Radios

For ham work at my home QTH, I generally am using the following

Transceiver

I use an Elecraft K3-S. I treated myself to this radio several year ago, and I still am quite thrilled by it's performance.

The K3-S, is not heavily loaded with extras, I now regret not having bought the second receiver, and the XDVR voice module. But the filters are excellent for CW (my main operating mode) - I find it easy to use - and most of all it id dependable.

In addition to the K3-S, I have most of what is commonly referred to as the 'K-Line'.

Amplifier

I use a KPA500. This amp has been faultless since I have owned it. I generally drive it with 15W of power, and it produces approx 375-400W.

I see little value in pushing it any harder.

The only consideration you may have is in an RTTY contest; Due to the duty cycle, I need to turn up the fan speed from 4, to 5. This is a little noisy, but it is bearable.

ATU/Antenna switch.

I have the KAT500, again 100% reliable, and easy to use.

Should you have the luxury of multiple antenna's - for your operating frequency, then being able to quickly switch between say the Beverage and the Yagi ... is a great facility.

So facilitate this quicker and easier, I wrote some utilities for this - which you should find in the SW section of this site.

P3 Panadapter

As the K3S outputs I/Q data, this piece of hardware allow me to see the band spectrum in real time.

Now I fully understand that this is a common feature on very modern radios (7300, DX101, TS990 etc) but for me it is an extra piece of equipment.

Sadly I feel Elecraft could have made the I/Q format more useable, i.e. allow it to feed a skimmer also;

Morse Keys

I have two Keys that are wired into my K3-S. A bencher, and a GHD Telegraph.

Note the blue-tack so they do not wonder around

Why two you may ask ?

One is connected via a WinKeyer - so I can vary its speed electronically through a contest/logging program. The other is connected directly to the radio, and so its speed is controlled via the Speed knob.

I usually send around 26 wpm, and if a station is having trouble copying me - then I will send manually at 22 wpm (or less).

Headphone & Mic

I have a Heil Proset - with a foot switch. I have not changed anything with it; It just works.

QRP /P equipment

I like taking a QRP with me when I go travelling on the motorbike.

This is me at home during a power-cut

Transceiver

I use an Elecraft KX3. It is a very capable rig; And operates in a very similar manner to the K3-S, which makes switching between them quite easy.

Morse key

I have two, a Japanese portable keyer from GHD, which connects via a jack, and the KX3 standrd key.

Antenna

At the moment I am using a Magnetic loop made by Alpha Loop. Like all Mag loops they have a very low bandwidth, but it all packs into 1 pannier on my motorbike.

Headphones

I personally do not like the small speaker on the KX3, so a cheap pair of 'walkman' type headphones works well.

I have never done voice using the KX3 - so the Mic is still in the original box !