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Drake TR-4Cw

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Drake TR-4Cw   I've always been fascinated by electronics, building kits, understanding the principles of basic circuit analysis and design.  I've pretty good with a digital volt meter but its been a while since I've had a project that could benefit from a good oscilloscope. With the Drake I will bring on these skills together.   Also known as a "boat anchor" these tube type radios require a lot of knowledge and maintenance if you want to be a fine business operator.   This lesson was reinforced when I first opened the box.   I fired up the rig but couldn't even get the bias voltage set (per the manual).  Having never worked on tube operated electronics I was hesitant to do any troubleshooting.   I ordered a hardcopy Drake TR-4Cw manual and waited for its arrival. First came the friendly advice from Joe KI5O (a ham buddy and fellow member of RWK) to join the DRAKE-RADIO groups.io which is full of drake experts who are willing to give advice.    Lucky for me th
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DXCC Award - 100 Countries Confirmed on CW

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I was able to get my 100th country confirmed on LotW last month, qualifying me for the DXCC / CW Mode Certificate.  My first CW contact was confirmed with K4KCG from the Kentucky Contest Group back in June 2021 when I first learning CW and relying completely on CW macros.  I focused on completing the WAS Triple play award in January 2022 before focusing on DXCC. I continued to improve my CW skills, practiced my sending, but it wasn't until April 2022 that I joined the Straight Key Century Club SKCC and made the personal commitment  to completely avoid electronic keyers and macros when possible.  The majority of my contacts from that point on were made with either a traditional straight key, or a sideswiper, which is like a paddle but is a fully manual version of the straight key with horizontal action.   Along the way I got the pleasure of working many countries during contests - the ARRL International DX contest is a good way to pick up many new countries over a weekend.   During
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POTA Activation at K-3059 Tyler State Park

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I'm impressed with the performance of the WO9B Spark Plug EFHW antenna today on 15M. The band was in good condition and not nearly as crowded as 20M. Plus I got to revisit Tyler State Park - a place I haven't visited since the late 90s when I used to spend "bachelor thanksgiving" camping here with the guys. Nice spring weather made the day even better! 73 Chris de WX7V  
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ARRL-DX International CW Contest

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I put in some seat time - maybe 5-6 hours Friday night to Sunday morning for the 2024 ARRL-DX International CW Contest.     I worked 81 countries total, 350 contacts.   25 unique countries on 80M, but 50 unique countries each on 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters.   Raw Score: 1041 Qpts x 226 Mults = 235,266 - Note: The raw score, QSO points and mult totals are estimates based solely on the individual log contents and are not used during subsequent log checking. Rig was Flexradio 6600, with Carolina Windom Dipole for 80/40M, and Hexbeam for 20/15/10M.   Antennas are up about 35 feet.   Chris de WX7V
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DX Century Club CW Achievement!

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The DXCC is Amateur Radio's premier award that hams can earn by confirming on the air contacts with 100 countries. You can begin with the basic DXCC award and work your way up to the DXCC Honor Roll.    I was able to get H44WA - SOLOMON ISLANDS - 10M confirmed on Friday for  my 100th country confirmed via LoTW for CW. QSL K4KCG - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 20M CW (CW) QSL TG9ADM - GUATEMALA - 30M CW (CW) QSL C6AZM - BAHAMAS - 40M CW (CW) QSL PG4I - NETHERLANDS - 40M CW (CW) QSL DL1DGS - FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY - 40M CW (CW) QSL OA4DX - PERU - 40M CW (CW) QSL KP4JRS - PUERTO RICO - 20M CW (CW) QSL AH6KO - HAWAII - 20M CW (CW) QSL JM7OLW - JAPAN - 40M CW (CW) QSL F6HKA - FRANCE - 40M CW (CW) QSL CO7FR - CUBA - 40M CW (CW) QSL SN2B - POLAND - 40M CW (CW) QSL HK1MW - COLOMBIA - 40M CW (CW) QSL PJ2ND - CURACAO - 40M CW (CW) QSL VE3TM - CANADA - 20M CW (CW) QSL XE1RE - MEXICO - 15M CW (CW) QSL HQ9X - HONDURAS - 15M CW (CW) QSL HD8R - GALAPAGOS ISLANDS - 40M CW (CW) QSL IZ4BOY - ITALY
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