K9ZW Station Evolution – The Direction K9ZW is Heading

That questions would come my way on what I was doing after hams read the extensive list of excess equipment I’m selling off was expected.  That the questions would start within hours of posting the list of gear for sale wasn’t expected though!

Both my Home QTH and Island QTH stations are becoming FlexRadio focused.  I’ve not used the backup radios (TenTecs) in a long time, and have rarely used the vintage stations.

I’m also actually in the final stages of completing a third station at my workplace, and of course with the Home QTH house move the Home QTH Station is at the starting stages of being redesigned & rebuilt at the new location.

Going forward, each of the three stations will have a Flex-6000 and a local computer.

Presently I have four Flex-6000s – two 6700s, a 6600M and a 6300.  Work QTH will get the 6300 and must likely each of the other stations will get a 6700.  The 6600M will be a hot-swap backup radio, and will fill much of need for a transportable HF rig.

Island and Home QTH’s will have FlexRadio PowerGenius XL amplifiers, AntennaGenius antenna switches, RotorGenius rotor control of AlphaSpid Rotators, Studio-Grade Microphones with Behringer amps, Radiosport Headsets, and roughly similar antenna arrays.

The Work QTH station is not getting an amp and will be limited to a HF vertical antenna only.

As the present Vintage Collins Stations are simply are not being used, they are on the block.  When both sell I will be looking to replace them with a single “very mint” station of a TBD configuration.  Basically I don’t have shack space for gear I can’t make time more than a few times each year to operate.

The TenTec units once were my mainstay, as they have excellent RX and decent TX, are light and robust.  But unused since buying the Flex-6000 transceivers, again how many extra radios can a guy have?

The Alpha-9500s are being replaced with FlexRadio PowerGenius XLs.  The Alphas are awesome amps by any measure, and I’m not 100% certain I should even be letting them go – especially as they are in short supply at the moment.  But again I don’t have the room to store them.

I’ve really enjoyed the PowerGenius XL I have had since being able to buy one as an Alpha Tester very early in the production.  I have a second PGXL I ordered I deferred delivery to let somebody else have an Alpha Tester opportunity, though I hope to get that unit this Spring.  Eventually I expect to order a backup third PGXL at some stage.

So I’m standardizing equipment between QTHs, rationalizing any extras, and cutting back the excess.

End result is to spend more time on the air of course!

73

Steve
K9ZW

Excess Gear for Sale – November 2018

I’ve not been very good about getting rid of excess gear, and I’m overdue clearing several excess rigs & bits from my shack.  This gear really should find a new home:

• TenTec 1253 Shortwave Receiver – Built from Kit by an SK, looks unused – $75 plus shipping
• QRO King 6 meter full Kilowatt Amp built on a Heath SB221.  I lack the room for this outstanding amp in the shack.  – $1200 plus shipping.
• ATS 909 SW Receiver – Like New – $150 plus shipping
• W2IHY 8 Band Audio Equalizer/Noise Gate and EQplus set with Ten-Tec Cables – $600 plus shipping
• W2IHY 8 Band Audio Equalizer/Noise Gate and EQplus set with Flex-6000/Yaesu Cables – $600 plus shipping
• TWO NEW 4o3a Antenna Genius 8×2 Antenna Switches, SO-239 connectors.  I had ordered N-Connectors and the replacements arrived before I used these in the field. $650/each plus shipping (I’ll pick up shipping if someone takes both of these).
• TenTec Pegasus Transceiver – Excellent NOS Like New Condition – Purchased as NOS and only Tested on air – original box, manuals and disks. Includes a 302 remote tuning pod. (This Pegasus does not have the internal AT, but is like new) $500 plus shipping [Had been retained as a Back-up]
• TenTec Jupiter, original version but black case, updated firmware, includes an uninstalled Internal Antenna Tuner kit, $700 plus shipping
• TenTec Jupiter, original version grey case, with factory installed Internal Antenna Tuner, $700 plus shipping
• TenTec Jupiter original version grey case, no Antenna Tuner, $500 plus shipping
• Alpha-9500 Amplifier, second version, low hours, has been retained as my back-up Alpha-9500, picked up or price plus shipping $5800
• Alpha-9500 Amplifier, second version, also low hours, has used as a back-up to a FlexRadio PowerGenius, picked up or price plus shipping $5800
• Collins KWM-2A station, including 30L-1 Amplifier, 312B-5 Remote VFO, Collins Power Supply, second Collins portable power supply (the one that goes on the back of the KWM-2A, and D-104 microphone, with interconnect cables  – this is my Island QTH Collins station – $2200 plus shipping
• Collins S-Line station, including 75S-1, 32S-1 ( the receiver/transmitter pair), 30L-1 Amplifier, 312B-4 Remote VFO, Collins Power Supply, Digital VFO (uninstalled, see ads in Electric Radio magazine), Speech Processor (uninstalled), and Collins SM-1 microphone with interconnect cables  – this is my home QTH Collins station, unused since gathered from known working components – $2200 plus shipping
• Palstar AT-Auto Antenna Tuner – unmolested original, modest hours, updated firmware, $800 plus shipping
• Palstar Kessler AT-Auto Antenna Tuner, withe most Kessler mods installed by Kessler, unused since upgrade, $900 plus shipping
• Murch UT-2000 Antenna Tuner(s) – I may have two of these in storage, but for sure have one left.  Working except usually meter problems.  $250 each plus shipping, or $500 for the pair shipped.

Contact me for more details. You can find lots of information on these tuners & radios, including photos, at eHam, the manufacturer’s websites and by google.

I’ll leave these posted here for a couple weeks or so before putting out eHam & QTH ads.

73

Steve
K9ZW

Moving stuff – including station move planning

One dreads moving.

One really dreads moving their Amateur Radio station.

Even knowing the end result will be a much better station, the logistics are daunting.

My move involves taking down a couple Log Periodic Antennas, and the tower, then removing feed lines, control cables, moving the actual shack gear and spares, moving a spare tower (Skyneedle) that will end up at the new QTH, moving all the other accumulated ham gear and spare antennas, then getting things set up again.

Thinking that for this winter I may revert to a vertical and a dipole, leaving tower erection to next spring.

That will give me enough time to properly develop the station plan and do things less rushed.

May be a challenge to operate this way in poor band conditions, but such is life.

One dreads moving…..

73

Steve
K9ZW