KA1MDA QSL PAGE

Probably one of my favorite cards, especially now that the MIR station is no more. Worked them using an Icom IC-290H mobile multimode rig, Mirage 160W brick, and a Cushcraft 214B. I pointed the antenna at the point where MIR was scheduled to disappear beyond the horizon, and waited for the orbit to pass thru the antenna's beam width. When I worked them, they were well off the coast of Mass over the Atlantic. I was still using a Commodore 64 for MIR and STS tracking back then! Click on the QSL card to see some SLOW SCAN TV pictures from MIR!

 

This contact was a real thrill! 10 meters was really quiet, so I called CQ one evening on my Kenwood TS520S feeding a new home-made 80 meter inverted vee thru a tuner and these guys came back on the first call. The big thrill was that my parents had immigrated to the United States aboard the Queen Mary about 35 years earlier! They were as excited to hear I worked the Queen Mary as I was making the contact! Click on the QSL card to learn more about the RMS Queen Mary.

 

My first solo CW QSO as a novice. I was using a Heathkit HW-8 QRP rig that my elmer Philip, WA1CTQ had loaned me. The antenna was a dipole, stapled in a zig-zag fasion to the rafters inside the attic. The RF bridged all of 3 miles....but for all the excitement (well, maybe panic is a better description) it may as well been DX!

 

My first real DX contact as a Tech. I was using a Kenwood TS520S and a Dentron Supertuner feeding a home-brew 80 meter inverted vee. For some reason the 80 meter vee did really well on 10 meters. Probably sheer coincidence caused a few minor lobes to line up in the right directions. I was tuning across 10 meters and heard a big pile-up. Threw my call in just for kicks to see if anyone could hear me, and I got through on the second or third try! As for DXing, I had no idea what I was doing, but it sure was fun to find out where this guy was after I worked him!

 

What started it all- my first SWL QSL card. I was probably in the 4th or 5th grade, using an ancient Hallicrafters 5 tube AC/DC AM/Short-Wave portable radio that I "rescued" from some trash bin. The antenna consisted of about 15 feet of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil thumb-tacked along 2 adjoining walls in my bedroom. I have lots of fond memories of exploring short wave with that old radio during winter nights. Alas, the radio finally smoked itself beyond repair, but it's what sparked my interested in ham radio!

 

My first (and so far only) QSL card. You can tell that Heathkit HW-8 really made an impression! The card was hand-drawn (this was pre-Commodore64) on poster board, and then reduced down to 10-20% of its original size on a copy machine. The QSL information is filled into the blank spots on the radio controls.

 

The next 3 QSL cards are proof-of-concept experiments for a new card. Now that computers, scanners, and even digital cameras and have gotten so affordable, and color inkjet printers continue to rise in resolution and drop in price, home-made QSL cards can rival the commercial stuff! This is one of my new QSL card ideas. Here I am, in the late 80's, calling CQ on 220Mhz FM from atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire on a very foggy day. Click on the QSL card to go to the Mt. Washingtom summit cam!

 

Another QSL idea, also from the top of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, but on a much nicer day. An early 90's vintage photo of me trying to work some DX through AO-21 on 435Mhz FM using an Icom IC-W2AT dual band HT and a 30W brick feeding a Larson mag-mount. The huge white thing in my lap is what was called a "laptop computer" in the late 80's. It's a Zenith Z-183: 10 Mb hard drive, 640K RAM, 8088 processor @ 8MHz, 4-shade mono CGA display, and an internal 1200 baud modem! I bought it used at the Hosstraders flea market for $350, and it was a steal at the time. In the photo, I'm using it to track AO-21 using STS-Orbit. Click on the QSL card to go to the Mt. Washingtom summit cam!

 

Another idea for a QSL card. This one features an aerial view of my QTH taken by me with Bob, KA1QFE flying the plane. As you can see, I am lucky enough to be located in an area where RFI and TVI isn't too much of a concern for me. The QTH is about 450 feet above sea level. There is a 30 foot tower next to the house, with temporary antennas (Ringo Ranger for VHF, B&W folded dipole for HF), although it's difficult to see in the image. Final design calls for guy anchors, another 20 feet of tower, and a 6 element Hygain for 6 meters, a 17 element KLM for 2 meters, in addition to current antennas. Click on the QSL card to see a larger view!