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    WEBSITE OF  AMATEUR  RADIO  STATION    .  K A 5 I A N                 

     Louis Rabalais, Op., El Dorado, Arkansas, Union County, U.S.A. . ka5ian@zoomshare.com    

  LAT:    33.218N  or  33d13m  4s N -  LONG:  92.679W  or 92d  40m  44 SW - GRID:  EM  33 pf   -   GMT - 6

    It's not fancy; tucked in a dressing room off of an upstairs bedroom, but a private space.

    On the top shelf the first black box is a Collins AN-ART-13 transmitter operating on CW only because the modulation transformer was missing when it was acquired. A bread board power supply constructed 30 odd years ago from the junk box got it on the air.  It worked, and actually didn't look too bad for a 19" X 25" breadboard, however it weighed a ton, so that the new supply is in two sections for the sake of the back.  The low voltage/autotune supply can barely be seen in the top section of the far base cabinet, the one with an aluminum panel. A high voltage supply is in a tall rack, which cannot be seen, just to the left of the operating desk.  The next, smaller black box is a BC-348R operating with tubes, but it also has a set of "tubes" built on tube bases, all solid-state.  The oscillator/mixer module needs more buffer but the reversable solid-state modification improves the receiver.  Next is the Kenwood 520 VFO and 520S tranceiver. A pair of Heathkit Indians occupies the second shelf.  The receiver is unmodified and the transmitter has a drift/harmonic problem with the tube oscillator so a solid state VFO/buffer is in the place of the tube and a transistor keys the rig for a more harmonious note.  Behind the microphone is a homebrew roller inductor antenna coupler. Hiding in the nook beyond the coupler is a Heath HW-22 for 40 meter sideband, but it has been slightly modified for CW also.

    Since the picture was taken and the website started, an upcoming move to Louisiana has seen everything except the Kenwood being boxed or being given a new home.

                                                      History

    The operator's interest in ham radio began in the sixth grade from reading a book in the school library, "The Wireless Man" written, as recalled about 1914 or so.  (It was an old school)  To a sixth grader unaware of technical progress, it never occured that the information was out of date, so in the eighth grade a friend and I began code practice with our "ham" radios consisting of neon transformers and a spark gap connected to an antenna and ground!  We were unaware of licensing rquirements and such, after all they were not mentioned in the book. A ham career lasted only until we realized that our signals were able to be copied not only on a quiet spot on our AM broadcast receivers, but everywhere for miles, on any kind of receiver, including television, and the signals were LOUD to not to mention UGLY!

    Subsequently, a novice license was acquired but the equipment did not make a giant step for hamkind.  A homebrew 6L6 VFO coupled via a pi-network to an antenna was remarkable for it's glizzando note and drift.  Receiving was by the BC-348 with a homebrew supply.  A choice of two available transformers, one at 520 vac and the other at 55 vac resulted in a supply of about 78 volts, knowing that the 520 would be a real gut smoker.  Seventy-eight volts works in a starved circuit with extra audio amplification, but the reciever was on the same branch circuit as the clothes iron.  When that was used it was lights out BC-348 because the local oscillator couldn't live with the starvation diet. Remarkably, contacts were made, and a good time seems to have been had by all.

   Here the ART-13 at 75 watts replaces the one-tuber and the BC-348R retains it's position as station reciver even though it has company in the person on a Hallicrafters "Sky Buddy".  The BC-348's puny, pesky power supply is next to the ART-13 and sitting on top of the Sky Buddy is a broadcast receiver whose audio acts as a hearing aid. A Heathkit on the crooked shelf allowed 15 meter reception via a shielded cable from the oscillator/mixer to the BC-348 LF input tuned to 456kc. It worked!    This "plush" shack was in a room built in a detached garage and had insulation, sheetrock, suspended ceiling, a fan and electric heater; first class.

    A Johnson "Ranger" on loan from K5SVS improved contacts and later, when it was returned, the Heath "Apache" with a new face replaced it. Recently, in preperation for the move this heavy, behemoth was delivered to KB5MD, 10 or more years my junior.  A new receiver, was the smallish gray box to the left on the workbench, remembered as a Collins AR-15.  Looks can be deceiving.  It was about 2 feet long and suprisingly heavy.  It was given to KE5RWE. The box to the left of the Ranger was my first attempt at an antenna tuner.  The cabinet was aluminum made with a homebrew brake. Even the knobs were homebrew and the aluminum case was fitted into a magogany exterior; it looked a lot better than it worked but sparked an interest in antenna matching devices.

    Between this and the present station there were others for which pictures could not be found.  One had a heathkit transmitter and receiver shown in the present shack and in the 1980's the Kenwood 520S courtesy of the XYL plus some QRP activities with DE receivers and simple VFO controlled transmitters.  The operator has a lot of VFO building experience!

                                                                  A few Projects

    In the 1980's the Heath "Apache" which was received in an unworkable condition was made to work and it was decided that it would be tested against the Ranger and ART-13 but a third key was necessary, so one was thrown together from scrap, its only expectation being that it worked.  Little time or care was lavished which turned out to be a shame because it feels and works better than any of our commercial keys.

  Old Ugly - But a real smoothie from yellow brass bar stock  shaped  with  a hack saw and file on a 1/16" aluminum scrap base.     Contacts are  brass screws matched head to head with hard silver on the contact surfaces.  What a knob.  It's solid ivory from a 1929 pipe organ stop knob. (We make pipe organs for a living)

Not Ivory - One of the 1980's homebrew walnut knobs for the antenna tuner which has since served in a gazillion projects  and has become pretty beaten up.  Yes, there is a brass sleve inside with set screws.

  Homebrew cabinet intended for a new tuner.  Although it was planned for extra room, the actual parts when laid out are cramped so that the tuner may go into a larger cabinet while this one can house a keyer/keying shaper audio expander/audio filter/ampifier combination project in progress. The front panel is 3/16" aluminum to be engraved. Finish is Kenwood grey even though the pix  doesn't show it.

   First attempt at an amp.  One-half kilowatt with an 8000 triode in grounded grid configuration. This was an experiment and a new, full kilowatt amp with two 8000 triodes is under construction which is looking  a lot neater than this!

Kilowatt Amp:

  Okay, it's just another case and it needs a lot of tweaking and polishing, but it's in progress and represents a lot of work without proper tools. The innards are looking fine.

                             DON'T DO IT LIKE THIS!    

    The following are photos of our worst project ever. You  may have been here sometime.  Move into a new house, put up a new wire antenna for all bands, the old coax is too short, all you have is 300 ohm TV lead-in, you need a balun and different style tuner, it's Saturday you don't have the right stuff to build a proper tuner, you throw one together because you want to get on the air and  this is what you wind up with, swearing to heaven that you will build a new, better one soon.

  Ill-fitting aluminum top made from flashing, nick in plexiglass face covering, no feet and general signs of not taking the required time.

     ARC-5 roller inductor, broadcast receiver variables and a surplus turns counter.

   Less than perfect bends from an improvised wooden brake and hand lettering on the back.

   And now for the kicker - IT WORKS SLICKER THAN A BANANA PEEL at low power and has for years, and it doesn't leak RF into the shack.  

   The operator had two great Elmers, Phil K5SVS and Roy KB5MD.  These two guys answered questions, loaned or gave equipment and helped in many ways.  Be an Elmer, someone will remember you fondly.

   Manuals and schematics for the BC-348 R are beginning to be hard to find on the internet.  We will send you a copy of the BC-348 R Manual,  AN ART-13, or SCR-221 if you would request one at: ka5ian@zoomshare.com.  The manuals are a big file and will not always able to be sent without flooding the sender or receiver's mail box, but  we will be glad to try.

              UNDER CONSTRUCTION! 

                PLEASE STAY ON THE FREQUENCY