The Shack

A quick tour

Listed below are the major items in my radio shack. In the wide shot above, the radio equipement is on left side.

On the right side is my work bench. I have Textronix 475 oscilloscope, Weller soldering station, an isolation transformer,a Fluke digital multimeter, a variac, and couple of beautiful old VTVM volt meters.

Yeasu FT-950 Tranceiver

A transciever is a "two-way radio" The FT-950 covers all of the amateur radio bands that are used to talk around the world. The radio can receive and transmit in various "modes". The most important modes are Phone (voice using a microphone) CW (Carrier Wave - using the morsse code, you turn the carrier wave on and off to send a message) Digital (various modes that send text messages and pictures using a computer). The tranceiver puts out 100 watts of power. The same energy as a 100 watt light-bulb. However, all of the energy is concentrated on one frequency and under the right conditions can be picked-up on radios all over the world!

Henry 2K3 Linear Amplifier

The FT-950 puts out 100 watts of power. Under the right conditions this will get the signal all around the world. There are times when it would be a real advantage to have more power. A linear amlifier takes the 100 watt output from the transceiver and gives it big boost.

This Henry linear amplifier is a fully restored, vintage tube amplifier that was originally built in 1969. It runs on 240v instead of the normal 120v house current. It takes the 100 watt signal and can boost it to the legal limit of 1500 watts. I usualy operate between 500 watts and 800 watts. I have made some contacts in the Far East like East Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Phillipienes where the amp really helped! It is also a big advantge when there is a "pile-up" of Hams trying to contact the same remote station.

Sennheiser 421 mic

This is broadcast quality microphone that I used to record drums back in a earlier life.

Vibroplex key

This morse code key is used to turn the Carrier Wave on and off to send messages. If you put a little pressure on the left paddle it will send a series of "Dahs". The right paddle sends "Dits"

Powermaster II Digital Watt Meter

This measures the Power output of the amplified. It also measures the amount of enery that is reflected back from the antenna. If to much energy is reflected back, the unit can shut-off the transmission in a couple of milliseconds to protect the amplifer.

Tube Nixe Clock (top) and Antenna Rotor control box (bottom)

The clock uses vintage Nixie tubes from the 60's to display Universal Coordinte Time. It is combined with a modern digital clock chip for super accurate, classy time piece.

The Antenna Rotor control box allows me to point the antenna on my tower in any direction. The direction is indicated by the needle.

Yaesu FT8800 2 meter tranceiver

2 meters is VHF. about the same range as the lower TV channels 2 - 12. It allows solid voice communications to the horizon. Hams use it to talk to other Hams locally. Repeaters are set up that help extend the range. I have a radio in my car and they can also be hand-held.

Tektronix 475 Oscilloscope

This beautiful vintage scope is on the workbench side of my shack. The oscilloscope can display voltages that change over time. It is currently showing the 60 cycle per second house current. I use it to monitoring my output signal when I am transmitting. I also use it for testing circuits when building kits and restoring AM radios.