Thanks for stopping by!I hope you enjoyed our QSO. If we haven't met, here's to hoping soon we do.

My novice license arrived in early 1970, callsign WN9FFO, in my hometown QTH of Whitewater, WI. My dad was a radio officer on the USS Loggerhead submarine during WWII. He taught me the code when I was very young as a fun game we did while attending to dirty dish duties! So for me, unlike many, code was the easiest part of FCC testing. CW still is my favorite mode, it's in my blood, hi hi! A year later I upgraded to General Class. Radios were bought and traded as my saved paper route dollars allowed among them a Knight Ocean Hopper, Knight T-60, Heathkit DX-60B, National NC-270, and Johnson Viking Invader. Pop was very proud of my hobby and decided to help me buy my first modern SSB transceiver, the Swan 270B. Later, I added the Swan 1200W linear and was active until my college days when I was forced to sell all my gear to fund my education. It wasn't until two decades later,a ham friend loaned me his spare HW-101, it didn't take long for me to realize how much I missed amateur radio. Since then I have upgraded to extra class and took the vanity callsign, W9ZT.

My Swan Cygnet Station circa 1972

The Swan 270B is a great performer yet compact for having a self-contained power supply with a very reliable 260 watts PEP input. Best of all it was more affordable compared to the pricier Drake and Collins gear of the day. Even today the Swans look good next to my modern rigs with styling ahead of its time and what a testament to Herb Johnson they are still going strong and always seem to have such rich, warm, nicely balanced audio when used with a Shure 444 microphone.

I now have another Swan 270B, but this one has the SS-16 filter and looks just as new as my original! Like most of us I dreamed of owning many other radios during that time but not able to afford them so now Iam fufilling those wishes! My other vintage radios: Swan 600T / 600R custom twins, Swan 500CX/ 508 VFO, Swan SW-240, Drake TR-4C / RV-4C, andR4B. Most recently, I reincarnated my first novice station; a Knight T-60 transmitter and National NC-270 receiver.

Click picture to go to my Knight T-60 Website!

My solid state radios are an Icom 7600 and Icom 7000. My trusty Kenwood TL-922A afterburner provides full legal power when needed. Additional equipment includes a Ten-Tec 239 tuner, Logikey K-3 keyer, W2IHY 8-band EQ,MDS RC-1 digital rotator control, andIntel Core i3 PC with Windows 7. The logging software I use is Logger32 and on digital modesAirlink Express with a homebrew interface. Antennas consist of a Hygain TH-3Mk3 and 40M dipole on a 40' tubular crank-up tower. Tree supported at 60 feet, a 80/160M dipole and 160M Inverted-L 170' long. The latest antenna addition is an Array Solutions K9AY receiving loop that really helps me out with my latest endeavor, 160 meter DXing.

My latest achievement

I need 2 more for DX Honor Roll as of April 15, 2012. 6O3A being my latest new one for DXCC #329.

I am at DXCC #100 on 160 meters as of April 15, 2012. HP1WW was my #100, just waiting ona few QSL's for my 160 Meter DXCC certificate!

You will find me hanging out on weekends around 3.838 chewing the rag with one of the vintage radios. Frequently I check into the Vintage Sideband Net on 3.838 Sat at 9:00AM CST and the Swan User Neton 14.250 Sun at 2100 GMT. You also can find me pounding brass with the T-60 around 7.028 or 14.028.

I am a member of ARRL, NEWDXA, 10-10, QCWA, GERATOL, and FISTS.

73,

BRAD

Look for me every August QRV from my cottage on Eva Lake in Ontario, Canada with the IC-7000 and a dipole strung up in the big jack pines!

K9AY Receiving Loop for 160/80 Meters. Tubular tower with TH-3 in background.