club, and the the Adventure Radio Society. I'm also a long-time subscriber to the Internet QRP Mailing List (QRP-L).

I'm a member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and an Assistant Emergency Coordinator with Chester County ARES/RACES (CCAR), which provides emergency communications for the county. I'm also a SKYWARN weather spotter. 

• PBMME - November 2009  Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event - "Stationary mobile" from Charlestown Park near Phoenixville, PA
• QRP Afield - 2007  "Stationary mobile" from Valley Forge National Park
• Corolla, North Carolina - 2007   QRP Portable from the Outer Banks - July/August 2005 - using the "Up and Outer" antenna
• Corolla, North Carolina - 2005   QRP Portable from the Outer Banks - August 2005
• QRP to the Field - Ridin' the Rails   QRP-portable from two different train stations in Valley Forge Park, April 2005
• QRP to the Field - Battlefields  QRP-portable from Valley Forge National Park, April 2004.
• Lightship Chesapeake (LV-116) - 2003  Operating aboard a museum ship in Baltimore, Maryland - August 2003
• Corolla, North Carolina - 2002  QRP Portable from the Outer Banks (Again!) - July 2002
• QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party  QRP portable in Delaware - April 2002
• Corolla, North Carolina - 2001  QRP Portable from the Outer Banks - July 2001
• Appalachian Trail - Mason/Dixon Line  QRP portable operation on the Pennsylvania/Maryland border - September 2000
• BUBBA QRP Sprint 2000  A report of my outing for this contest. Contains a drawing of the "Inverted Y" antenna I used.
• Pocomoke River State Forest and Park  QRP Portable from the Eastern Shore of Maryland - 2000
• WB3GCK/QRP/MM QRP/Marine Mobile operation during QRP to the Field 2000
• Operating a QRP Classic - The Tuna Tin 2 I had the honor of operating the original Tuna Tin 2 transmitter built by Doug DeMaw, W1FB, in the 70s.
• Wellesley Island, New York  QRP Portable from the Thousand Islands - 1999
• QRP to the Field - 1997 Tales from the Home of the Blob.

• The 4:1 Un-Un  A homebrew 4:1 transformer for unbalanced antennas.
• Pop-up Vertical 2.0  The antenna I currently use with my pop-up camper.
• The "Up and Outer" Antenna  An obscure classic antenna that is great for limited-space applications.
• WB3GCK's APRS Tracker  Here's an APRS tracker I put together using a boater's box from a marine supply house.
• Powerpole Polarity Tester   A small handful of parts and a few minutes buys you peace of mind.
• Dollar Store Special    An inexpensive and simple back-up wire antenna using a roll of dollar store speaker wire.
• Portable Mast Support - Cheap!   Here's an inexpensive way to support a telescopic fiberglas mast for portable operation.
• HTX-202 Internal Battery Replacement  Here's how to replace the internal memory backup battery in the classic Radio Shack HTX-202 2 meter HT.
• RockMite Transceiver  Here are a few pictures of the RockMite transceiver I built from a kit.
• A Simple Float Charger for Gel Cells  A simple and useful charger you can easily build.
• Poqet PC Plus Serial Port Adapter  Here's an easy way to deal with that whacky serial port connector on the Poqet PC Plus computer.
• Homebrew Z-Match Tuner  Here's some info on a Z-Match tuner with an LED SWR bridge that I built.
• YATT2 - Yet Another Tuna Tin 2!  Here'a couple of pictures of a TT2 transmitter I built from a NJ-QRP Club kit.
• Homebrew Regen Shortwave Receiver  Here's my version of NA5N's Pipsqueak regen receiver.
• The Second Story Antenna  An incredibly simple antenna for portable or low-profile operation.
• The Pop-up Vertical The homebrew vertical antenna I originally used with my pop-up camper.
• The "Duck" Vertical What I did on my summer vacation - 1997.
• The WB3GCK Downspout Antenna A simple, low-profile antenna which has served me quite well for several years now.
• A Simple and Flexible Tuner for QRP A simple QRP accessory.
• Twinlead J-Pole Antenna An old favorite of many hams. Makes a great emergency or portable antenna for the 2 meter band.

• Amateur Radio: The Cockroach of Communications  A short article on Ham Radio and survivable communications. (PDF)
• The Care and Feeding of Gel Cell Batteries  A brief article on how to properly charge gel cell batteries. 
• International Morse Code  A chapter taken from a 1967 U.S. Navy Radioman training manual.
• Dupe Sheet for Contests  Feel free to make a copy. This text file must be viewed/printed with a fixed-space font.
• Crossband Repeater Operation  Some information on setting up crossband repeat capabilities for emergency communications.
• Individual Preparedness  A presentation on setting up a "Go Kit" prepared for Chester County ARES/RACES. (240KB PDF File)