The Ocean Hopper is a 3-tube regenerative receiver that covers 165 KHz to 30 MHz using plug in coils. This little receiver is very sensitive when adjusted properly. For maximum AM sensitivity the regeneration control is adjusted to the point where the detector just does not oscillate. However the receiver has no selectivity and cannot separate strong stations that are close in frequency. For CW reception the regeneration control is adjusted so that the detector just breaks into oscillation.
I was first licensed as WN8UJX in 1954. I held this license from December 1954 to August 1955. Being limited to CW on the novice bands, I developed a liking for this mode and today still work mostly CW on the HF bands.
My first rig was the popular Heathkit AT-1 transmitter and Hallicrafters S-38 receiver. The S-38 is a 6-tube, AM/CW single conversion receiver that covers 540 KHz to 32 MHz. The radio has good sensitivity but the image rejection and selectivity is poor. The AT-1 is a 35 watt CW transmitter that covers the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands. It can operate crystal or vfo controlled. It can be put on AM with an external modulator.
It wasn't long before I had souped up the AT-1 to 75 watts input (maximum power on the novice band in those days) using a power supply from an old broadcast receiver my grandmother gave me. The final amplifier tube in the AT-1 is a 6L6G and is only rated for 35 watts input. At 75 watts the plate of the 6l6 would get red hot if the key was held down for more than a few seconds. I did not understand anything about component ratings in those days. Experimentation was the order of the day in those times and I was lucky to have survived some of my "experiments". SWR??? What is that??? Now days the Station Mascot watches over me.
About the same time I upgraded to a Hallicrafters S-85 receiver. The S-85 is an 8-tube receiver with better selectivity than the S-38. I added a Heathkit Q-Multiplier to the S-85 which also improved the selectivity.
My favorite hangout was 3735 KC on the 80 meter CW novice band where I chatted with WN8BDW (Bill) WN8WRF (Lonzo) and KN8NCJ (John) the locals, and met a lot of new Hams.
Seven months later I received my General class ticket. I held the call W8UJX from August 55 to May 59. Being the proud holder of a general class license I decided I needed more power. My next rig was a homebrew 813 transmitter that ran about 300 watts input. The power supply for the 813 used an old pole transformer that my dad and I found on a lone power pole in a farmers field. The pole transformer stepped 110 VAC up to 2300 volts. I had to add a center tap to the pole pig. The power supply, built on top of an aluminum chassis with exposed wiring was located under the operating table. A recipe for disaster. Sure enough, one day my foot touched a bare wire on the power supply at the same time my finger touched a metal switch on the rig. I was lucky. The shock knocked me across the room and away from the power supply. I still have a scar on my left foot from the burn.
Two years later I upgraded to the Extra class license and a WRL Globe King transmitter. The Globe King is a 500 watt AM/CW rig that covers 160 through 10 meters. It would also work SSB with the proper exciter. I had a lot of fun with that old rig and worked a lot of DX.
After High School I worked for a year as chief engineer at a local AM broadcast station, WLMJ in Jackson, Ohio. I also worked as a DJ and engineer for WBEX in Chillicothe, Ohio for about a year. WLMJ used a pair of 4-400A's in the final. My Globe King also used the same tube. That worked out very well. HI...
In 1959 I joined the Air Force. I spent a year as a ground radio operator at Forbes AFB in Kansas. The rest of my four years with the Air Force was spent at Torrejon AFB in Madrid, Spain where I operated and repaired ground to air VHF and UHF radio gear. A local there (EA4HH) let me operate his station from time to time.
In 1963 I left the Air Force and went to work for Philco Corporation as a Tech Rep. I worked various places for Philco including Illinois, Texas, Nicaragua and California.
In Illinois I taught basic electronics for a year at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and held the call W9GYI from February 64 to August 64. In Texas I worked as an installer for NASA with the call W9GYI/5. In Managua, Nicaragua I worked as an operator for a US army overseas radio telephone station. I also did maintenance on this equipment. In Nicaragua you could pick the last three letters of your call sign. I selected YN1JLA, the JLA being my initials. I held this call from August 65 to December 65. I used the S-85 receiver and built my own rig that used a pair of 6146s in the final. Every time I went on the air I would be on the receiving end of a pileup.
I came to California in 1966. I liked California and have remained here ever since. I have lived in various places including King City, Salinas, Prunedale and Morgan Hill. I have worked as an electronic tech and engineer during that time for various companies. I held the call W6DQY for 30 years. I received my old W8UJX call through the vanity program in 1996.
I work CW on all the HF bands. I had many contacts through the satellites OSCAR 10 and 13 using homemade gear and antennas. I tried moonbounce on 432 MHz once. I heard several stations but the home brew transmitter did not have enough power to make a contact.
My favorite part of ham radio is building and testing transmitters and antennas and experimenting with new amateur modes. This is a recent 813 amplifier project. It uses two 813's in parallel and will run one KW input. The rig is driven with the Viking Ranger. This is a prototype and covers only the 40 meter band. Since the Ranger provides plenty of driving power the use of a neutralizing circuit was avoided by loading the grid circuit of the 813's with a resistor from grid to ground. This greatly simplified the design.
This is the homebrew six meter amp used for HSMS. Here are some pictures of the two meter amp I used to make my first EME QSO. What a thrill! My first attempt at building a 432 MHz power amp.
This is the power supply used to power the amplifiers.
The satellite station uses a Yaesu FT-736R multimode transceiver with a homebrew 500 watt amp (pair of 4CX250Bs) into a 5 element yagi. The 2.4 GHz down link uses a horn antenna into an AIDC-3731 downconverter to the FT-736R. The downconverter converts the 2.4 GHz signal from the satellite to 144 MHz. The FT-736R can simultaneously transmit on 432 MHz and receive on 144 MHz. This feature allows you to hear your own signal when it is retransmitted by the satellite.
The HF station is a Kenwood TS-870, Ten-Tec Centurion amp and MFJ 989-C 3-KW antenna coupler. I also use a homebrew link coupler made with coils from a BC-610. The TS-870 is a 100 watt transceiver. The receiver is continuous coverage from 30 KHz to 30 MHz and the transmitter covers all ham bands from 160 to 10 meters. The Ten Tec is a 1500 watt amp that covers 160 thru 10 meters. The HF antennas include a G5RV and a 5-band Hex Beam. The beam is a two element wire beam that covers all bands from 20 through 10 meters and the G5RV is a 102 foot dipole fed with open wire line. I use this antenna on 160 thru 30 meters.
I also have several rigs from the fifties and sixties that I put on the air from time to time.
I still enjoy using the J-38 hand key on CW and listening to hams and short-wave stations on the "ol" Ocean Hopper.
Today I am retired and live in Morgan Hill, California with my wife Kaddie. Kaddie and I enjoy hiking, biking, movies, friends, dining out and traveling.
73 from California - Jerry
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