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Last updated:
2008 Nov 15
I'm an Amateur (Ham) Radio operator, callsign KD8GBL. I've been licensed since October 2005, and currently hold a General-class license.

My Station and Planned Improvements

The current basis for my station is a 24' mast of IMC, previously used for an log-periodic broadcast-FM antenna my dad installed years ago.
So far, my plan for upgrading are as follows:
  • Tree pruning and ground system enhancement
  • Adding another section of IMC to bring the mast up to 30'.
  • Replacing the log-periodic FM antenna with a new Winegard TV antenna (for HDTV)
  • Adding a Diamond X6000A or Comet GP-98 tri-band (2m/70cm/23cm) antenna
  • Adding an end-fed half-wave dipole for HF
 Photo of tower and antenna
Eventual further enhancements would include an elevation rotor and a circularly-polarized satelite antenna system, but that's for phase 2. The rotator, in theory, still works; there's just too much tree in the way to rotate it at present. Maybe I'll get a beam antenna of some sort eventually, but the rotor is only good for low wind loads, so I'm limited there (as well as tree clearance). I'll need to build a computer interface for the rotor controler, too, but that shouldn't be too hard.

Radios

My current primary radios are a Yaesu FT-60R, (a nice dual-band handheld), and a Kenwoood TM-733 (dual-band, dual-recieve mobile). I'm still working on getting a proper shack setup. My current plans for base radios are an Icom ID-1 for D-star digital data, and eventually something for HF. Exactly what form these will take is as-yet undecided.

Other Project Notes

Local Groups

Local groups I'm involved with include the St. Paul Radio Club, TwinsLAN, and the 145.67 Mhz Packet Net.