N0PCL Radio Station Plans

Greetings, all.

So, the N0PCL radio station has been QRT for almost a year.  A number of changes have occurred in my life which necessitated this, though not all of them are bad.  The biggest influence is mainly that I was accepted into a very demanding educational program with the Marines, and consequently I made the choice to stop operating.

When I complete this educational program is nearing completion next June, I've found that I'll be posted to a unit in eastern North Carolina.  I anticipate that my station will be back on the air when I move there.

This move will present an opportunity to put my station back on the air, and to also make some upgrades to it.  Here are a few of my aspirations:

• The first priority is to get my HF/6 meter station back on the air.  It is still built around an Elecraft K3S, and I'll likely string some wire antennas around whatever property I decide to live at.  I hope to be operational on 80-6 meters, all modes with this.
• Though HF operation is more or less the core of what most non-beginner operators do in the hobby, my interests have been moving toward VHF and UHF.  I'm not sure why--perhaps it's the low sunspot numbers that make HF less satisfying, or maybe the magic of doing non-line-of-sight communication on supposedly line-of-sight-only frequencies.  So, I'm going to try to build a decent amount of VHF and UHF functionality into my home station.  I think the centerpiece of this effort will be an Icom IC-9700, rigged to basically do weak signal work.  That will cover 2 meters, 70cm, and 23cm.  To cover 1.25 meters and 33cm, I'll need to get some transverters.  I'll likely use the K3S as the IF for those transverters.  I don't anticipate using high power with this setup.  I'll just see what barefoot VHF and UHF gets me.
• I also have a strange fascination with FM simplex work, so I've been accruing a stack of FM transceivers to cover various bands where there's FM activity.  The overall intent is to build a small stack of FM radios to monitor the calling frequencies and scan the simplex frequencies of the various FM bands in the hopes of occasionally picking up local traffic, taking advantage of occasional E-Skip and tropo-related propagation that can happen in coastal areas.  I intend on covering all bands from 10 meters through 23 cm, covering FM.  So far I've acquired the following radios:  Alinco DR-06 (for 6 meters), the Yaesu FT-2900 (for 2), the Alinco DR-235 (for 1.25 meters), and the Kenwood TK-981 (for 33cm).  I'm on the lookout for an Alinco DR-03 (for 10), an Alinco DR-435 (for 70cm), and another radio for 23cm (parhaps an Icom ID-1?).  For the right price I'll swap out the Yaesu FT-2900 for an Alinco DR-135, in order to make the stack as close to an Alinco stack as possible (to simplify operations).  Sometimes making an FM contact is a lot of fun.  I know that a lot of serious VHF and UHF operators may frown on such activity, but whatever.  I really enjoyed making low power FM contacts with various HTs while doing SOTA activations.  It will be fun to make similar contacts, however rare, from a home station.
• I want to get my APRS Digipeater/iGate back on the air.
• I do enjoy portable operations.  My portable equipment still is built around a couple Yaesu FT-817NDs, the LDG-Z817 autotuner, a number of wire antennas, a paddle, and some HTs:  The Yaesu VX-8DR, the Alinco DJ-G7T and the Alinco DJ-G29T.  I also have an Elk Antenna for OSCAR work and weak signal 2m/70cm work, an Arrow 6 meter dipole, and a couple of whip antennas.  Add in the RigBlaster Advantage and a laptop computer, and this station is capable of working 80 meters through 6 meters, all modes, 2 meters & 70cm all modes, plus 1.25 meters, 33cm, and 23cm FM.  Who knows?  I may take this to a mountain peak in NC and work a VHF contest with a QRP entry!

I will do write-ups on much of the above, particularly the rebuild of much of my station, plus emphasis on the following:

• The rebuild of the HF station
• The APRS digipeater/iGate
• Kenwood TK-981 (this is a land mobile service radio that can work in the 33cm band, and these radios are very inexpensive on the used market!)  If one is interested on getting their feet wet on the 33cm band, this is a great, low-cost way to get started.
• The "FM Stack."
• The IC-9700 weak signal station
• I'm also intending on installing a basic 2 meter FM radio into my 2011 Jeep Wrangler JK, because why not.  So I'll do a write-up of that.

So, those are the goals.  I really, really look forward to getting back on the air.

73.