Biography

The Flex 6500 is my primary station. You will most likely hear me on CW as this is my preferred mode and sometimes SSB. When 6 Meters is open you can be sure that I am lurking around there somewhere and even hear me on MSK144 & FT8.

I am a member of the Smith Chart Radio Society as well as the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society here in north central North Carolina.

My main 6 Meter AM Station consists of a Clegg Zeus transmitter and a Clegg Interceptor as the receiver. A Clegg Venus and Clegg Apollo amplifier are used for SSB and CW as well as the Flex-6500. I also use a Lafayette HA-460 (1967 vintage) and a Utica 650 (1964 vintage) as well as a Lafayette HE-45A for 6 meter AM. Here in north central North Carolina we are starting to see a lot of 6 meter AM activity using both new and old technologies.

I also restore antique radios from the 1930's through the 1940's. I also restore 1950's through 1970's 6 meter tranceivers, transmitters and receivers. Mostly Clegg, Ameco, Lafayette and Utica tranceivers.

I am also a Private Pilot and love to fly.

There is a 6 meter AM net here in Raleigh on Monday evenings at 1900 eastern on 50.400 MHz. This is a great informal net with local hams from around the area. Most of the folks checking in are using older AM equipment such as the Lafayette HA-460's and the Utica 650's as well Clegg and modern day equipment. If you should happen to hear us please feel free to check-in and say hello.

The Flex-6500 is the newest radio in the shack and was purchased in November of 2013. This is one great radio, yea. It does not have any knobs, but who needs them you would be surprised how fast you get used to using the mouse. Those who have not tried Software Defined radio (SDR) are missing out on something very big and exciting, this is the future of Ham Radio. The RFSpace SDR-IQ is the radio that enticed my interest in SDR; hence the reason I purchased the Flex-5000A in 2009 which was sold when my new Flex 6500 arrived. If you ever get a chance to sit down and play with a Flex Radio you will want one without exception. The receiver and its available software defined filtering is something to be heard. The new version of SmartSDR from Flex Radio has the ability to utilize tunable notch filters which are totally amazing. Transmit audio is another feature of this radio that is unsurpassed.

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Equipment Here In North Carolina:

Flex 6500
Hammarlund HQ-170A-VHF Receiver (Re-Built)
Lafayette HA-460 (Re-built) for 6 meter AM
Lafayette HE-45A (Re-built) for 6 meter AM
Utica 650 (Re-built) for 6 meter AM
Alpha 8410 HF amplifier
Clegg Apollo 6 Meter Amplifier 675 Watt Input (Re-Built)
Clegg Venus 6 Meter Tranceiver (Re-Built)
Clegg Interceptor 2 and 6 Meter Receiver (Re-Built)
Clegg Zeus 2 and 6 Meter Transmitter (Re-Built)
SDRPlay2 SDR Receiver (Replaced the SRD-IQ)
Yaesu FT-7800 and FT-7900 2M/70CM tranceivers in both my cars and in the shack
TYT TH-9000 220 MHz Transceivers one in my in my car and one in my shack

GPDSO using the Trimble Thunderbolt GPS which is used on the Flex 6500 as a 10 MHz Frequency reference as well as equipment on my test bench
A pair of KK1L SOR2, 2 Radio 6-port Antenna Switch's (Homebrew) The best antenna switch around
Russian CT599 paddles are in use here in the shack, love these paddles.
TelePost LP-100A Wattmeter with 2-Radio Couplers (Kit Built)
TelePost LP-500 Digital Station Monitor with 2-Radio Couplers
AZ/El antenna controller (Home Brew)



Antennas:



Force 12 Delta Series, 6BA HF Yagi 40-20-17-15-12-10, 24' boom
Force 12 Low Noise, LFA Yagi, LFA-1402,14 elements 144 MHz, 29.5' boom
Force 12 Low Noise ,LFA Yagi, LFA-706, 7 elements 50 MHz, 29.5' boom
PAR Omni Angle X2 Stacked
Interrupted Loop for 6 Meters
Comet 2M/70CM Meter vertical mounted on the top of the tower
Bozak 2M Meter vertical
Bozak 220 MHz vertical
80 Meter Bazooka
40 Meter Bazooka
30 Meter Bazooka