Jen and I attended the 15th World Amateur Radio Direction Finding Championships, September 13-18, 2010, in Opatija, Croatia. It was the first world championships to be held in Croatia, and the first to be held in the former Yugoslavia since the wars of 1991-1995. It was also the first ARDF World Championships with a separate competition for blind competitors. Except for the blind competition (which was held in a soccer field in Opatija), the competition areas were in the nearby Gorski Kotar, the most mountainous region of Croatia.
Jen and I competed in the 10th United States ARDF Championships held May 21-23, 2010 in southern Ohio. This is the eighth USA championships that Jen and I have attended. The competition was held in two locations near the college town of Oxford, Ohio, the home of Miami University. This is the second time that the championships have been held in the greater Cincinnati area. Jen came home with gold medals in both W35 competitions, and Ken came home with silver medals in both M21 competitions.
During a visit to England in March, 2010, we visited Bletchley Park. The Bletchley Park National Codes Centre is the site of Britain's World War II efforts to break the secret codes of the Axis powers. Originally a country estate chosen because of its obscurity, the site at one point was filled with huts where scientists and technicians built and operated the first programmable computers. A group of local amateur radio operators has reactivated a radio station at the estate for the first time since Station X went off the air in 1940. We were fortunate enough to get after-hours access to the station, as we were there on a night when the radio club was meeting.
I operated the August, 2009 NCJ North American QSO Party, Phone with George K5TR and Robert K5PI in the multi-operator, two transmitter (M/2) category from K5TR contest station in scenic Blanco County, Texas. Although I operate at the station several times a year, it has been a while since I took my camera out.
Jen and I competed in the Fifth IARU Region II ARDF Championships held June 5-7, 2009, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. This was the seventh USA or IARU Region II championship that we have attended. The competition was held in the Blue Hills Reservation, a 7,000 acre state park about 7 miles due south of downtown Boston. Jen came home with a gold medal in W35 two meter championship and the silver medal in W35 eighty meter championship.
I spent a week in the Canadian maritimes in May, 2009. Amateur radio was not the focus of the trip, but I managed to enjoy a few radio-related moments while I was there, including an operating session at VO1AA.
Jen and I attended the 14th World Amateur Radio Direction Finding Championships, September 2-7, 2008, in Hwaseong, Korea. It was the first world championships to be held in Korea, and only the second to be held in IARU Region III. Korea has the fourth largest amateur radio population in the world, with about 140,000 licensed operators.Jen was a competitor in the W21 (women, any age) category, and I was an international juror.
Jen and I hosted the Eighth USA ARDF Championships held May 8-10, 2008, in Bastrop, Texas. The competition was held in Bastrop State Park. As we were very involved in the organization and execution of the competition, we did not take as many photos as we have in years past.
The 2007 W5 DX Bash was held once again on the first weekend of October at the W5KFT Ranch Station. Located on the shore of Lake Buchanan in eastern Llano County, the ranch is about 70 miles northwest of Austin, Texas.
Jen and I competed in the Fourth IARU Region II ARDF Championships held September 14-16, 2007, in South Lake Tahoe, California, USA. The competition was held in the Tahoe Basin National Forest, on the north side of Fallen Leaf Lake. Jen came home with the gold medal in both the two meter and the eighty meter W21 categories, and I took home the bronze medal in both the two meter and eighty meter M21 categories.
The 2007 Austin Summerfest amateur radio convention was held August 3-4, 2007 at the Wyndham Garden Hotel at IH-35 and Woodward Street in south Austin. I helped organize the DX and Contest Forum on behalf of the Central Texas DX and Contest Club.
Jen and I competed in the Sixth USA ARDF Championships held April 7-9, 2006, in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. The competition was held in William B. Umstead State Park, right next to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. I took home my first medal, a bronze in the two meter M21 competition, and Jen took home the gold in both the two meter and the eighty meter D21 categories.
In February, 2006, I built a prototype antenna for Amateur Radio Direction Finding on the 80 meter band. The antenna is a shortened vertical, supported by a 20' telescoping fiberglass pole. The vertical is 5.5 meters tall, with a 55 cm tall loading coil of 170 turns at the top of the bottom section of the pole. It has two radials, each 5 meters long. It was designed with the help of the LOADCOIL software program by Reg Edwards G4FGQ.
The first ever Texas ARDF Championships were held on a beautiful and sunny fall day in Bastrop State Park. Eight competitors participated - seven from Texas, and one from Ohio. Everything worked well except the PicCon timing.
Jen and I competed in the Third IARU Region II ARDF Championships held August 1-6, 2005, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Jen took home the gold in both the two meter and the eighty meter D21 categories.
I operated the 2004 ARRL 10 Meter Contest in the Single-Operator High Power Phone Only class from the station of George K5TR.
I was invited to operate with the K3LR team in the 2004 CQ World Wide DX Contest, Phone. K3LR is in western Pennsylvania, very near to the Ohio border. We operated in the M/2 category, finished in first place in the USA, and set a new USA record score (results pending.)
Bryan Edwards W5KFT hosted his world famous W5 DX Bash held at his family's cattle ranch, on the shores of Lake Buchanan, about 70 miles NW of Austin, TX. This year, the gathering was much more informal than normal, as Bryan's recent back surgeries had made preparation difficult.
This year, Jen W5JEN and I built or rebuilt tape measure yagis for ARDF. I reused the PVC in my old tape measure yagi, added 5" to the rear of the boom, and used PVC pipe hangers to mount a plexiglass plate for the receiver. Jen built a new tape-measure yagi, using a modified fishing rod with a cork grip for the boom. The boom-to-element brackets were quarter-round wood trim, notched and epoxied onto the fishing pole. Her yagi is noticably lighter than mine.
Due to my travel schedule, I was unable to operate the contest from central Texas. Mark N5OT was very generous in offering me the use of his station in Osage county, Oklahoma, even though he was not going to be there himself that weekend. This was my first HF contest effort from outside of the state of Texas.
While I was in the San Francisco Bay area on business, Dave and Barb Leeson had several of us over to their house for dinner. The Leesons live south of the town of Los Gatos, on top of a mountain at 3500' elevation. Dean N6DE, Trey Garlough N5KO, and I all arrived a little before sunset.
I got to join the team at K5NA for a multi-operator, multi-transmitter contest effort in the 2003 CQ World Wide DX Contest, Phone. This is the first time I've operated in a multi-multi and the first time K5NA has done a multi-multi from his station in Texas. We had six radios, six amplifiers, and eleven operators.
In the summer of 2003, Jen W5JEN and I represented the state of Texas at the 2003 IARU Region II ARDF Championships held in the woods of the Cincinnati, Ohio area. Jen won gold in the 80 meter, D21 category!
This was the second year that K5TR operated in the ARRL June VHF QSO Party in the multi-limited class. We had an unbelievably great six meter opening on Saturday, and a really terribly day on six meters on Sunday.
Bryan Edwards W5KFT hosted a picnic get-together for ON4UN and members and family of the Central Texas DX & Contest Club at his family's cattle ranch, on the shores of Lake Buchanan, about 70 miles NW of Austin, TX. The ranch is also home to the W5KFT Ranch Station, a power-house contest station that is active year-round in all sorts of radio contests.
In the spring of 2002, Jen Sims W5JEN and I represented the state of Texas at the 2002 USA ARDF/Radio Orienteering Championships near Pine Mountain, Georgia.
In the winter and spring of 2002, I built a pair of FoxFinder 80 hand-held receivers for 80 meter ARDF. This project was extremely frustrating and difficult to build, and I would not recommend it to others.
Tom Whiteside N5TW has built a world-class contest station north of Austin, TX. He invited some members of the Central Texas DX and Contest Club (CTDXCC) to come out and operate in the 2002 ARRL International DX Contest, phone, as a Multiple Operator, Two Transmitter (M2) operation.
George Fremin III K5TR invited me to operate the ARRL 10 Meter Contest, phone only at his station in the hills west of town. This was the first time I had operated this contest, and I think I did pretty well. The station played really well.
Team N5TW was active again in the biggest DX contest of the year. The contest effort was planned at the last minute, but Tom managed to get both N5RZ and N5TR, two great operators to join the team, and compete in the Multi-Single class.
I went to the 11th annual W5 DX Bash, held at the W5KFT Ranch Station on the shore of Lake Buchanan, in Llano County, Texas. Attendance was down over previous years, but the weather was cool and sunny, and the lake was full this year!
The 2001 Austin Summerfest Amateur Radio convention was held at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Austin, TX. The University of Texas Amateur Radio Club had a table in the swapfest area this year.
I operated with the limited multi-operator team of W5KFT, K5TR, KD5JZV, and NE5RO at the W5KFT Ranch Station on the shore of Lake Buchanan, in Llano County, Texas. It was the worst year ever for propagation on 50 MHz, but nevertheless the contest was a lot of fun.
I was invited to guest operate the 2001 CQ World Wide DX Contest, Phone, at K5TR. George Fremin III K5TR lives near Johnson City, TX, about sixty kilometers due west of Austin, TX. This was a 10 meter single band effort, and was only part-time, as I had previous commitments Friday night and Sunday afternoon.
Tom Whiteside N5TW has built a world-class contest station north of Austin, TX. He invited some members of the Central Texas DX and Contest Club (CTDXCC) to come out and operate in the 2001 ARRL International DX Contest, phone, as a Multiple Operator, Two Transmitter (M2) operation. I spent the entire weekend at the station, operating over 30 hours.
N5CQ tries to cover all the angles and all the bands on a single tower with a stack of six Force 12 tribanders on Rohn 55G rotated with RTS components. As if this were not enough, John has recently added a second "multiplier" tower to his station.
I went to the 9th annual W5 DX Bash, held at the W5KFT Ranch Station on the shore of Lake Buchanan, in Llano County, Texas. Well over 100 of the top DXers in the south central United States were in attendance, and a good time was had by all.
I operated with the limited multi-operator team of W5KFT, K5TR, and N5RZ at the W5KFT Ranch Station on the shore of Lake Buchanan, in Llano County, Texas, grid locator EM00st. I was the main operator on 144MHz, but got to work stations on all of the bands.
George K5TR has moved into a new QTH in the hill country about eight miles due east of Johnson City, TX. He held a get-together for his friends in the Central Texas DX and Contest Club (CTDXCC) and the University of Texas Amateur Radio Club.
John N5CQ has built a world-class Amateur Radio DXing station in the hills west-southwest of Austin, TX. He invited some members of the Central Texas DX and Contest Club (CTDXCC) to come out and operate in the 1999 ARRL International DX Contest, phone, as a Multiple Operator, Single Transmitter (M/S) operation. I spent the entire weekend at the station.
I was invited to attend Jimmy Treybig W6JKV/5's annual barbecue this year. Most of the people in attendance are "big gun" enthusiasts on 50MHz or 144MHz or both. Many hold DXCC on one or the other band, and many are active on EME. While I had talked with him on the air and over the phone a few times, this was the first time I had met Jimmy in person, and the first time I had been to his new house in southwest Austin, TX (EM10.)
In the summer of 1998, I built a Super CMOS Keyer III keyer. I built it specifically for the VHF station at the University of Texas Amateur Radio Club station N5XU. It was designed specifically for use with up to as many as four radios. It runs off an external 4.5VDC power supply.
I had the privelege of operating the 1998 ARRL June VHF QSO Party with the Grid Pirates, K8GP. The operation took place near the summit of Spruce Knob, WV, FM08fq. Spruce Knob is a National Recreation Area, and is the highest point in the state of West Virginia. This was my first-ever VHF mountain-top contest experience.
These are photos that just do not fit into any other pictorial. They are mostly photos of friends' stations.