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Hi! Thanks for stopping by my page. I'm just a beginner at this stuff, so don't be surprised if some of it seems kind of amateurish, and there may be some mistakes. Let me know and I'll work on fixing them. This page is dedicated to showing you my part of the interesting hobby of Amateur Radio, as well as some of my other interests, my family, and where I live.
I've been an Amateur Radio Operator (Ham Operator) for over 34 years and this hobby/obsession has played a major role in my life. I work in the field of wireless communications, and if it hadn't been for ham radio, I doubt that I would have had such an interest in that profession. Ham radio is a very diverse hobby- there are many aspects to it, depending on where your interests lie. I'm mainly interested in VHF/UHF/Microwave experimentation, but early on I was mainly interested in trying to communicate with as many foreign countries as I could (called DXing) on the more common shortwave bands. I didn't find much of a challenge in that, so in the early eighties I got into the bands above 50 MHz (VHF, UHF, and above). There is so much to experiment with on these frequencies- building and testing equipment, operating, contesting, Dxing, that it is just the right spot for me.
Seven years ago, my wife Diane and I moved to this house. We bought it because it's located high in the Bristol Mountains south of the city of Rochester, NY. It is very isolated, so nobody cares what (or how many) antennas I put up outside! We have lots of beautiful property, and neighbors who are friendly (but not too close by) and they don't mind my hobby. Diane said to me when we were looking for a house, "We can live on a mountain if you'll buy me a log cabin." So, that's what we did. After seven years of living here and operating my station out of the basement, I decided to turn the basement into a radio shack/ workshop. I just finished the project and am very proud of the way it turned out. Several of the pictures below show different views of the room and the station.
I've also included some images of my EME (Moonbounce) station (explained in detail below), and a new facet of the hobby I've gotten interested in- collecting vintage radio equipment (also referred to as Boatanchors).
Moonbounce (EME, or Earth-Moon-Earth) is a specialized method of communication, which uses the Moon's surface as a signal reflector. Thus, any two stations that have the Moon above their horizon can communicate, even on frequencies normally known for only supporting "Line of Sight" communications paths. It takes high transmitter power and big antennas to do EME, because the distance to the Moon and back is about a half a million miles and the Moon's surface is a poor reflector. It takes 2.5 seconds for the signal to return to Earth after being sent toward the Moon. Thus, you can test and hear your own echoes by transmitting for 2.5 seconds and then listening- just as you get done sending, your echoes are starting to come back to you.
You can click on any of the thumbnail pictures below to get a larger view- give the image time to load, please.
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Page 1 of 1
The so-called "Boatanchors" (I prefer to call them VINTAGE RADIOS) are interesting. They represent a time when radio wasn't made up of microchips and when they weren't small enough to lose in your pocket. They really were heavy, had vacuum tubes in them (which gives them a warm glow in a dark room), and took some real finesse and skill to operate. I only own three pieces right now, but I'm sure that will change over time. Each of the ones I own have some special meaning to me. The old Hallicrafters SX-28A (c.1944) was the very first shortwave receiver I remember seeing, up in the attic of a friend whose dad was a ham in the fifties. The Hallicrafters WR-1500 was the first really commercial General Coverage Receiver I had- I got it for Christmas when I was 13 and I thought it was the greatest! I actually used it as a ham receiver (yuck!) when I first got my Novice license in 1966. In 1968, I sold it to get some extra money when I was in college, and my dad told me I'd regret it- he was right, and I searched for a replacement for it for over 30 years! I finally located this one a few months ago, in real good shape at a real good price. The Heathkit SB-101 is just like the one I had when I was a senior in high school- I built it and was so proud because it was a fairly complicated kit and it worked great the first time I fired it up!
Well, that's enough for now- if you'd like to see more, stop back from time to time. I'll be adding some more things, like EME sound files and other (hopefully) interesting stuff as I learn how to do it. You can email me anytime at k2dh@frontiernet.net
73 (which means Best Regards to us hams)
Dave K2DH
