HF Station on the Air

Today, I completed assembly of my portable HF station and put it on the air.  

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 Over the past year, I have been in the process of purchasing the equipment and materials needed to put the station together.  I purchased an Icom IC-706MKIIG HF radio, LDG AT-100Pro Auto Antenna Tuner, microHam USB Digi keyer interface, DC Power Supply,  Apple iBook G4 laptop, MacDXLogger software and a Comet CHA-250Bx vertical antenna.  As well as the wood, cables, screws, brackets, pole, bucket, and concrete needed to complete the project.
 


Then, I worked to design, and build a shelf like stand which holds all of the equipment neatly together so that it would be portable.  The wood pieces were cut out, sanded, stained, and screwed together with screws to assemble the shelf.  The radio was mounted to the top of the shelf using the mobile mounting bracket.  I found a spare mobile mounting bracket that worked for mounting the antenna tuner next to the radio.  The power supply and interface are mounted to the bottom of the shelf by screwing their lids to the shelf and running the cables through a hole in the bottom of the shelf.

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The last part was assembly, and installation of the antenna system.  I assembled the antenna per the manufacturer’s directions on the ground.  The antenna was attached to a longer section of pipe which, when installed, puts the antenna at 13 feet.  For the base, I used a bucket with a short section of pipe mounted into concrete.  Then, the antenna & long pipe section were hoisted up and slid into place on the short pipe section in the base.   The pipe is attached to the porch cover for stability.  All that remained was routing the coax cable, and installing a ground rod for my station.  I was on the air a few minutes later and made a contact to the state of Virginia.
                   -- Peter (KB5HPL)

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Made possible by the Pioneer Design Group