My Gear

Here’s a list of my ham radio gear.

Rigs (in order of acquisition)

1998

• Radio Shack HTX-202 2m handheld transceiver (busted LCD after 4 years, lost in a move).

1999

• Alinco DJ-S11T miniature 2m handheld transceiver, 340 milliwatt (lost in a move).

2001

• 2001: Yaesu FT-50 Dual-band VHF/UHF handheld transceiver (donated to K6RZ in the early-2000’s after discussing his CB adventures & getting him hooked on ham radio).

2003

• Yaesu VX-7R tri-band (6m, 2m, 440) handheld transceiver, still in use today.

2017

• Yaesu FT-857D mobile HF/VHF/UHF transceiver in a Commander 857 Go Box.
• BaoFeng UV-3R Plus VHF/UHF 2m/440 handheld transceiver.

2018

• mcHF clone RS-918SSB portable HF QRP transceiver (160m-10m) (donated to K8MRD).
• Radioddity GD-77 dual-band (2m/440) DMR digital/analog handheld transceiver (donated to KB6DEF).
• Kenwood TH-D74A tri-band (2m/220/440) D-Star digital/analog APRS HT.
• Elecraft KX3 portable 160-6m HF QRP (15w) transceiver with PX3 Panadapter, KXAT3 Internal ATU and KXPD3 paddle, in a SideKX cover (sold to KE6MT in 2021).

2019

• Kenwood TH-D72 dual-band (2m/440) HT with full-duplex capability and built-in TNC, purchased from W5KV.
• AnyTone AT-D878UV GPS dual-band (2m/440) DMR digital/analog handheld transceiver (returned, transmit malfunction after 2 weeks of use).
• µBITX HF SSB/CW 10w transceiver kit with 3D printed enclosure (courtesy of WE4B and his daughter W4AQT). (sold in 2023 at a swap meet)
• Icom ID-4100A 50 watt dual-band (2m/440) DStar digital/analog mobile transceiver.

2020

• FlexRadio Flex-6400 160m-6m SDR transceiver and Maestro control console.
• QYT KT-8900D Dual band 25 watt VHF/UHF mobile transceiver for use in packet radio. (donated to KE6MT for car mobile).
  
• Icom ID-31A Plus 70cm handheld D-Star digital/analog transceiver mainly for D-Star hotspot home use.
• Yaesu FT-4X Dual band (2m/440) handheld transceiver for everyday carry analog use.
• Icom IC-705 portable 160m-6m/2m/440 all-mode QRP transceiver (with D-Star).

2021

• Yaesu FT-4X Dual band (2m/440) handheld transceiver gifted by K8MRD (after I lost my previous FT-4X, later found).
• Alinco DR-135T 2m VHF mobile transceiver for 24/7 VARA FM Wide Winlink RMS gateway and packet.
• Yaesu FTM-6000R Dual band (2m/440) mobile transceiver with 9600 bps data port in a Armoloq TTP-6000 pack frame for EMCOMM field operations.
• Uniden HomePatrol-2 Digital TruckTracker IV communications receiver (a.k.a. police scanner).

2022

• Icom ID-52A 5 watt dual-band (2m/440) handheld transceiver with DStar, a gift from Josh KI6NAZ for helping build DStar compatibility into his HRCC.link (THANKS Josh!!).

2023

• (tr)uSDX 5-band Multimode QRP pocket HF transceiver covering 80/60/40/30/20m – in a very portable package.
• sBitx v2 40 watt HF SDR “for the tinkerers”, pre-assembled.

2024

• Yaesu FT5DR 5 watt C4FM/FM 2m/440 dual-band digital transceiver with APRS – my new EDC, finally a solid APRS HT with long batt life.
• Radio Shack HTX-202 2m handheld transceiver, I have my first ever radio again! Found at the Hamvention flea market for $25, haggled down from $50. Perfect working condition and has a new 8xAA’s batt pack. OEM manual and antenna.
• Wimo PicoAPRS V4 Transceiver – Smallest HT ever.
• Quansheng UV-K5(8) 5 watt 2m/440 dual-band HT – “Most hackable handheld ham radio yet.” – IEEE article.

 

Antennas

2003

• Comet M-24 mag-mount dual-band VHF/UHF mobile antenna

2017

• N9SAB‘s “Stealth” 40m-6m Off-Center Fed (OCFD) multiband dipole with 4:1 matching transformer rated for 100w.

2018

• PreciseLOOP HG-1 80-10m magnetic loop antenna, 45w PEP max, 10w max on 80m (I have had 7400+ mile confirmed QSLs with this antenna at obstructed street level).
• HVU-8 80m/40/20/15/10/6/2m/70cm vertical base station antenna (200w PEP max, 150w on VHF/UHF FM) – Home QTH vertical antenna, atop 16ft of military poles (taken down in the Great Move of 2019).
• Elecraft AX1 20m/17m coil whip antenna, max 15w, made for the KX series but can be used for any QRP radio (donated to KE6MT).
• Ed Fong Roll-up J-Pole 2m/440.
• DIY HQD™ Speaker Wire Antenna cut for 20m.
• Wolf River Coils “Take It Along” SB1000 coil vertical whip antenna – amazing results! Tunes near resonant on 80-10m.
• Trunk-mount TRAM 2m/70cm 19″ vertical coil mobile capable of 100w for repeater use during commutes – 50+ mile repeater range while on 5w power.

2019

• Nelson Antennas Matchbox 9:1 unun end-fed random wire antenna 41′ with 17′ counterpoise for 80-6m.
• Arrow II 146-437-10WBP yagi handheld antenna for satellite and distance operation (courtesy of N9BAV, thanks!).
• SmileyAntenna Tri-Band – HT antenna used on Kenwood TH-D74A for 2m/220/440.
• QuirkyQRP SlinkTENNA 80-6m compact helical dipole antenna for NVIS and portable ops.

2020

• Arrow OSJ J-Pole roof mounted for 2m/440 at the home QTH.
• The K6ARK Magic™ AnT™ a QRP end-fed random wire antenna with a 41′ radiator and ingenious 9:1 un-un built into the BNC connector, made by K6ARK.

2021

• PackTenna Mini EFHW – light weight 100w HF antenna cut to 20m resonance.
• QRPGuys Portable No Tune End Fed Half Wave Antenna rated at 20w. Bought primarily for the IC-705 QRP rig.
• The KM4ACK EFHW a QRP kit for a resonant antenna on 20m (or 40m if you choose, wire is up to you).
• The Alpha Antenna FMJ 80-10m vertical antenna with matching unit.
• The K6ARK EFHW – built from parts kit and cut to 20m, featuring an on-BNC 49:1 toroidal matching unit.
• A couple more SmileyAntenna Tri-Band antennas for EMCOMM/volunteer HTs, BNC connectors.

2023

• CAHRTenna Apollo – A gift from inventor Chuck KK6USY at Huntsville Hamfest.

 

Field, Off-Grid, and Emergency Power

• Many (I do mean many!) DIY LiFePO4 12.8v homebrew battery packs custom made from 26650, 32700, prismatic, or Headway LiFePO4 cells.
• Several salvaged Kyocera 175w solar panels.
• 2000w Yamaha portable gas generator.
• Sunkingdom 39w 12v Foldable Solar Panel.
• Renogy 50w solar panel.
• Hardened Power Systems Commander 857 turnkey Ammo Can Go-Box for the Yaesu FT-857D with 2x10Ah Dakota LiFePO4 batteries.
• DIY Headway 40152S LiFePO4 12v 4s1p 15Ah power box with 100A BMS and Genasun 10.5A Solar Charge Controller.
• Bioenno LiFePO4 12.8v 3Ah battery, packed with KX3 in a “pretty case“.
• HQST 100w RV rigid mono-cell solar panel (with a 100Ah Sinopoly prismatics build and MPP Solar Inverter, powers my home shack Flex and LDG tuner).
• DenCo™ Milk Crate Backup Power™ – 280Ah (240Ah tested) LiFePO4 prismatic build in a milk crate (67lbs) with 250A Daly BMS, Victron SmartShunt, and 3000w inverter.
• Renogy 700w Pure Sine Wave 12V inverter, “the quietest inverter” (in terms of fan noise) for power outage use.
• 2x 60 watt Bioenno folding solar panels with Victron 75/15 12V MPPT SmartSolar charge controller.

 

Modems and Digital

• Tigertronics Signalink USB radio interface jumpered for Yaesu FT-857.
• JumboSpot MMDVM Pi Hat built from a kit with a Pi Zero for D-Star/DMR hotspot mobile use. (Ceased using and stick only with OpenSpot.)
• Kantronics KPC-3+ TNC. – (Sold at 2023 Pacificon swap meet.)
• SharkRF OpenSpot 3 hotspot for digital voice reflector/talkgroup/room use.
• Mobilinkd TNC3 BlueTooth packet TNC with cables for Kenwood, Yaesu, Icom, and Baofeng.
• Master Communications DRA-50 radio sound card interface (for QTH Winlink/packet station).
• Digirig v1.5 tiny radio sound card interface configured for hardware PTT with handhelds.
• Another Master Communications DRA-50 radio sound card interface for a TTP Manpack VHF/UHF rig.
• Countless Digirig v1.9 USB interfaces for each go-kit and station, replacing the above DRA-50’s for ease of use in both Windows and Linux operating systems.

 

Accessories

• RigExpert AA-600 Antenna Analyzer.
• NanoVNA – Small vector network analyzer.
• LDG YT-100 HF 100 watt 160m-6m antenna auto-tuner, made specifically for the FT-857D.
• LDG AT-1000ProII HF 1000 watt antenna auto-tuner.
• QRPGuys SWR/Power Meter w/ internal dummy load (kit).
• N7DDC ATU-10 QRP auto-tuner for use with 705 and (tr)uSDX.

 

Morse Code Paddles

• 9A5N Solid State CW Paddle – Single lever version with custom brass base, low profile finger piece.
• Vibroplex® Vibrokeyer Deluxe Chrome single lever paddle.
• American Morse DCP Miniature Iambic Paddle.
• 3D Printed Morse Paddle