to
**Amateur**
*Radio Station*
***KI8AF***

"from dah U.P. of Michigan"



Originating from my QTH on the Southern Shore of Lake Superior
at 46 deg. North and 87 deg. West, centered in yooper land.
Greg Hanson
Marquette, Michigan


Here is one of my favorite positions, one of a QRPer hard at work. No, No hard at play. There is something special about CW and especially QRP CW that I really enjoy. You know its one of thoses things in life that is hard to explain. Either you have it or you don't. I'm glad I have it! Guess that pretty well tells you were my major interest in amateur radio is directed. Maybe because I learned Morse Code at a young age from a now long gone SK, W8JPJ that it has stayed with me all these years and the older I became the more I appreciated it.

Four years as a Communications Technician in the U.S. Navy (1967-71) helped keep my code skills fresh. Also, I believe once learned, never forgotten. I think my case being a good example. After leaving the navy, raising a family, working and this and that I didn't really get into amateur radio until June 1996. My first test session plan was to get my Tech Plus but, after listening to the 20 wpm code test I figured I'd give the 13 wpm test a shot. I made it! I felt proud, after all I'd been away from any serious Morse Code for 25 years. From then on I knew the amateur radio hobby had me hooked and I went on to eventually get my Extra Class License. I do work phone, especially when chasing US Islands. I also go after those IOTA's but, more and more of the distant ones are worked via CW. One hundred watts of Charlie Whiskey does a much better job of breaking through the pile ups as compared to the same on phone. Hey folks, don't get me wrong or get up set but with only having a dipole and an array of other homebrew antennas, I need all the help I can find and CW is the answer.

CW/QRP, striving for the ultimate, attaining that goal while using less. The only way to go! CW/QRP, doing more with less by choice, not necessity. Be a ham, know and use CW.

QRP...I enjoy it! There is something special about making a contact with Antarctica using only 4 watts. Or working a Russia island and rather than the usual 599 K reply, he comes back wanting to know what my rig and antenna setup is. He comes back again saying, nice job. To me that's a contact to remember. My four watts has made it into Europe and Africa numerous times, and on 15 meters running two watts I've worked Alaska and Europe. Two watts got me into the Marshall Islands,
confirmed via a QSL card from V73CW. Oh, now to have the gumption to try QRPp!

A few of my favorite sites are listed here. From these few you can get lost in a continual maze of links. New Jersey QRP Club of which I'm a member is one of the premier QRP clubs in the United States. Another QRP club that has been in existence for a longtime is theMichigan QRP Club. Of course no QRP list would be complete without having a link to the daddy of QRP the ARCI. One more which keeps the spirit of CW alive is FISTS. With the recent change of only requiring one code element, that being only 5 wpm for amateur radio, hopefully organizations such as FISTS will help protect the CW portions of our amateur bands.

I'm a member of and currently serve as secretary for the Hiawatha Amateur Radio Association of Marquette County. Please take the time to visit the H.A.R.A. website and check out some historic "ham"photos. "An amateur radio club organized in 1932, in the heart of Michigan's U.P."

My ham shack is crammed into a small area of the basement, no heat in the winter months but the temp doesn't usually get below 60 degrees F. to often. If it were to drop much below that I could fire the wood stove, then being nice and toasty. I presume by todays standards my setup may be lacking but, it gets the job done for me. Rigs include a Yaesu FT-840, an Oak Hills Research 500, and a Norcal 38 Special. As of May 2001 add an Elecraft K1 (20 and 40 meters) to my station. Also there has to be at least a half a dozen or so, ten and fifteen dollar QRP projects in some state of construction laying around the shack. Antennas include a multiband dipole, a zepp fed dipole, a 20 meter ground plane, a 30 meter inverted Vee, and a 15 meter rotatable (strong arm with a pipe wrench) dipole. Of course, all of the antennas are homebrew.

Update: December 2001 I'm adding the KFL1-4 four-band module and the KAT1 automatic antenna tuner. Check back soon for my opinion on the operating performance of my K1 with the mods but, if it's anything close to the original then I've got an even better QRP rig than I started with.

I have a getaway place in the woods about 45 minutes from my home. In the fall of 1999 I did manage to get up a dipole and made a few CW QRP contacts. Look for more of that in the future. Light weight portable equipment is a must here as we have to presently hike into the camp. Not having commerical power available I want to get the most out of a deep cycle battery, as they are mighty heavy. While not true "roughin it", I do use a oil lamp for lighting when operating those evening hours. No powerline noise or other man made interference problems which makes operating quite nice, especially when searching for those other QRP signals that are out there.


My QRP Page
USCG CW Grand Finale
The Ham, the Elements, and the Sled Dog Races
Other Great Links


This is my first attempt at a web page and is

under construction by an amateur.....please be patient

"amateur ki8af"

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This page and/or associated pages last up dated 09/23/08.