This page has lots of pictures, so it
loads a little slow...but I have a lot I want to show you, so c'mon. Let's get
started!
Ham radio is a family affair at the
Hockaday household. My wife, Debbie,
is a radio amateur with an Extra Class license and her call
is AC4QD. My oldest son, Chris (age 26),
is also a "ham" and his callsign is KF4DBX. My youngest son,
Brandon
(age 24), is interested in amateur radio thinking about getting
his license. Radio Amateurs
are often called "Radio Hams", or simply "Hams". Both of my
parents are hams, their names and calls are: Duke KD4NNK and
Florence KD4NYT. They both hold General class licenses (and those
pics were taken back around '96).
HERE is a picture of
My dad KD4NNK with my oldest son, KF4DBX, also taken back around '96.
I have been a radio amateur since I
was 14 (mid-1974). I "cut my teeth" on tube gear, building from old
ARRL Radio Amateur's Handbooks and using scrap TV sets for
parts. My first commercial receiver was a
Hallicrafters SX-42 that was given to me
in true "scrap box" condition. Looking back at my early stations, it's a wonder I
actually ever made contact with anyone! They were good days, though,
and I learned much more about radio than if I had bought
everything. I only wish I had taken pictures of my old station
equipment...
At the top of this page is a picture of my "QSL" card.
A QSL card is like a postcard. Hams often exchange these unique
cards with each other and hang them around their
radio room to remind
themselves and others of the ability to contact distant locations. Some
QSL cards have pictures of the Amateur Radio station, the operator of
the station, their pets, drawings, etc. Some hams also call them "wallpaper". You'll
see several hanging on the walls of my radio room (usually called a "shack" by
most hams) in the photos below.
I hold an Extra Class amateur
license. I'm active on the amateur bands 160 meters through
70cm (440), with a little "tinkerin" on 900 mhz, 1.2 ghz
and 10 ghz. When on HF, I enjoy operating CW (morse code) and RTTY (radio teletype),
AM on my mid-60's vintage station, as well as SSB and 10
meters FM on my more modern gear. I also enjoy working 10
meters through 70 cm FM via repeaters and simplex. Below
is a partial picture of my "shack". Click the image below for an older picture of the shack...
The Equipment, from left to right
is:
The Table: First, the table was built by my good friend, Glenn KD4BSP. Glenn is
an interior trim carpenter, and works magic with wood. He built this table for me from some
misc plywood I had, 2x4's, and formica. I've had this radio table in service since 1993. It's 8' long,
and hasn't sagged any from the weight of all this gear on it for all these years!
Tabletop: The keyboard
(black) for my Hal Telereader RTTY interface,
monitor and keyboard for my logging/packet computer, Yaesu FT-901DE,
Icom 756. In front of the monitor,
you'll see my Bencher Iambic paddles. Next, a
Heathkit SB-301 rx and SB-401 tx with
a JPS NIR-10 on top, a Speed-X Straight key, an
Ameritron AL-82 HF amp, a modified Turner mic stand with an
electret condenser element (no preamp), and the mic on the far end is an old
Astatic JT-30 I restored. You'll notice a small box attached to the bottom
or the first shelf, between the Icom and Heathkit gear...this is a homebrew
control that allows me to switch my DSP unit between the different rigs
by flipping a switch. I route and switch all DSP connections via rear apron
connectors on the rigs, thus leaving the headphone jacks and exernal speakers
all working as normal.
2nd shelf up: A
Radio Shack 2 meter radio for the
local SEDAN network,
a Kantronics 9612 dual-port TNC and Kantronics Kam Plus. I use the 9600
baud port of the 9612 on 223.70 mhz for
W4RAL packet BBS access, and the 1200 baud port is used as a
port/node for the W4RAL BBS on 145.090 mhz.
I use the 1200 baud port of the Kam Plus for my
SEDAN
work and mailbox, while the 300 baud port is currently unused...I plan to use it on the 20m packet
network one of these days :-) . Next is a
stack of 3 rigs: A Kenwood TM-621 2m/220 dual bander
(bottom), a Kenwood TM-331 220 fm rig (middle), and another Radio Shack
2 meter rig (top). I use the TM-621 for connection to the W4MR DXCluster, the TM-331 for connection to
the 9600 baud port of the W4RAL Packet BBS, and the Radio Shack rig for voice connection to the
WB4IUY Repeater on 147.39+.
The picture to the right is my old Gonset GSB-201a amplifier. I bought it from my a good friend
M.M Preston K4SQC (now SK). It runs 4 each
572-B tubes, and will run near the limit on SSB and CW, about 500 watts on RTTY,
and about 250 watts on AM.
In the picture to the left, and
hanging just under the edge
of the table, is a Motorola Micor
that I converted for use into the local
10 meter repeater's UHF
gateway and on the local 444.950 FCARC repeater. I also have an old Yaesu FT-901DE
that I use from time to time.
Here's a picture of my tower.
My antenna system for 40 meters is
currently a set of 3 switchable full slopers built into
the top guy wires of the tower and starting at 95 feet.
You can see the coaxial current chokes about 35 feet
out from the tower in each of the top guy wires. The feedline from
each dipole swings down from the coaxial chokes and over
to the tower, where a remote coax switch provides control.
A dipole for 75/80 and a dipole for 160 are also mounted
on my tower at 95 ft. The flat top and thrust bearing for the rotatable yagis are
at 97 feet, with a 2 3/16" inch galvanized steel mast used for support.
The yagis are: Cushcraft A3S for 10/15/20 meters, Cushcraft 5 element 6
meter yagi, Cushcraft 13B2 horizontally polarized for 2 meters SSB, and
Cushcraft 13B2 vertically polarized for 2 meters FM. On the very top, with the
base mounted at about 115', is my 10 meter vertical. You'll
notice a side-mounted 220 yagi in this photo at about 70 feet, and you can
just barely see a small 440 yagi mounted behind it (off of the rear
tower leg).
In the following photos, you'll be able
to see some of the other side-mounted yagis that I use for specific
repeater control functions and dedicated connections.
Here are a few more pictures of my
tower and antennas...
- This is an older photo of my tower, before it had sooooo many side
mounted things...
- This is a fair photo of my tower and antennas from a distance.
There are still several pieces of my
vintage gear in various stages of restoration. I collect primarily Heathkit, but
I have a few other various rigs of other manufacture. Here are a few pictures of
my other "boat anchors"...
Now that you know I like to tinker/
build/restore radio gear, let me take you on a quick tour of my dungeon, where I spend a
lot of time "playing".
I have W.A.S. on 10 meters phone,
WAC, and am currently tracking W.A.S. on all bands. It's a lot of fun, but
will take a few years, yet. My DXCC count is about 240 worked/156 confirmed.
Boy, it's a lot more difficult to get contacts confirmed than I thought it
would be! Contesting is one of my interests, but I'm certainly not a
"die-hard" at that facet of the hobby. I have been a "homebrewer" of
ham radio gear for 28 years, and enjoy the hands-on
aspects of the hobby. I have built/maintain several
amateur repeaters,
and have the makings of an ATV repeater in the shop. 900 mhz is a new frontier for me, and I'm working on a
ATV project for that band with a couple of other local hams now.
Here are a few of the certificates
and awards I've collected:
- 1000 miles-per-watt, for contacting
another station 962 miles away on 20m RTTY at a power output of .1 watt, the equivalent of
9620 miles per watt!
- VE Certification, required to administer
amateur radio exams.
- The Great Lakes Award, for
having contacted every state surrounding the Great Lakes on 10 meters
SSB.
- WAC, for
having contacted every continent on the planet.
- IARU HF Championship, for
having taken 1st place in the NC division (single op, mixed mode) in 1994.
- AMI
(Amplitude Modulation International) membership certificate, for those
interested in preservation of AM as an enjoyable mode.
- SKN
(Straight Key Night) participation certificate, an event that is held each year
on New Year's Eve.
- RCC
(Rag Chewers' Club ) certificate.
- 1st place in the US/NC division of the
Nebraska QSO Party
I enjoy working amateur radio
while driving. I spend a lot of time behind the wheel, and ham radio is a
perfect way to pass the time. My mobile amateur
radio station is comprised of a RCI-2950 10 meter monoband rig
coupled to a 200 watt rf power amplifier. I use it primarily to
work into my local 10 meter FM repeater on 29.620. For VHF/UHF operation,
I use a Kenwood TM-621 2m/220 dual band radio.
Another facet of ham radio is all
the organizations that one can enjoy. I'm a member of the
ARRL (Amateur Radio
Relay League), SERA
(Southeast Repeater Association),
TEARA (Triangle East Amateur
Radio Association), and the 5CRG (Five
County Repeater Group). These organizations enrich my enjoyment of
Amateur Radio, and they all have various attributes that
make them interesting.
Hey, check out an
antenna party
at my friend's home, Tom W4SIS...
Look at another
antenna party
at my friend's home, Jay KQ4MS...
![[qsl pic]](qsl.gif)
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Here are a few older pictures of my shack
![[radio pic]](radio2.jpg)
![[radio pic]](radio2.gif)
![[antenna pic]](ants1.gif)
