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Amateur Radio Station
                             NØGZ          

Ken Kaplan
West Des Moines, Iowa
Polk County     Grid EN31dn

Updated July 12, 2009

Welcome to the NØGZ web site!  Here you will find info about me, my station, and some information you might find useful.


The N0GZ station is now all digital and fully automatic based on the Flex 5000 software defined radio.  Clicking one VHF-UHF band select button on the Flex's PowerSDR screen causes fully automatic switching of the proper antenna, transverter, power amplifier, and mast-mounted preamp.  The PC screen also has windows for rotator control and power/SWR monitoring.  Logging and digital mode programs communicate with PowerSDR internally within the shack computer - there are no analog or other external interfaces.


VHF/UHF Operations and Equipment

Even though these are my favorite bands I'm a "little gun" because I have no tower.  This is my biggest limitation.   I use roof mounted, relatively short boom yagis. This is partially compensated by having a 2 story house on a hilltop QTH overlooking the scenic Raccoon River Valley, with steep drop-offs over 100 ft. to the west through north.  It would be nice to get over the big trees to the east and south, though.  To compensate I rely on cunning (like keeping a close eye on the Internet for Es and tropo openings) and skill (by squeezing every last dB out of the antennas and feedlines).  

For reference, on 2 meters I can work out about 350 miles in any direction most of the time on tropo scatter without band enhancement.  My furthest contact so far on 2M was grid FM57 (Maine), about  1400 m./2000 km.  My best DX on 6 meters was Japan.

I run CW and SSB on the 50, 144,  222,  432, 903, and 1296 MHz. bands

VHF/UHF Grids and States Worked By Band
(as of July, 2009)

Band Grids States
50 403 50  (+21 countries)
144 137 38
222 34 11
432 29 11
902 6 3
1296 12 3

 
 shack1



UHF/VHF Equipment
Band Radio(s)* Amplifier Antenna Mast Preamp Feedline
50 Flex 5000A Converted Ameritron AL-80 (3-500ZG tube), 750W M2 6M5X, 5 elements at 35 ft.  -- 75' LMR-600
50 Flex 5000A 2nd RX (omni system)  -- Two homebrews loops vertical stack at 40 ft  -- 50' LMR-400
144 Elecraft XV-144 transverter Homebrew VK4DD design solid state 600W Two M2 2M9SSB, 9 elements, vertical stack at 40 ft. ARR P144VDG 50' LMR-600
144  Icom 910H (omni system)  -- Two M2 2M HO loops vertical stack at 40 ft Icom AG-25 50' LMR-400
222 Elecraft XV-222 transverter Converted Milcom commercial amp, solid state, 200W M2 222-10, 10 elements at 37 ft. DEMI VHF-LNA 75' LMR-600
432 Elecraft XV-432 transverter TE Systems 4452G, solid state, 175W M2 440-21ATV, 21 elements at 40 ft. DEMI VHF-LNA 75' 7/8" Heliax
902 DEMI 902-28 transverter Converted Motorola cellular amp, solid state, 90W M2 902-17, 17 elements at 40 ft. DEMI 33-LNA 50' LMR-600
1296 Icom 910H Homebrew DL2AM-type, solid state, 80W M2 23CM35, 35 elements at 45ft. DEMI 23-LNA 50' 7/8" Heliax
    * Flex 5000A is the IF rig for all bands
 
 
 
The rooftop VHF/UHF antenna array.  On the right, stacked 50, 220, and 432 yagis on top of a Yaesu G-450A rotor.  In the center are two stacked 144 antennas (9' separation) with 1296 in between, on a Yaesu G-800DXA rotor.  On the left is two each stacked loops for 2M and 6M plus a discone for broadband omnidirectional monitoring.  The peak of the roof is about 25 ft. above the ground.  Since this photo was taken, the mast holding the 2M and 1296 yagi has been rearranged with the 1296 antenna now on top and upgraded with a 5' Glenn Martin rooftop mini-tower.

 

HF Operations and Equipment

I work all HF bands, but prefer 17 and 20M SSB and 40 CW.  I occasionally run PSK31 on whatever bands are open.  My main rig is the Flex 5000A.  An Icom 756 Pro II serves as a backup/standby rig.

There are two HF antennas.  First is the classic 135' ladder line fed doublet up about 40' in the trees.   The other is a Gap Titan vertical dipole.  Gap claims it covers 80M - 10M.  My experience has been that works OK on 40M  through 10M, but it's a dummy load on 80M.    I know some people don't like multiband verticals, however I have found the GAP to be  a decent DX antenna on the bands it likes, especially 20 -10M.

I have an Ameritron ALS-600 solid state amp which does 500-700W, depending on the band.