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: 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.
• 2017: BaoFeng UV-3R Plus VHF/UHF 2m/440 handheld transceiver.
• 2018: mcHF clone RS-918SSB portable HF QRP transceiver (160m-10m) (donated to K8MRD).
• 2018: Radioddity GD-77 dual-band (2m/440) DMR digital/analog handheld transceiver (donated to KB6DEF).
• 2018: Kenwood TH-D74A tri-band (2m/220/440) D-Star digital/analog APRS HT.
• 2018: 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).
• 2019: Kenwood TH-D72 dual-band (2m/440) HT with full-duplex capability and built-in TNC, purchased from W5KV.
• 2019: AnyTone AT-D878UV GPS dual-band (2m/440) DMR digital/analog handheld transceiver (returned, transmit malfunction after 2 weeks of use).
• 2019: µBITX HF SSB/CW 10w transceiver kit with 3D printed enclosure (courtesy of WE4B and his daughter W4AQT, thanks!).
• 2019: 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.
• 2020: QYT KT-8900D Dual band 25 watt VHF/UHF mobile transceiver for use in packet radio. (donated to KE6MT for car mobile).
  
• 2020: Icom ID-31A Plus 70cm handheld D-Star digital/analog transceiver mainly for D-Star hotspot home use.
• 2020: Yaesu FT-4X Dual band (2m/440) handheld transceiver for everyday carry analog use.
• 2020: 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).
• 2021: Alinco DR-135T 2m VHF mobile transceiver for 24/7 VARA FM Wide Winlink RMS gateway and packet.
• 2021: 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.
• 2022: Icom ID-52A 5 watt dual-band (2m/440) handheld transceiver with DStar, a gift from Josh KI6NAZ (THANKS!!).
• 2023: (tr)uSDX 5-band Multimode QRP pocket HF transceiver covering 80/60/40/30/20m.
• 2023: sBitx v2 40 watt HF SDR “for the tinkerers”, pre-assembled.

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).
• 2018: 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).
• 2018: 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).
• 2018: Ed Fong Roll-up J-Pole 2m/440.
• 2018: DIY HQD™ Speaker Wire Antenna cut for 20m.
• 2018: Wolf River Coils “Take It Along” SB1000 coil vertical whip antenna – amazing results! Tunes near resonant on 80-10m.
• 2018: 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.
• 2019: Arrow II 146-437-10WBP yagi handheld antenna for satellite and distance operation (courtesy of N9BAV, thanks!).
• 2019: SmileyAntenna Tri-Band – HT antenna used on Kenwood TH-D74A for 2m/220/440.
• 2019: 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.
• 2020: 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.
• 2021: QRPGuys Portable No Tune End Fed Half Wave Antenna rated at 20w. Bought primarily for the IC-705 QRP rig.
• 2021: The KM4ACK EFHW a QRP kit for a resonant antenna on 20m (or 40m if you choose, wire is up to you).
• 2021: The Alpha Antenna FMJ 80-10m vertical antenna with matching unit.
• 2021: The K6ARK EFHW – built from parts kit and cut to 20m, featuring an on-BNC 49:1 toroidal matching unit.
• 2021: A couple more SmileyAntenna Tri-Band antennas for EMCOMM/volunteer HTs, BNC connectors.

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.

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.
• Kantronics KPC-3+ TNC.
• 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.

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