W1JA.com - W1JA Present

All W1JA, all the time

That's me at "operating desk #1." Op desk #1 contains the modern gear, which is what I use for serious operating when I'm trying to be a professional amateur; e.g., chasing DX in pileups. At left there's a Ten Tec Titan 425 amplifier that's capable of full-legal-limit, 1500 watts output on 160 through 10 meters. Below the amp is a Ten Tec 238 tuner. The equipment in the center of op desk #1 consists of an Icom IC-7000 on top and an IC-756ProIII below. Plus a Heathkit GC-1005 clock set to GMT (I built that clock in 1974 and it still works fine), a March CW paddle key, an old Logikey CMOS keyer board that I put in my own enclosure, and various speakers and power supplies for the rigs. At the right on the desk is my computer, which is an integral part of station operation. I've been computer logging (using DXbase logging and award tracking software) since 1990, and I have also entered into my computer log all the DX QSLs I received for QSOs before 1990. This means I get correct real-time feedback from DXbase if I need a particular DXCC entity on a particular band for any of the various awards I chase.

Above is my Drake vintage station at operating desk #2. Those are TR-3 and TR-4CW/RIT transceivers on the top shelf. Below them are an R-4B receiver, T-4XB transmitter and an MN-2000 tuner. (I never use the tuner as my antennas can all be tuned directly by the pi-networked, vacuum-tubed output stages, but it came with the rest of the B line, so here it is.) At the left is an L-4B amplifier, which is dedicated to the B-line separates. (I can't use it with either of the Drake transceivers without rewiring, which I've never had occasion to do.) Also visible in the photo is an Electro-Voice 719 microphone. I bought this new in 1976, but the ceramic element failed after just a year or two. I recently retrofitted a Heil HC-5 element, which sounds pretty good with the Drakes. There's a Logikey K-3 keyer sitting on the MN-2000, and a Kent paddle key is nearby. At top right is a C-4 station console, which I find perfectly suited for use here at op desk #2. From the console not only can I control power to all the equipment here, measure power and SWR, and have a 10-minute ID timer, but I can switch mic, keyer and the MS-4 speaker to any of the three Drake stations. (There's a phone patch, Tymeter clock and rotor control too, but I don't use those functions.) The external power supplies for the TR-3, TR-4, T-4XB and L-4B all gather dust on the floor under the desk. There's more about my Drake stuff on the ham radio pages at my Radiophile.com Web site.

I don't have enough room to set up all my vintage gear for operation, so the various items that don't have a permanent place on op desks #1 or 2 rotate positions here on op desk #3. Right now there are Kenwood D-line separates on the middle shelf, a Swan 500C and 117XC power supply/speaker below, and a Heathkit SB-230 amplifier up top. I built the amp in 1977, and it's now dedicated for use with the 100-watt-output Kenwood station. (The Swan 500C has 550 watts of peak power input, so I decided to always use it "barefoot.") Rounding out the op desk #3 gear is a Hallicrafters T.O. keyer (very difficult to use since I'm accustomed to dot and dash memories, which this keyer doesn't have), a homebrew keyer that uses one of the old Curtis ICs, another Kent paddle and a Bencher paddle, and a couple of D-104 mics.

My other rigs that rotate into op desk #3 positions are a pair of original (no A or D suffix) Kenwood separates, a Galaxy (actually Hy-Gain, which bought Galaxy in approx. 1971) GT-550A transceiver, and a near-duplicate of my original Novice station, a Lafayette HA-230 receiver and Knight-kit T-60 transmitter. There's more about my Novice station on the ham radio pages at my Radiophile.com Web site.

Here's a wide-angle view of the W1JA shack that shows all three op desks together in the room. This photo was taken in 2007, and the eagle-eyed may notice that there's a Yaesu FT-847 where the Icom IC-7000 is now on op desk #1, and there's a Yaesu FT-1000MP where the Swan 500C is now on op desk #3. The FT-847 is in storage and the FT-1000MP has been sold. (And yes, that rug on the wall is from the 1970s. My beloved spouse tells me that even the concept of hanging rugs on walls is from the 1970s. To learn more about the 1970s, buy this book.)

At left is the main W1JA antenna support structure, which is a US Tower TX-455. It has been up for 23 years. That's a KLM KT-34A tribander Yagi at the top, and a 5-element Cushcraft 6 meter Yagi below. There are also quarter-wave slopers for 40, 80 and 160 meters hanging off the top of the tower at an approx. 45-degree angle. The tower is mounted on a tiltover base; the crank-up and tilt-over functions are driven by the armstrong method. Those motor drives were too expensive for me when I bought the tower. They still are.

Above is a foreshortened view of the tower from the bottom up. In this photo you can just make out the sloper wires.

Comments? Questions?