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Thursday, June 06, 2013

9M2PJU CW QSO With Roger W6LAX From Los Angeles





Roger Barkley, W6LAX, operates from the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles.

In 1960 I was licensed as WA6OTC. In the early days, I converted war surplus gear and built my own equipment, and I still enjoy some kit building.

I run a K-3/100 and a P-3 panadapter - fantastic radio! I recently added a beautiful K8RA P-6 brass paddle - a heavy, smooth key that is a really nice piece of craftsmanship.

My most recent addition to the shack is an Alpha 8410, which is as good as it gets for a manual tune linear.

In 2007 I replaced my two Force-12 yagis (that one afternoon just dropped off the tower!) with a SteppIR 3-element with 30/40 meter option @ 63 feet. This is a great antenna. I'd have gotten a larger version, but we live in a very windy area and so I was pleased to reduce the windload.

When I was 14, a friend and I set the world's record for the world's longest QSO: 78-3/4 hours - 90% of it on CW. (Okay, it was a dumb teenager stunt - but, hey, it was a "world's record!")

I have worked 330 of the active DXCC countries.

Then when I was 44, I left my corporate career and entered seminary, graduating in 1994 to become lead pastor of the Congregational Church of Northridge. I have yet to convince the Board of Trustees to put a three-band Quad on top of the church's 100-foot steeple.

YouTube video of my station (shot with my smart phone)

A former bicycle racer, I still enjoy cycling -- nowadays on a recumbent bicycle that you can see at Bacchetta Bicycles These are fast, aerodynamic, comfortable bicycles that are quickly becoming the choice of endurance riders.

Below, my very first contact after building a K-1 was breaking a pile-up for a D44 station; with wires hanging out the top as I tested to see if it would transmit I got the D44 with just 3-watts! The picture below shows it operating portable on the edge of a 100' cliff, which enhanced the performance of my homebrew "Buddipole". (I have an Elecraft K2/100 with Timewave -599zx as a back-up rig. Can you tell I like Elecraft?)

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