NK7Z Equipment used

Station information for NK7Z can be found below.

 Operating Position:

Operating Position

NK7Z Equipment used:

NK7Z Equipment used: right hand can get to any location, radio, amp, keyer, mouse with minimum movement.  Mouse is moved out of the way when doing CW.  Headphones are on hanger on the left of the operating position.  See the blow by blow description of the shack rebuild for the K3 here.

Signal Flow:

As can be seen, most of the signal flow is normal, when you see “Control Voltages”, this could mean keying data, PTT data, relay control signals moved down coax, etc.  The audio feeding the computer is for digital modes.  You will also see control voltages, this is PTT for the 756 PRO III.

Operating Position

The Ham Shack:

Amp is on right, computer monitor for two computers is in center on left.  The monitor is a 23 inch, arm adjustable LCD.  Not visible behind operating desk is the ground bus.  A 1/4 inch, by 1/2 inch copper bar runs along the rear top of the desk, and along the vertical portion of the back.  All devices are grounded to this bus.  The ground bus is in turn grounded via two cables, to a single ground rod, used for the house electrical ground.

Vibroplex

Vibroplex Iambic Paddle:

I use this for CW.  I almost never use MiXW as the keyer for CW.  Love this key, it is heavy enough to not move, and light enough to work well.  The Plexiglas cover keeps dust out of it so the keyer is always working well.

Elecraft KPA-500

Elecraft KPA-500:

This is without a doubt the best amp I have ever used…  Instant band switching, follows the rig, and between this and the K3, it feels like a 500 watt transceiver..

LoTW verified contacts:

LoTW verified contacts

Full List of Equipment

Transmitter/Receiver:

• Elecraft
  • Fully tricked out K3
  • MARS Mod
  • Powerwerx SS-30DV (Power Supply)
  • Heil Pro Plus Headphones
• Yaesu FT-900 (mobile)
• Yaesu: FT-8900
• Yaesu: FT2DR

Antenna Control Equipment:

• Ameritron RCS-4, remote coax switch, see my review here.
• Ameritron AWM-30 Wattmeter

Amplifier:

• Elecraft: KPA500

Antenna:

• Hustler: 6BTV, ground mounted
• B&W BWD-90
• Tarheel HP-100A (mobile)

CW:

• Vibroplex Iambic Deluxe paddles
• Internal Keyer in Elecraft K3, or MixW using DTR for keying.

Computers:

• Black Box, home brew eight core Pentium, 3 GHz.
  • 32 GB RAM
  • Linux, Ubuntu
• Dell single core 3 GHz.
  • 2 GB RAM
  • Windows 10, dual booted to Debian Linux
• Raspberry Pi
  • In house DX Cluster/NTP Server #1

• Rig Expert AA-600 Antenna Analyzer
• MFJ-856, Handheld RFI Locating antenna and receive
• Tektronix 2230 Scope
• Tektronix Signal Generator
• ATTA Spectrum Analyzer