Certificate of Proficiency in Amateur Radio

"Amateur Digital Radio Operator's Certificate"

Kevin D. Hobbs - VE3KDH

March 31, 1989

March 1989 - December 1989

2m Allmode - Kenwood TR-751A

2m Yagi - CushCraft 215WB @ 50'

June 1989

First 144 MHz Meteor Scatter (MS) Contact

2m Amplifier - RF Concepts 170W

August 1989

First 144 MHz Aurora (AU) Contact

September 1989

Kenwood TR-751A

RF Concepts 170W

CushCraft 215WB @ 50'

January 1990 - August 1995

QTH Previously owned by VE3OZB

This is my old friend Malcolm doing a little antenna work for me. I told him that the mast would slip down inside the tower but he couldn't understand why someone would want to do it that way! Riggers!!!

Yaesu FT-736R

RF Concepts 170W

2 x CushCraft 4218XL @ 80' & 90'

Yaesu FT-736R

CushCraft 220B @ 30'

Yaesu FT-736R

RF Concepts 100W

CushCraft 424B @ 85'

Ice storm cut the contest short

Yaesu FT-736R

Mirage B3030G 250W

4 x CushCraft 4218XL @ 60' & 73'

Yaesu FT-736R

CushCraft 220B @ 67'

Yaesu FT-736R

MML 432/100 100W

CushCraft 424B @ 71'

Single Op 144 MHz QSO Leaders - 10^th

Single Op 144 MHz Multiplier Leaders - 10^th

144 & 220 Ontario Winner

Array of 4 x Cush Craft 4218XL antennas (no elevation) used to work my very first EME contacts. There is also a CC424B and a CC220B in the middle.

First 144 MHz EME Contact - W5UN

August 1990

August 4-5, 1990 : EN85, EN86, EN95, EN96

Yaesu FT-736R

Mirage B3030G 250W

4 x CushCraft 4218XL @ 60' & 73'

Yaesu FT-736R

CushCraft 220B @ 67'

Yaesu FT-736R

MML 432/100 100W

CushCraft 424B @ 71'

Single Op 144 MHz QSO Leaders - 10^th

Single Op 144 MHz Multiplier Leaders - 7^th

Single Op 220 MHz QSO Leaders - 6^th

Single Op 220 MHz Multiplier Leaders - 1^st

Single Op 432 MHz QSO Leaders - 6^th

Single Op 432 MHz Multiplier Leaders - 16^th

144 & 220 & 432 Ontario Winner

Certificate of Proficiency in Amateur Radio

"Advanced Amateur Radio Operator's Certificate"

Kevin D. Hobbs

September 18, 1990

Yaesu FT-736R

Mirage B3030G 300W

4 x CushCraft 4218XL @ 60' & 73'

Yaesu FT-736R

CushCraft 220B @ 67'

Yaesu FT-736R

MML 432/100 100W

CushCraft 424B @ 71'

Single Op 144 MHz Multiplier Leaders - 13^th

Single Op 220 MHz Multiplier Leaders - 11^th

Single Op 432 MHz Multiplier Leaders - 13^th

TailTwister destroyed by high winds!

February 28, 1991

Multi-operator 6^th

VE3ASO, VE3FN, VE3KDH, KA2RDO, W3EP, W9IP

Yaesu ... Always!

My matching Yaesu FT767GX and FT736R tranceivers ... It was a dream come true back then. I always have been a Yaesu man!

Yaesu FT-767GX (10W)

4 Element (mod CC A50-5) @ 65'

Yaesu FT-767GX (10W)

Dipole Vertical @ 68'

Yaesu FT-736R

Mirage B3030G 300W

16 Element (mod CC 4218XL) @ 81'

Yaesu FT-736R (25W)

CushCraft 220B @ 67'

Yaesu FT-736R (25W)

24 Element (mod CC 424B) @ 88'

Yaesu FT-736R (10W)

27 Element Loop Yagi @ 74'

Two electrical storms really hurt propagation.

Single Op 50 MHz QSO Leaders - 13^th

Single Op 144 MHz QSO Leaders - 13^th

Single Op 220 MHz Multiplier Leaders - 11^th

Single Op 432 MHz QSO Leaders - 11^th

Single Op 432 MHz Multiplier Leaders - 13^th

50 & 220 & 432 Ontario Winner

First rack mounted setup with HP9000 controller

Yaesu FT-767GX (10W)

4 Element (mod CC A50-5) @ 65'

Yaesu FT-767GX (10W)

Dipole Vertical @ 68'

Yaesu FT-736R

Mirage B3030G 300W

16 Element (mod CC 4218XL) @ 81'

Yaesu FT-736R (25W)

CushCraft 220B @ 67'

Yaesu FT-736R (25W)

24 Element (mod CC 424B) @ 88'

Yaesu FT-736R (10W)

27 Element Loop Yagi @ 74'

March 30, 1992

Yaesu FT-767GX

Mirage A1015G 150W

6 Element @ 73'

Yaesu FT-736R

Mirage B3030G 300W

16 Element @ 80'

Yaesu FT-736R

Mirage C3012G 120W

CushCraft 220B @ 84'

Yaesu FT-736R

Mirage D3010

24 Element @ 87'

Yaesu FT-767GX (10W)

Dipole Vertical @ 68'

Yaesu FT-736R

Mirage B3060G 600W

16 Element (mod CC 4218XL) @ 81'

Ice storm cut the contest short

4 x M² 2M12

I installed this array of 4 x M² 2M12. It performed quite well on TX, but the city noise made RX impossible. The only solution was going to be to move to a better location. Thanks to Mike Staal who helped me optimize these for use on my 40' wide city lot.

May 17, 1993

Limited Multi-operator 6^th 

W1AIM, VE3ASO, VE3DSQ, VE3FN, VE3KDH, VE3VD, W3EP, W9IP

Yaesu FT-1000D

Mirage driving 8877

4 x M2 2M12 @ 65'

Ice storm cut the contest short

• See May 1994 QST cover and pages 3, 12, 117, 118 for more details

• Category: Multioperator, Multiband, Commercial Equipment

• VE2DFO, VE3ASO, VE3BFM, VE3CRU, VE3DSS, VE3EMS, VE3KDH, VE3VD, W9IP

• Thanks to Tom Clark W3IWI who coached me through the archaic user interface to get this monster to track the moon!

Yaesu FT-1000D

SSB Electronics LT2S TVTR

Mirage B108 driving

Homebrew W6PO 8877

SSB Elec DX144 GaAsFET

4xM2 2M12 @ 75'

Noisy conditions and irate neighbors forced early end

Limited Multi-operator

VE3KDH (50), VE3RKK (144), VE3DSQ (222/432)

Yaesu FT-1000D

SSB Electronics LT2S TVTR

Mirage B108 driving

Homebrew W6PO 8877

SSB Elec DX144 GaAsFET

4xM2 2M12 @ 75'

See April 1995 QST pages 103,104 for more details

Category: Multioperator, 144MHz, Commercial Equipment

VA3LK, VA3MW, VE3ASO, VE3BFM, VE3CRU, VE3DSS, VE3KDH, VE3RKK, VE3VD, W9IP

Yaesu FT-1000D

SSB Electronics LT2S TVTR

Mirage B108 driving

Homebrew W6PO 8877

SSB Elec DX144 GaAsFET

4xM2 2M12 @ 75'

Only operated for a short time

• No station - preparing to move

TOTAL

See March 1996 QST pages 99,100 for more details

K2UYH, SM0DFP, VA3LK, VA3MW, VE3ASO, VE3LMK, VE3UXZ, W9IP

See May 1996 QST pages 117, 118 for more details

Category: Multioperator, Multiband, Commercial Equipment

SM0DFP, VE2HKI, VE3ASO, VE3BFM, VE3KDH, VE3LMK, VE3UXZ, VE3VD, W9IP

September 1995 - July 2003

Summer 1995 : Disassembled FN03ci station in preparation to move

September 1995 : Began assembly of new station FN03cl

Yaesu FT-1000D

SSB Electronics LT2S TVTR

Mirage B1016G

Homebrew W6PO 8877

M2 2M12 @ 50'

SSB Electronics LT33S (20W)

33 Element Loop Yagi @ 52'

SSB Electronics LT2S (10W)

45 Element Loop Yagi @ 52'

Yaesu FT-1000D

SSB Electronics LT6S TVTR

Mirage A1015G 150W

Homebrew W6PO 8877

Trylon Tower

• 72' Free Standing, 200' from the House
• Equipment Cabinet: NEMA4 (24"Wx30"Hx8"D) @ 40'

2M / 144MHz

• 4 x M^2 2M18XXX (18 Elements / 36'3" Boom)
• Array Center @ 50'
• Phasing Lines: Andrew LDF4-50A (1/2" Heliax Phasing Lines)
• Power Divider: M^2 2M 4 Port Power Divider
• Cabinet to Power Divider Jumper: Andrew FSJ-50B (1/2" Superflex Jumper)
• T/R Relay: Transco 11300 SPDT
• TX Feedline: Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 225'
• Preamp: SSB Electronics LNA 145 (MGF1302)
• RX Feedline: Amphenol RG-213 225'

• Azimuth Positioner: TIC 1032
• Elevation Positioner: Saginaw 24" Linear Actuator

6M / 50MHz & HF

• M^2 6M2WLC (9 Elements / 39'6" Boom)
• Cabinet to Antenna Jumper: Andrew FSJ-50B (1/2" Superflex Jumper)
• T/R Relay: Transco 11300 SPDT
• TX Feedline: Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 225'
• Preamp: DEM LNA (ATF10735)
• RX Feedline: Amphenol RG-213 225'

• 10/15/20 M Cush Craft D3 Rotatable Dipole
• 130' Wire Dipole
• Cabinet to Antenna Jumper: Andrew FSJ-50B (1/2" Superflex Jumper)

  Antenna Switch: Transco 14300 SP4T

• TX/RX Feedline: Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 225'

• Azimuth Positioner: Tail Twister T^2X

Trylon Tower

• 48' Free Standing, 30' from the House
• Equipment Cabinet: NEMA4 (20"Wx24"Hx8"D) @ 40'
• Azimuth Positioner: T^2 Tail Twister
• Elevation Positioner: Saginaw 18" Linear Actuator

1.25M / 222MHz

• M^2 222-7WL (23 Elements / 32'5" Boom)
• Cabinet to Antenna Jumper: Andrew FSJ-50B (1/2" Superflex Jumper)
• T/R Relay: Transco 11300 SPDT
• TX Feedline: Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 75'
• Preamp: DEM LNA (ATF21186)
• RX Feedline: Amphenol RG-213 75'

70CM / 432MHz

• 4 x M^2 432-13WLA (38 Elements / 30'8" Boom)
• Array Center @ 50'
• Phasing Lines: Andrew LDF4-50A (1/2" Heliax Phasing Lines)
• Power Divider: M^2 70CM 4 Port
• Cabinet to Power Divider Jumper: Andrew FSJ-50B (1/2" Superflex Jumper)
• T/R Relay: Transco 11300 SPDT
• TX Feedline: Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 75'
• Preamp: DEM LNA (ATF21136)
• RX Feedline: Amphenol RG-213 75'

33CM / 903MHz

• DEM Looper (33 Elements / 12' Boom)
• Cabinet to Antenna Jumper: Andrew FSJ-50B (1/2" Superflex Jumper)
• T/R Relay: Dynatech uW SPDT
• TX Feedline: Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 75'
• Preamp: DEM LNA (ATF10735)
• RX Feedline: Amphenol RG-213 75'

23CM / 1296MHz

• DEM Looper (45 Elements / 12' Boom)
• Cabinet to Antenna Jumper: Andrew FSJ-50B (1/2" Superflex Jumper)
• T/R Relay: Dynatech uW SPDT
• TX Feedline: Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 75'
• Preamp: DEM LNA (ATF10735)
• RX Feedline: Amphenol RG-213 75'

13CM / 2304MHz

• DEM Looper (52 Elements / 8' Boom)
• Cabinet to Antenna Jumper: Andrew FSJ-50B (1/2" Superflex Jumper)
• T/R Relay: Dynatech uW SPDT
• TX Feedline: Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 75'
• Preamp: LUA LNA (ATF36077)
• RX Feedline: Amphenol RG-213 75'

Yaesu FT-1000D

SSB Electronics LT6S TVTR

Mirage A1015G 150W

Homebrew W6PO 8877

DEM VHF LNA

M2 6M2WLC @ 80'

SSB Electronics LT2S TVTR

Mirage B2516G 160W

Homebrew W6PO 8877 Legal Limit

SSB Elec LNA145 GaAsFET

4xM2 2M12 @ 75'

SSB Electronics LT125S TVTR

Mirage C3012G 120W

SSB Electronics LT70S TVTR

Mirage D3010 100W

• I new things weren't going to go as planned when I hooked up my cables before the contest and heard a ping as a Bird line section was tightened onto the 7/8" Heliax connector. A leaf from the Heliax N female conn center pin had snapped! Rummaging for parts produced a peice for a temporary fix.
• Anyway, as the contest started I could immediately tell that either participation was low, or the low pressure front and rain was attenuating signals. By midnight on the first day, I had only completed 100 QSOs on 6 bands ... disgusting! Everyone that I talked to had also complained of lousy conditions. 903 and 1296 were impossible from here.
• Sunday morning I finally realized that 6M couldn't be as bad as I was experiencing. Up the tower and out with preamp revealed that a recent electrical storm had transformed my 20dB preamp into a 30dB attenuator ... explaining the fact that I could hear / work only a few stations (sorry to those I missed).
• Sunday's conditions were poor to reasonable with lots of activity in the evening. Spent too much time picking up missed contacts on 6M and retries on 903 and 1296.
• Very disaapointing to say the least. I was expecting a minimum of 100K ... Oh Well! Things can only get better! Next time out I should be able to add more power on 903 and 1296 as well as get my 2304 equipment on line.

50 MHz VUCC #847

October 31, 1996

IF Yaesu FT-1000D

2M SSB Electronics LT2S

8877 : Legal Limit

4 x M^2 2M18XXX @ 50'

• My first EME contest from home with a station that could actually hear (out of the city). It was a blast!
• Thanks to all who worked me, sorry for any that called who I couldn't hear!
• Conditions into Europe became excellent in the last hour of the contest.
• Missed a few real easy ones and I should have called CQ instead of just hunting.

Shack

The following is a description of the VE3KH fully automated Amateur Radio Station covering HF through 10GHz in FN03CL44MQ (Trimble Scoutmaster GPS - pretty fancy for that era). I have written a program to handle all aspects of station control in Rocky Mountain Basic running on a Hewlett Packard 9000/300 Series Work Station. I also use a PC to handle various other functions including logging, digital signal processing (DSP Blaster by K6STI and FFTDSP by AF9Y), and other administrative applications.

Cabinet 1	Cabinet 2	Cabinet 3	Cabinet 4	Cabinet 5
6M Amp 2M Amp 1.25M Amp 70CM Amp Variac HVPS	LT33S LT23S LT2S Bird-Meters Switching Filters Driver Amps LVPS HVPS	LT6S LT2S LT125S LT70S Monitor Bird-Meters Positioner Disk CPU	PDU Measurement Switching Sequencing Switching Monitor DSP FT-1000D PC LVPSs	Speakers Audio Video Printer

Yaesu FT-1000D

SSB Electronics LT6S TVTR

Mirage A1015G 150W

Homebrew W6PO 8877

DEM VHF LNA

M2 6M2WLC @ 80'

SSB Electronics LT2S TVTR

Mirage B2516G 160W

Homebrew W6PO 8877 Legal Limit

SSB Elec LNA145 GaAsFET

4xM2 2M12 @ 75'

SSB Electronics LT125S TVTR

Mirage C3012G 120W

SSB Electronics LT70S TVTR

Mirage D3010 100W

• Thanks to thank my wife for single handedly taking care of 1 month old Cameron so that I could play all weekend - she sacrificed for my selfishness!
• As in June, I blew the 6m tower GaAsFET almost instantly and had to make a trip up the tower 15 minutes into the contest. Just great for about the coldest day of the year. Hardest part of removing the preamp was opening the frozen cabinet door! Saturday night I got my first visit from the police at my new contest location. Apparently the Country Club that has property adjacent to mine was hosting a wedding / reception. As I understand it, they didn't really appreciate the entertainment from VE3KDH calling CQ on the DJs sound system. The officer said he couldn't / wouldn't ask me to stop transmitting, but I decided to lay low until 1:00AM local in an effort to keep the peace. This of course did not help my score.
• Tailtwisters are absolutely not useful as rotators! I have my 2m EME array on a TIC Ring Rotor and it always does what it is told. I have my 6m yagi on a tailtwister at the top of tower 1 and all my 222 and up yagis on a tailtwister on tower 2. Those pieces of junk are not accurate, sway 10 degrees in the wind, and require painful rocking to get the brake off most off the time. Both of my tailtwisters will most certainly be replaced with Orion rotors this spring.
• Band conditions were marginal to poor on Saturday. I managed to "create" some Es on 6m (9 elements / 8877 can actually do this!) around lunch on Sunday. There was also a little enhancement on 2m on Sunday evening for a little while to the East followed by a brief period to the West.
• EME conditions were not good on 2m on Saturday, but were better on Sunday. I only managed 4 contacts with grids exchanged. This caused a little problem also. I went back up the band and called CQ for a while and determined that 2m was closed. I went upstairs for a snack, looked out the window, and saw that some dummy forgot to reset the array elevation to the Horizon!
• My 1296 station, and to a lesser extent my 903 station (I had no expectations for 2304 !), certainly are the weak parts of my system. Too little reward for too much operating time. More power, more loop yagis, or a dish seems to be required for any success on these bands.
• Thanks to all who worked me and all who tried. I find it unlikely that I will seriously operate another one of these VHF tests anytime soon, I am growing weary of struggling to complete the same contacts every 4 months. Six meters is still a blast and I am really enjoying 2m EME (432 and 1296 soon hopefully), so, C U on 6 or off the moon!

2m EME 4 x 2MXP28

• Driven Elements Feed Detail Pic
• X-Brace, Power Divider, T/R Preamp Box Detail Pic
• Array Tilted Up, Front View Pic
• Array Tilted Up, Side View Pic
• 144 Foreground, 432 Background Pic
• Ready to go up Pic

Equipment Setup

Tower & AzEl

• Trylon Tower 72' Free Standing, 200' from the House
• Tower Equipment Cabinet: NEMA4 (24"Wx30"Hx8"D) @ 40'
• Azimuth Positioner: TIC 1032 @ 64'
• Elevation Positioner: Saginaw 24" Linear Actuator

  Array

• 4 x M^2 2M28XP (14 Elements "/", 14 Elements "\", 34' Boom), 14'6" Spacing
• Array Center @ 64'

  Yagis to X-Brace Equipment Cabinet

• Phasing Lines (8): Andrew FSJ4-50B (1/2" Superflex) 2.25 Wavelengths Max

  X-Brace Equipment Cabinet

• Power Dividers (2): M^2 2M 4 Port Power Divider
• Relays (2): Transco 11300 SPDT
• Preamps (2): SSB Electronics LNA 145 (MGF1302)
  

  X-Brace Equipment Cabinet to Tower Equipment Cabinet

• TX Jumpers (2): Andrew FSJ-50B 50' (1/2" Superflex Jumper)
• RX Jumpers (2): Amphenol RG-213 50'

  Tower Equipment Cabinet

• TX "/" or "\" Relay: Transco 11300 SPDT Tower Equipment Cabinet to Shack
• TX Feedline: Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 225'
• RX Feedlines (2): Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 225'

  Shack

• RX "/" or "\" Relay: Transco 11300 SPDT
• RX BPF: DCI 10 Pole Tunable Band Pass Filter 
  
• Transverter: SSB Electronics LT2S
  
• TX Amplifier: W6PO 8877
• TX Driver: Mirage B2516G
• IF: Yaesu FT-1000D
  
  
• DSP: K6STI DSP Blaster, AF9Y FFTDSP

IF Yaesu FT-1000D

2M SSB Electronics LT2S

8877 : Legal Limit

4 x M^2 2M28XP - 14 elements V & H @ 64'

• All aspects of this years station were completely new (untested / untried) which caused some problems.
• The new array configuration was not performing as well as I had hoped ... will be re-engineered for next year.
• Intermod from nearby pagers impaired my ability to hear near the horizons.
• Transverter TX oscillation troubles reduced my effort in the second weekend.

Tower & AzEl

• Trylon Tower 72' Free Standing, 200' from the House
• Tower Equipment Cabinet: NEMA4 (24"Wx30"Hx8"D) @ 40'
• Azimuth Positioner: TIC 1032 @ 48'
• Elevation Positioner: Saginaw 24" Linear Actuator
• Array Clamp: Rotary clamp lock mechanism from tower to top of frame to improve severe weather survivability.

  Array 6 x 2M28XP

  The 6 x M^2 2MXP28 array (3 high x 2 wide) has been fully operational since 8/14/98 and seems to be performing excellently. The design of my stacking frame is somewhat unconventional and was derived from my learning experience with XP antennas and their challenging feedline and mounting requirements. I constructed a scale model to evaluate my design and help in calculating required materials.

• 14 Elements "V", 14 Elements "H", 34'6" Boom
• 16' Spacing (3 high x 2 wide)
• Modeling courtesy Lionel Edwards - VE7BQH
  • Horizontal
    • 22.85dBd / 24.32 dB F/B
  • Vertical
    • 22.82 dBd / 24.6 dB F/B
• VE3KH working on the 6 x XP28 Array
• 6 x XP28 - Summer View
• 6 x XP28 - Fall View
• 6 x XP28 - Side View 1
• 6 x XP28 - Side View 2
• 6 x XP28 - Front View 1
• 2m Setup
• Array Center @ 48'
• CCD Camera
• Top od H-Frame to Tower Clamping Mechanism - Convenience and improved survivability in severe weather conditions.

  Yagis to Tower Equipment Cabinet

• Phasing Lines (12): 35' LMR 400
• Power Dividers (2): M^2 2M 6 Port Power Divider
• Jumpers (2): 20' Andrew FSJ-50B (1/2" Superflex Jumper)

  Tower Equipment Cabinet

• T/R Relays (2): Transco 11300 SPDT
• Preamps (2): Cavity Input MGF2430A
• TX V/H Relay: Transco 11300 SPDT

  Tower Equipment Cabinet to Shack

• TX Feedline: Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 225'
• RX Feedlines (2): Andrew LDF5-50A (7/8" Heliax) 225'
• Misc: Control lines, video, etc

  Shack

• RX BPFs (2): DCI 10 Pole Tunable Band Pass Filter
• RX 2nd stage preamps (2): DEM VHFLNA
• RX "/" or "\" Relay: Transco 11300 SPDT
• Transverter: SSB Electronics LT2S * Modified RX - directly into Mixer
• TX Amplifier: W6PO 8877
• TX Driver: Mirage B2516G
• IF: Yaesu FT-1000D modified for tracking dual RX
• DSP: K6STI DSP Blaster, AF9Y FFTDSP

HF

Antenna Array of 6 - M^2 2MXP28 (14V & 14H)

TX Final Amplifier Homebrew 8877 - W6PO Design - Legal Limit

TX Driver Amplifier Mirage B2516G

Upconverter 28MHz - 144 MHz LT2S TX

Receive Chain - Stage 1 RX Amplifier 1 : Cavity Input - Fujitsu FLC-053 - WD5AGO built

Receive Chain - Stage 2 Bandpass Filter : DCI 10 pole BPF

Downconverter 144 MHz - 28 MHz LT2S RX

IF Yaesu FT-1000D

DSP FFTDSP - spotting, DSP Blaster AF processing

• Not much to complain about, things worked well.
• A few control computer crashes slowed me down a little.
• Other engagements reduced total operating time.